The Glory of God Displayed in the Lives of the Ambiguous

I am blessed to work for a Christian organization. On many occasions I ride the elevator there with employees of a contracted janitorial service. Two particular employees from that service always bless me by their sweet smiles, positive attitudes, and uplifting comments, even though they are on their way to their next not so glamorous task. It is a constant reminder that God displays His glory in the lives of the sometimes ambiguous. It also reminds me of a group of people in the Bible who were also ambiguous, The Sons of Korah.

Several years ago I found this site that articulates their story.

The name ‘Sons of Korah’ comes from a group of Old Testament Levitical musicians to whom at least 13 of the Psalms are attributed. The original Sons of Korah were responsible for the ministry of music and song in the Old Testament worship and particularly with the musical composition and performance of the Psalms. What follows is a short account of the biblical genealogy of this family.

In the Old Testament text of the Psalms reference is made to those who were involved in the composition of the psalm. Psalms 42 to 49 as well as Psalms 84 to 88 are attributed to a group known as the "Sons of Korah" (see the small print titles under the numbers of the psalms) It appears that this family of musicians were descendants of the same Korah who led a rebellion against Moses in the desert (Numbers 16). This was a serious crime that led to serious consequences for all those involved. We read that God caused the ground to open up and swallow all those who were involved in the rebellion along with their families (vs31ff). The idea of a judgement like this that involved the wiping out of the rebels as well as their families was that the line of the rebellious should not continue in the earth. It is therefore quite surprising that in Numbers 26:11 we read the words: "The line of Korah, however, did not die out." And sure enough as we follow the genealogies through Chronicles we see that that the line of Korah did indeed continue. According to 1Chronicles 6:31ff, David, when he was organizing the different tasks for the temple worship, assigned the ministry of song for a large part to the Kohathites. The head of this group was Heman who is the writer of Psalm 88 and more significantly is a direct descendant of Korah the Kohathite. Hence the psalm is also attributed to the Sons of Korah. It seems that at some point this musical family came to be called after their rebellious forefather. Korah was an infamous historical figure in the Israelite consciousness, remembered as an example of rebellion against God. To be related to him would have been a notable thing, though not necessarily a negative thing. The continuing existence of this family line was a testimony to the grace of God who although He would be right to wipe out the memory of sinful men from the earth, is nevertheless forgiving and Whose heart is always for restoration and redemption rather than for destruction.