Numbers 16 -- 17
Book of Numbers #7
What would you do if you were condemned to live in the wilderness all your life until you die? Whatever you do, do not rebel; unless of course, you wish to end-up like Korah and his followers.
Korah was a Kohathite, that is a son of Kohath, son of Levi. He and his followers, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, boldly declared before Moses and Aaron that "all the congregation is holy."
Often enough, those who challenge the authority of Rome tend to do it in the name of the greater good. They set themselves above the hierarchy and boldly declare that they and not Rome are in the right: women priests, married priests, democratically elected bishops, gay marriage; the list goes on.
How did God respond to Korah's challenge? In a predictable way: the curses of the covenant were triggered and the outcome was as devastating as it was predictable.
Our Lord warned us: there will always be wheat and chaff in the Kingdom of God -- until the end of time. The end of the wheat and the chaff is very predictable. What is not is on which side will you end-up?
As we study Korah's rebellion, we learn from that experience what we must do and not do before the Lord.