Daily Devotion | Numbers 16:36–50 | 2026 May 15

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 16:36–50 | 2026 May 15

Scripture: Numbers 16:36–50 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 May 15

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

All right, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace. We have come to a new day to study the Daily Devotion. The passage we are studying today is Numbers chapter 16, verses 36 through 50. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You. We thank You that You are willing to show such kindness and mercy toward us. You have placed before us this pattern of intercession and mediation, so that we may truly give thanks and praise to You for all that the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished. We confess before You that we are foolish, Lord. We constantly sin and offend You. Lord, if You were not interceding for us in heaven, we would long ago have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. We thank You for Your intercession on our behalf, and we ask that You would continue to have mercy on us, so that in every day of our lives we may live in a way that glorifies Your name. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

All right, let us look at Numbers chapter 16, verses 36 through 40. This section speaks about the aftermath of the event, right? Korah’s company rebelled, so what should be done afterward? Their censers had to be collected. Why did the censers have to be collected? Because those censers had been offered before God. So I think there are several things here that we need to pay attention to.

First, although the earlier part of Scripture did not explicitly say it, it is very obvious that God had previously listened to their prayers. Right? We said that the censers represent prayer. They also had censers, and these censers were made of bronze. Now the text is becoming clearer and clearer. Before, it was not so clear what material they were made of. These bronze censers indicate that God had actually accepted the prayers of Korah’s company in the past. Otherwise, they would not have had censers at all. And here, God Himself says in verse 36 that these censers are holy. Verse 38 says that these censers had been offered before the LORD, therefore they are holy. So from this we can roughly infer that each of these leaders had his own censer, and the censer represented prayer.

But there was a problem. Their censers could not be brought directly before the LORD. Their censers only became effective through the censer of the high priest. This is the pattern we need to notice here. We should not think that it was wrong for them to possess censers. I think the text makes this very clear. The fact that they possessed censers was itself in accordance with God’s will. In fact, it was something God intentionally gave to them.

As we know, the censer represents prayer. In reality, God was willing to hear their prayers. However, the way their prayers were heard was that they had to be joined to the prayer of the high priest. In other words, they could not usurp the priesthood. They could not come directly into God’s presence by themselves. They had to come through a high priest. I think this is what we need to pay attention to.

And what was Korah’s problem? They believed that they themselves could come directly before God. They said, “All the congregation are holy,” right? “Why should God only speak through Moses and Aaron?” Of course, we already analyzed their selfish motives earlier, so we will not repeat that here. But from the perspective of ritual and ceremonial worship, they were allowed to pray. We must remember this: they were allowed to pray. However, their prayers could only become effective through the prayer of the high priest.

So Eleazar collected their bronze censers and used them to cover the altar. This altar refers to the bronze altar, because the altar inside the sanctuary was made of gold. The bronze altar was covered with these bronze plates as a memorial for the people of Israel. The text explains very clearly what this memorial was for: it was to remind the people that no outsider, who was not a descendant of Aaron, could come near before the LORD to burn incense.

Therefore, we understand that there are two levels involved in the burning of incense. On one level, these leaders, including Korah and his company, were indeed allowed to burn incense. They possessed bronze censers, and even these bronze censers themselves were something God approved of. However, their censers could only function through Aaron’s censer. Their prayers could only become effective through the intercession of the high priest. This is what we learn from verses 36 through 40.

And the fact that the censers were hammered into thin plates and used to cover the altar shows us the relationship between the censer and the altar. So if you really want to find the spiritual connection here, it is the relationship between atonement and intercession. If we use the language of systematic theology, that is what this passage is presenting.

What does this mean? It means that intercession is grounded upon atonement. Only because there is atonement can intercession become effective. Although this passage does not express that concept in a fully explicit way, you can still see the connection here. And this connection is very clearly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think we should be very clear in seeing that this passage points us to Christ.

In other words, every believer is allowed to pray. It is not that we are forbidden to pray. We can pray. However, the reason our prayers become effective is because the Lord Jesus Christ is continually interceding for us in heaven. And why is the intercession of Christ heard by the Father? It is because of His atoning work for us. At the altar, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He redeemed our sins and also fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. Therefore, He became the Mediator between God and man.

