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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
By H. A . IRONSIDE* Chicago, Illinois
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tasy in the w i l d e r n e s s , that very Korah who, with his ungodly associ ates, withstood Moses the mediator and Aaron the high priest, and said: “ Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy” (Num. 16:3). It is as though they said: “We do not need a mediator; we do not need a high priest; we do- not need anybody to represent us before God. Neither do we need an atoning sacri fice. We are good enough for God as we are.” That attitude of rejection is the same as the one taken by the apostasy today. We read of those who, having gone in the way o f Cain, following the error of Balaam, shall perish in the gainsaying of Korah (cf. Jude 11). You remember how the judgment fe ll upon Korah, how Moses said: “ If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up . . . then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord” (Num. 16:29, 30). In solemn warning, Moses had cried out: “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men” (v. 26); and those who feared God left the companionship of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and went over toward the sanctuary that Moses had pitched. But those who did not fear Him remained with'the apostates, and the judgment took place exactly as Moses had in timated, and Korah and all his com pany, we are told, went down alive into the pit. Here is a singular thing: here are the sons of Korah, centuries afterwards, leading the praise of the people of God. If Korah and all his company went down alive into the pit, how is it there were any sons of Korah to bear testimony to the grace of God in later days? Let us turn to the record. Wg^ get the fullest account of this event in Numbers 16, but we have a supple-
"Ye«, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for her self, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God" (Psa. 84:3.) B OU WILL NOTICE in the head ing to this Psalm, the words “To the chief Musician.. . . A Psalm for the sons of Korah.” t “ To the chief Musician" addresses the One who said as He came forth from resurrection: “In the midst of the church w ill I sing praise unto thee” (Heb. 2:12; cf. Psa. 22:22). He is the chief Musician, the One who leads the praises of His people. Therefore these Psalms are very definitely dedicated to our blessed Lord Jesus Himself, the great Leader of the choir of the re deemed. "The Sons of Korah” Identified Then you have the words: “A Psalm for the sons of Korah." Who were the sons of Korah? These men constituted part of the sanctuary choir at Jeru salem after David brought the( Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion and pitched a* tent for it, and they were still in the choir later on, when King Solomon built that glorious temple, every whit of which uttered the glory of our blessed Saviour. These sons of Korah led the people in their worship. But who were they actually? In the early chapters of 1 Chronicles you w ill find by careful investigation that these sons of Korah were the lineal descendants of that Korah who, with Dathan and Abiram, led in the apos- *Pastor, Moody Memorial Church, f There is a critical question j as to where these headings properly belong in the original Hebrew, at the beginning of the Psalm that follows them , or whether they should follow the previous Psalm, There is nothing to indicate either way; in the Hebrew the one Psalm is very closely linked with the other. The late Dr, Thirtle has suggested that there seems good reason to believe these titles really belong to the preceding Psatm, If that is the case, it does not interfere with something I want to point out here. The heading of the next Psalm is practically the same , ana thus we can transfer it to this Psalm if we give that of Psalm .84 to Psalm 83,—H , A , U
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