What do you suppose God thinks of a man or a woman who says, in effect, “It’s not necessary that Jesus Christ die; I can get to heaven on my own”? The story answers that. God takes rebellion again Him very seriously, and anybody who insists on that is going to be judged for it and perish hopelessly.
It’s interesting that Aaron’s rod wasn’t given back to him. We’re told in Hebrews 9:4 that it was one of the things that was put in the ark, along with the stone tables of the law containing the Ten Commandments and a little golden jar containing some of the manna. These things were a testimony, a reminder, of what had happened.
In chapter 17, God demonstrates whom He is choosing to be high priest, lest there be any more doubt about it. Each of the tribes is to elect a leader, and each leader is to come forward with his staff—the rod that he used to walk with or direct sheep. They marked their names on their staffs, and laid them before the Lord overnight. Moses said that whichever staff sprouted belonged to the one that God chooses. When they came back in the morning, not only had Aaron’s rod produced leaves, but it had gone on to bud, blossom, and even produce almonds.
When Korah expressed his dissatisfaction to Moses, Moses fell face down before the Lord. This position of submission to the Lord also indicates that when Moses speaks, as he later does, and tells Korah and his followers what they are to do, Moses isn’t just speaking on his own. Moses is speaking as the prophet of the Lord with the word of God, and God answers in a powerful way.
In chapters 16 and 17, opposition is now coming from the leaders of the people. So the general spirit of rebellion that began with the rabble and spread to the people is here focused on a group of leaders: a man named Korah, three leaders from the tribe of Reuben—Dathan, Abiram, and On—and then 250 other leaders, presumably elders or men of distinction from the other tribes. Now that was a formidable opposition, which is why this story is so significant.
