Numbers 16:37, commentary and pictures

The command stands in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, in which Korah and his associates accused Moses and Aaron of seizing authority that belonged equally to the whole congregation. That rebellion repeats on a narrower stage the rebellion of Satan in heaven. Pride and ambition prompted Lucifer to complain of the government of God and to seek to overthrow the order established in heaven, and since his fall he has worked to infuse the same envy, discontent, and ambition for position and honor into men. He worked upon Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to arouse desire for self-exaltation and to excite envy, distrust, and rebellion. By rejecting the men of God's appointment they rejected God as their leader, and their murmuring against Moses and Aaron was blasphemy against God, yet they were so deluded as to think themselves righteous and to regard those who faithfully reproved their sins as actuated by Satan.

Resisting God's appointed counsel is rebellion against God. The leaders were destroyed by divine judgment, yet the survivors continued in stubborn error and blamed Moses for their deaths. Even after the leaders and their followers were destroyed, the rebellion persisted the next day when the people falsely accused Moses and Aaron, and thousands more died in judgment.

God directed Moses to have Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest take up the censers out of the burning and scatter the fire at a distance. The censers were hallowed because they had been offered before the Lord, even though they belonged to men who sinned against their own souls. The fire was to be scattered yonder, while the censers themselves were to be treated as holy. The hallowed censers were to be made into broad plates for a covering of the altar, to stand as a sign to the children of Israel.

Only the holy fire kindled by God is safe to use in His service; work arising from self and mixed with self will not endure, but work done in God will stand. The history of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram was written to teach later generations and should be read carefully and prayerfully as an admonition, raising the question whether those who repeat such unwise conduct will truly repent. What happened to Israel is an example written to admonish those living at the end of the world, warning against tempting Christ and murmuring. The chapter warns against rebellion and calls for decisive action against evil in God's work, teaching that separating evil workers would have honored God.