As Moses led Israel out of Egypt and on their journey toward the land of promise, he faced almost constant opposition. Numbers chapter 16 chronicles one such instance in great detail. Korah openly questioned and opposed Moses’ leadership forcing him to bring the matter before God. The Lord said He would answer this challenge directly and reveal His choice between Moses and Korah. Not only did God choose Moses, but He also indicated that Korah would be judged by the earth opening up and swallowing him alive. Before the arrival of God’s judgment, the people were instructed to choose by separating from Korah. Judgment fell as the earth opened up, swallowing alive those who followed Korah along with all their possessions. The earth simply closed back up. Interestingly, a brief Bible study (for instance, Psalm 88) reveals that the sons of Korah chose to obey God by separating from their father. Several subtitles in the book of Psalms like that found in Psalm 88 indicate these sons followed God and His servant and survived God’s judgment.
Every choice in life can yield eternal consequences, some vastly significant, some of lesser importance. No clearer demonstration exists than the many decisions surrounding Christ’s crucifixion. The Jews had unjustly delivered Jesus to the governor. As a gesture to the people at the Roman feast, Pilate frequently released to them a prisoner. In this instance, he gave the Jews a choice between two prisoners—a vile man or the innocent Son of God. Barabbas was justly imprisoned as a robber (John 18:40) and murderer (Mark 15:7). This simple decision turned quite complex for the Jews. The people rejected the sinless Son of God and chose to release a guilty man. With evil hearts and wicked intentions, they cried out for the release of Barabbas. Making matters worse, they demanded that Jesus be crucified though He had done nothing worthy of death. The people became pawns of Satan though they were unaware that Jesus was born to die. He was brought to this point to bear the very sin they just committed, along with the sins of the whole world.
