Numbers 16

Furthermore, God has placed each of us in families and communities and we are strongly influenced by each other, especially when we are children. An evil father affects his entire family. Even “innocent” infants are born with mankind’s sinful nature, and thus are naturally inclined to their parents’ evil (see Exodus 20:5).

35 The Lord’s second judgment came upon the 250 leaders who had brought censers containing fire and incense. These men, who had usurped the priests’ place by bringing fire to the Lord, were themselves destroyed by fire from the Lord–a fitting punishment.

36–40 Anything presented before the Lord was considered holy; so even though the censers had been presented by false priests, they still were to be set apart as holy objects. Thus the Lord commanded that Eleazar, Aaron’s oldest surviving son, should collect the censers, hammer them into shape, and use them to overlay the altar of burnt offering. In this way, the censers would serve as a perpetual reminder that only descendants of Aaron were authorized to burn incense before the Lord (verse 40).

41–50 Even after such extraordinary signs of the Lord’s judgment, the whole Israelite community continued to grumble (verse 41). They blamed Moses and Aaron for killing the evildoers; they showed no understanding of the cause of their deaths nor of the fact that without Moses and Aaron’s intercession they themselves would have died too! (verse 22). It’s hard to imagine how the people could have been so blind, stubborn and faithless. These Israelites illustrate the truth that no amount of punishment or judgment can change the human heart; only God’s grace can do that.

Then suddenly . . . the LORD appeared (verse 42). This time the entire assembly was guilty of rebellion. The Lord’s judgment struck in the form of a plague that began to spread rapidly among the people.

But once more Moses acted on behalf of the people, in spite of the abuse and opposition they had given him. A man of lesser character would have been happy to see them all destroyed, but not Moses. Moses is an example for us today: even when people fail in their duty to us, this does not free us from our duty to them. Moses told Aaron to hurry and offer incense in order to make atonement for the people, so that the plague might be stopped (verse 46). And so Aaron the high priest ran with his censer into the midst of the people, and the plague stopped; he literally stood between the living and the dead (verse 48). Aaron foreshadowed another High Priest, Jesus, who also stands between the living and the dead—between us who believe and those who do not.

Even though Aaron hurried, there were still 14,700 Israelites who died in that plague. Grumbling is not taken lightly by the Lord (see Numbers 11:1–3 and comment).

Before we move on from these sad chapters (Chapters 11–16), we need to reflect on their meaning for us as Christians. The things that happened to those ancient Israelites were written down as warnings for us (1 Corinthians 10:11). Do the experiences of the Israelites have a parallel in our Christian lives?

Yes, they do. The first experience we share with the Israelites concerns worldliness. In forty days the Lord had gotten the Israelites out of Egypt (a symbol of the world), but it took forty years to get “Egypt” out of the Israelites (Numbers 11:5; 14:4). The attraction of the “world” is a subtle and constant temptation for Christians. The Apostle John says: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15–17).

The second experience we share with the ancient Israelites concerns “backsliding.” The Israelites started out well; over and over they pledged: “We will do everything the LORD has said” (Exodus 19:8). But then the day came when they were ready to enter the promised land, to enter into the full experience of the blessings of God. But they held back; they saw obstacles (giants and fortified cities); and they refused to enter the land.

Too many Christians, having been redeemed from “Egypt,” having tasted the goodness of the Lord, have at a crucial moment in their spiritual lives held back. They have been unwilling to yield them selves fully to the Lord; they have been unwilling to fully trust Him. And, as a result, their spiritual lives have been arrested; they have forfeited the full blessings of God’s fellowship in the “promised land.” If this has happened to anyone reading these words, let him or her “return to Kadesh” (Numbers 13:26) where that first loss of faith occurred. Confess the sin of unbelief, return to a life of obedience, and the blessings of the Lord will be restored.

The third experience we share with the ancient Israelites concerns the subtlety of sin. Most of us don’t start out committing “big” sins. We start out with “secret” sins: jealousy, ambition, bitterness. But then they gradually grow into “bigger” sins: whispering, murmuring, grumbling. And these in turn grow into the visible sins of open disobedience and rebellion. Beware that initial sin that goes unrecognized; pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal such hidden sins. For this is certain: unconfessed sin grows and grows; it not only keeps one from entering the promised land, but in the end it leads to death (Romans 6:23).