Numbers 16:36–17:13

The Firepans

³⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, ³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the bronze firepans from the remains of the men who have been burnt, and scatter the coals from the firepans somewhere else, because the firepans are holy. ³⁸They became holy when they were presented at the Lord’s altar. So take the firepans of these men who were put to death for their sin, beat them into thin plates, and make a covering for the altar. It will be a warning to the people of Israel.” ³⁹So Eleazar the priest took the firepans and had them beaten into thin plates to make a covering for the altar. ⁴⁰This was a warning to the Israelites that no one who was not a descendant of Aaron should come to the altar to burn incense for the Lord. Otherwise he would be destroyed like Korah and his men. All this was done as the Lord had commanded Eleazar through Moses.

Aaron Saves the People

⁴¹The next day the whole community complained against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have killed some of the Lord’s people.” ⁴²After they had all gathered to protest to Moses and Aaron, they turned towards the Tent and saw that the cloud was covering it and that the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence had appeared. ⁴³Moses and Aaron went and stood in front of the Tent, ⁴⁴and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Stand back from these people, and I will destroy them on the spot!”

The two of them bowed down with their faces to the ground, ⁴⁶and Moses said to Aaron, “Take your firepan, put live coals from the altar in it, and put some incense on the coals. Then hurry with it to the people and perform the ritual of purification for them. Hurry! The Lord’s anger has already broken out and an epidemic has already begun.” ⁴⁷Aaron obeyed, took his firepan and ran into the middle of the assembled people. When he saw that the plague had already begun, he put the incense on the coals and performed the ritual of purification for the people. ⁴⁸This stopped the plague, and he was left standing between the living and the dead. ⁴⁹The number of people who died was 14,700, not counting those who died in Korah’s rebellion. ⁵⁰When the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent.

Aaron’s Stick

17The Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the people of Israel to give you twelve sticks, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his stick ³and then write Aaron’s name on the stick representing Levi. There will be one stick for each tribal leader. ⁴Take them to the Tent of my presence and put them in front of the Covenant Box, where I meet you. ⁵Then the stick of the man I have chosen will sprout. In this way I will put a stop to the constant complaining of these Israelites against you.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a stick, one for each tribe, twelve in all, and Aaron’s stick was put with them. ⁷Moses then put all the sticks in the Tent in front of the Lord’s Covenant Box.

^8*The next day, when Moses went into the Tent, he saw that Aaron’s stick, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted. It had budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds! ^9*Moses took all the sticks and showed them to the Israelites. They saw what had happened, and each leader took his own stick back. ^10*The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s stick back in front of the Covenant Box. It is to be kept as a warning to the rebel Israelites that they will die unless their complaining stops.” ¹¹Moses did as the Lord commanded.

¹²The people of Israel said to Moses, “Then that’s the end of us! ¹³If anyone who even comes near the Tent must die, then we are all as good as dead!”