Numbers 16:39
And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Eleazar the priest gathered the bronze censers that had been used by the men who were burned and consumed for offering incense, and had them hammered into broad plates as a covering for the altar. That history belongs to the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and it stands as a warning against repeating Israel's unwise, rebellious conduct. In the warning about holy fire it points to the danger of offering what God has not kindled.
Although those censers belonged to sinners, they had become hallowed because they had been offered before the Lord, and when made into plates they served as a sign to Israel. The rebellion itself works out on a narrower stage the same spirit that led to Satan's rebellion in heaven. It was the account of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rising against Moses and God, and even after the rebels were destroyed the people's rebellion continued.
Pride and ambition had prompted Lucifer to complain against the government of God and to seek the overthrow of the order established in heaven, and since his fall he seeks to infuse the same spirit of envy and discontent and the same ambition for position and honor into men. He worked on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to arouse desire for self-exaltation and to excite envy, distrust, and rebellion, causing them to reject God as their leader by rejecting the men of God's appointment. While murmuring against Moses and Aaron they were blaspheming God, yet they were so deluded as to think themselves righteous and to regard those who faithfully reproved their sins as actuated by Satan.
The judgment on the rebels did not immediately cure the people's disaffection or convince the survivors, showing how stubborn rebellion can blind people to God's acts. The next morning they falsely accused Moses of killing the Lord's people, and falsely accused Moses and Aaron, and many more died. The censers used in the rebellion being made into plates for the altar left a lasting warning about offering worship that God has not appointed. It teaches that work done in self will not endure, while work done in God will, and warns against offering what He has not kindled.
The chapter serves as a warning against unbelief and against following a rebellious example, and against unwise, rebellious conduct. Its events are presented as instruction for God's people in the last days and as examples for the admonition of those living at the end of the world. Its instruction is appropriate at the present time to keep the whole flock from being fed errors that cause them to go astray. It shows that God calls for decisive action against evil workers in His work, that those who resist His warnings and betray His people dishonor Him, and that responsible leaders should separate such workers from the work.