seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 16:36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[c]
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[c]
c. Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15
I got these comments from studylight.org.
“Can you imagine the scene? True priests are picking among the bodies, charred flesh, stench, smoke, smoldering embers, and twisted parts. They are to make a count. There were 250 censers; not one is to be lost. Each one is recorded, each one cleansed, each one holy.”
In the end, each one of the 250 were identified completely with Korah. Perhaps that wasn’t how they meant it. “Well, I don’t agree with everything Korah says, but he’s got some good points.” But to God all those distinctions were lost. All the censers are hammered together, and collectively titled: Korah and his companions.
In the end, each one of the 250 were identified completely with Korah. Perhaps that wasn’t how they meant it. “Well, I don’t agree with everything Korah says, but he’s got some good points.” But to God all those distinctions were lost. All the censers are hammered together, and collectively titled: Korah and his companions.
The fire was not holy and was to be scattered away. It was a strange fire - not acceptable to the LORD at all.
Poor Moses! He no doubt hoped that all the trouble was over when the rebels were judged. But now he had to deal with those who were sympathetic to the divisive people and who felt sorry for them.
Their accusation against Moses was absurd. Moses certainly did not kill them. When the earth opens up and swallows more than 250 people, it is evidently the hand of God, not of Moses.
Poor Moses! He no doubt hoped that all the trouble was over when the rebels were judged. But now he had to deal with those who were sympathetic to the divisive people and who felt sorry for them.
Their accusation against Moses was absurd. Moses certainly did not kill them. When the earth opens up and swallows more than 250 people, it is evidently the hand of God, not of Moses.
God reacted the same way towards the sympathizers as He did towards Korah and his company. Evidently, these people deserve to be judged.
This humble, desperate reaction showed that they took the threat of judgment seriously. They understood that it was no small thing to sympathize with a divisive, contentious person. God takes it seriously, and so should we.
This humble, desperate reaction showed that they took the threat of judgment seriously. They understood that it was no small thing to sympathize with a divisive, contentious person. God takes it seriously, and so should we.
Moses and Aaron might have had an interest in letting God consume all those who sympathized with those who rebelled against their leadership. Instead, out of love, they tried to stop the plague.
We have no reason to think that Korah or his group would have shown the same mercy to Moses. The probably would have passively said, “Well God, go ahead and give them what they deserve. I knew they had it coming to them!” Korah and the complainers didn’t have the same shepherd’s heart for Israel that Moses and Aaron did.
Aaron ran into the midst of the congregation; his sense of urgency is characteristic of true intercession.
Aaron ran into the midst of the congregation; his sense of urgency is characteristic of true intercession.
I know that 14,700 dead is not a small number. But there were over 2 million people when they left Egypt.
