Numbers 16
(1) Korah Protests Against Moses
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and On took action. (Korah was the son of Izhar, who was the son of Levi. Dathan and Aboram were sons of Eliab, who was the son of Reuben. On was the son of Peleth, who was the son of Reuben.) The four of them stood up in front of Moses with 250 of Israel’s renowned leaders and protested against Moses and Aaron saying,
“You guys have gone too far! Everyone in the population is set apart, and the Existing One is in the midst of all of us! So why do you two elevate yourselves above the rest of the Existing One’s population?
(4) Moses says God will Highlight His Servant
When Moses heard that, he fell on his face and told Korah’s mob,
“Tomorrow morning the Existing One will highlight the person who belongs to Him and bring that person close to Himself. Whoever He chooses will be the one He brings close to Himself.
“Korah, you and your mob should take fire pans and burn incense in them tomorrow in front of the Existing One. Put fire and incense in them in the presence of the Existing One tomorrow. Whoever the Existing One closes will be the one who is set apart.
“Descendants of Levi, I’m afraid that it’s you who have gone too far.”
(8) Moses Reminds Korah that God Already Elevated the Levites
Moses added,
“Listen closely, Levi’s descendants. Is it not enough that Israel’s God has distinguished you from the rest of the Israeli population? He already selected you guys to be brought closer to Himself, to work in His house, and to serve the population. Korah, is it not enough that He already brought you and your Levite brothers close to Him? Are you demanding to have the priesthood on top of that? That seems to be why you and your mob are protesting against the Existing One… but what’s so special about Aaron? Why are you complaining about him too?”
(12) Dathan and Abiram Disrespect Moses
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram (Eliab’s sons) to talk to them, but they said,
“We’re not coming. Haven’t you done enough by taking us away from the land that gushes honey and milk only to have us die in the desert? And now you want to rule over us too?? You didn’t bring us to the land gushing with honey and milk, and you didn’t give us the inheritance of fields and vineyards. Are you trying to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes now? We refuse to come talk to you!”
(15) Everyone Gathers before God
That made Moses really mad, and he told the Existing One,
“Don’t even look at their offering! I haven’t taken a single donkey from them, and I’ve never wronged them in any way!”
Moses told Korah,
“I’ll see you, your mob, and Aaron tomorrow in front of the Existing One. Make sure all 250 of you bring firepans with incense—including you and Aaron.”
So each of them brought a firepan with incense and stood at the doorway of God’s meeting tent next to Moses and Aaron. Korah assembled the entire population against them there at the meeting tent’s doorway.
That was when the Existing One’s splendor appeared to the entire population.
(20) Moses Convinces God to Spare Israel
The Existing One told Moses and Aaron,
“Stand back so I can wipe out this population instantly.”
But Moses and Aaron fell down on their faces and said,
“Oh, God, You are the God over all the spirits within every living thing. When one person takes the wrong turn, does that mean You’ll get mad at the entire population?”
The Existing One said,
“Ok, then… tell the rest of the population to stand back from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s tents.”
So Moses brought Israel’s elders to Dathan and Abiram and told the population,
“Stand back from the tents where these guilty men live. And don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll get consumed by all their corruption.”
So everyone backed away from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s tents. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood by the doorway of their tents with their wives and children.
(28) God Kills the Protestors
Then Moses announced,
“This is how everyone will know that the Existing One is the one who sent me to do all things I’ve been doing. I haven’t been doing these things because of my own heart’s desires.
“If these men die a normal death, then you’ll know that the Existing One hasn’t sent me. But you’ll know that the Existing One really has sent me if He creates an entirely new creation and has the ground open its mouth and swallow them up along with everything they own. If that happens and they fall into the netherworld alive, then you’ll know that these men have rejected the Existing One.”
As he finished saying those words, the ground under their feet split open. The ground opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with their households, their workers, and everything they owned. They went down to the netherworld alive, and the ground closed over them as they vanished from the population.
The rest of the Israelites who were in the vicinity ran away with their screams echoing in their ears,
“The ground is swallowing us up!”
Fire also came out from the Existing One and consumed the 250 people who were offering the incense.
(36) Firepans Used to Plate the Altar
Then the Existing One told Moses,
“Tell Eleazar (Aaron’s son) to collect the firepans from out of the fire, because they are set apart. Have him scatter the burning coals elsewhere. Collect the firepans that were being used by the people who crossed the line to their downfall, and hammer them into sheets to plate the altar with. After all, they did present those firepans to Me, and they are set apart. Those metal sheets will be a warning sign for Israel’s descendants to remember.”
So Priest Eleazar gathered the bronze firepans that were being used by the people who got cremated, and they hammered them into plating for the altar. That plating reminded Israel’s descendants that no one should come near to burn incense in front of the Existing One unless they had descended from Aaron. It reminds everyone to keep themselves from becoming like Korah and his mob.
Eleazar did that just like the Existing One had instructed him through Moses.
(41) Aaron Shields Israel from Illness
The next day, the entire Israeli population started complaining about Moses and Aaron, saying,
“You guys are the reason why so many of the Existing One’s people died!”
But when they rallied against Moses and Aaron, they noticed God’s meeting tent. Sure enough, the clouds were covering it, and the Existing One’s splendor had appeared. Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent, and the Existing One told Moses,
“Stand back from the rest of this population so I can wipe them out this instant.”
They fell face down, and Moses told Aaron,
“Take your firepan and light it using the fire from the altar. Put incense on it, then bring it to the population as fast you can and cover for them. The Existing One is mad, and He already started striking!”
So Aaron grabbed his fire pan and ran into the middle of the population, because sure enough, a disease had started spreading from person to person. So he lit the incense and covered for the people. He took a stand between the dead and the living, blocking off the disease. But 14,700 people died from that disease in addition to the people who had already died from Korah’s fiasco.
After the disease had been detained, Aaron went back to Moses who was at the doorway of God’s meeting tent.