Numbers 16:41-50

E. THE FATAL PLAGUE vv. 41-50
TEXT

Numbers 16:41. But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord. 42. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation; and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.

44. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 45. Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. 47. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 49. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah. 50. And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 16:41. But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord. 42. And it happened when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron that they looked toward the Tent of Meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43. Then Moses and Aaron came before the Tent of Meeting.

44. And the Lord said to Moses, Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them immediately. 45. And they all fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer and put fire from the altar in it, and put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation to make atonement for them;
46. for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the plague has begun. 47. And Aaron took the censer as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. Therefore, he put incense on the censer, and made atonement for the people. 48. And he stood between the dead and the living so that the plague was stopped. 49. Now all those who had died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the incident of Korah. 50. Then Aaron returned to Moses, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been ended.

COMMENTARY

While the incident given in closing chapter sixteen may almost seem to be an epilogue to the account of Korah and the rebels, it is only partly so. The multitude had had no part in the rebellion, and should have been convinced by the dramatic visit of divine justice that Moses-' conduct was altogether acceptable to the Lord, and that the destruction was nothing less than deserved. Had the matter been left here, the story would have had a different end. But, with the unpredictability of human nature, the crowd now proved to be most fickle as they hurled bitter charges against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of having killed the people of the Lord! Such a judgment cannot be justified, under any circumstances. True, the lives of a number of people have been taken, but they have suffered a self-imposed condemnation; and the people themselves were spared only because Moses and Aaron had interposed for them, eliciting God's instructions that they all should withdraw from the proximity of the destruction (Numbers 16:26). Since the 250 men had been very important men in the community, their loss would be a serious blow. But it should not have obscured the issues themselves, which the people have now forgotten.

While the protest is being lodged with Moses and Aaron, God again takes decisive action, appearing in a covering cloud at the tabernacle. From this covering, His words issue a call for the two faithful men to separate themselves again from the murmurers. Quickly, Aaron is dispatched to offer incense in behalf of the offenders, to prevent their death, And what is the plague which has already begun to ravage the camp? Our information is inadequate, but it seems to have been a direct visit of death upon them. In a very brief time, 14,700 had been victims. That there were not many more is directly due to the quick actions of Aaron at the instruction of Moses. For so fierce a visitation to have ended so suddenly would leave no doubt whatever but that God heard the intercession of His servants once again; the surviving people owed their very lives once more to the men of whom they had been most severely critical.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

308.

By what sort of logic could the congregation hold Moses and Aaron responsible for the death sentence executed upon the rebels?

309.

Why would the loss of these 250 men be a special blow against the life of the community?

310.

The Law prescribed no such service as Aaron's special incense offering, made on this occasion. Why should it have been effectual?

311.

What do we know about the kind of plague which visited the people?

312.

Explain the scripture saying that Aaron stood between the dead and the living in giving his offering.