“Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?”
The full verse · Numbers 16:13 · KJV
Is it a small thou hast brought us out of a that with and , to us in the , except thou thyself a over us?
Asked by
Asked to
Moses, the appointed leader of Israel, who had brought the nation out of Egypt and through the wilderness toward Canaan.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionDathan and Abiram invert reality to delegitimize Moses’ leadership by sarcastically calling Egypt, the land of their slavery, a place of blessing while portraying their liberation as a death sentence. The question form allows them to frame their accusation as a self-evident truth that requires no defense, making Moses appear as a tyrant rather than a deliverer.
The Response
What Scripture recordsMoses fell facedown before the Lord (Numbers 16:4). He then proposed a test involving censers and incense, declaring that God Himself would reveal whom He had chosen (Numbers 16:5-7). Moses did not directly answer the accusation but appealed to divine judgment to vindicate his leadership.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question drips with bitter irony, reversing every reality of Israel’s experience. The rebels call Egypt a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’, the exact phrase God used for Canaan, while accusing Moses of bringing them into the wilderness ‘to kill’ them. The Hebrew construction ‘is it a small thing’ (ha-me’at) introduces rhetorical accusations throughout Scripture, always implying the answer ‘no, it is not small; it is intolerable.’ Why ask rather than simply state the accusation? The question form recruits hearers to agree with a conclusion presented as self-evident, making dissent appear foolish. The charge that Moses sought to ‘make himself altogether a prince’ (the emphatic Hebrew sarar tistarar) reveals the heart of their rebellion: they refused to recognize God’s choice of leadership. This question carries devastating theological weight, demonstrating how thoroughly sin can invert truth, making blessing appear as curse and deliverance as oppression.
When your motives are twisted and your service is called tyranny, remember that vindication belongs to God, not your defense attorney skills. Dathan and Abiram teach us how dangerously the human heart can rewrite history, calling slavery freedom and deliverance oppression, when we’re determined to justify our rebellion. Like Moses, we must resist the urge to defend ourselves and instead fall facedown, trusting God to reveal truth in His time. When criticism comes, ask yourself: Am I more concerned with being understood or with being faithful? Paul reminds us, ‘It is the Lord who judges me’ (1 Corinthians 4:4). The same God who vindicated Moses will vindicate you, not necessarily in the court of public opinion, but in the only court that ultimately matters.
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Keep questioning
“We will not come up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?”
“And seek ye the priesthood also?”
“Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?”
“Wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”