And because of His atonement, His intercession is effective. Therefore, all of our prayers must pass through the Lord Jesus Christ before they reach the throne of grace of the Father. It is not that our own prayers possess power in themselves. Rather, it is because the Lord Jesus intercedes for us that our prayers become effective. That is why we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But even more practically, the reality is that the Lord Jesus Christ is right now in heaven continually interceding for us before the Father. I think this scene should become a great encouragement to our lives.

I do not know how you brothers and sisters think about this matter, but I find this deeply encouraging. The Lord Jesus Christ not only died on the cross for us two thousand years ago. It is not merely that His death in the past has something to do with us. By faith we receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and God gives us the Holy Spirit, who leads us into a life of sanctification, leads us into justification, leads us into the adoption as sons, and continues to sanctify us. It is not only that.

There is another aspect of our relationship with Christ that we very easily overlook. Namely, right now in heaven, the Lord Jesus is interceding for us. Even at this very moment while I am recording this Daily Devotion, at this exact point in time, the Lord Jesus is interceding for me in heaven. He sends down the Holy Spirit so that my service may reach the throne of grace of the Father. From heaven He sends the Spirit into me so that I may serve.

So this Daily Devotion itself exists within this kind of living relationship. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus is not only something that happened two thousand years ago on the cross. It is something that takes place in every moment of daily life. Besides dwelling within us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit, at this very moment the God-man, Jesus Christ, bearing His true human body, is in heaven interceding for us.

I think this truth should become a great encouragement in our lives. It means that the Lord Jesus Christ has never for a single moment left us. He has never for a single moment stopped paying attention to us. He has never for a single moment stopped loving us. Therefore, brothers and sisters, if you encounter any suffering or hardship in your life, please remember this: at this very moment the Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for you. I believe that when we think upon this, strength will rise up within us.

Of course, the meaning of His intercession is not that He simply asks according to your personal desires. Do not misunderstand this. Do not think, “If I am sick, then I must immediately become healthy,” or “If I do not have work, then I must become rich,” or “My business must go smoothly in every way.” No, that is not what Jesus is interceding for. Jesus intercedes so that your life may become more abundant. He intercedes concerning your moral character, so that you may become increasingly like Christ. As for what kind of work you do, that is actually not the important thing. We already talked about that earlier, so we will not repeat it here.

Therefore, I think verses 36 through 40 present before us both the atonement and the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. They show us the relationship between these two things. They help us follow Him more faithfully, and they also help us understand that sacrifice is the foundation of intercession. The Lord Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, and He also intercedes for us. Thanks be to God for His grace.

And of course, this should encourage us to pray. Certainly it should. We should pray earnestly, asking according to the will of God, and in this way we may become increasingly pleasing before Him.

All right, next let us look at verses 41 through 50. Here once again we see the rebellion of the Israelites. This is already the third rebellion. Let us look back for a moment. In Numbers chapter 14, before this, things still appeared fine on the surface. But after the spies returned and gave a bad report, what did the people want to do? They wanted to return to Egypt. In chapter 14 verse 3, they had practically made up their minds to go back to Egypt. Then in verse 10, when they were about to stone Moses and Aaron, the glory of the LORD appeared. Later, because of Moses’ intercession, the matter was restrained.

Then came the formal rebellion of Korah’s company. Earlier, it had merely looked like people raising objections or offering opinions. But by the time of Korah’s rebellion, leaders had openly risen up against God. Once again, God revealed His will clearly. He struck these people down and caused the earth to swallow Korah’s company.

But then look at verse 41. The very next day, the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” They were rebelling again. This was the third rebellion. So we can see how exceedingly evil the human heart truly is. At this point, they were already standing completely under the judgment of God, and yet all they wanted was to preserve themselves.

They had already determined in their hearts to return to Egypt. The first time God clearly declared that He would destroy them, Moses interceded. The second time, again God declared judgment, and again Moses interceded. But now, once more, they grumbled and said, “You have killed the people of the LORD.”

So when we analyze their mindset, we can see that they simply could not accept the idea of wandering in the wilderness for forty years. They could not accept the fact that they themselves would fall in the wilderness. They wanted to save themselves. But they forgot that submitting to the will of God is the most beautiful thing of all. May God have mercy on them.

I noticed that many brothers and sisters wrote very good reflections about this. I will not repeat those thoughts here. So what happened when the congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron? The cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and said, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” This statement was repeated a second time. Right? Earlier, in Numbers 16:21, God had already said, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” Now again He says, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. The meaning is very clear: they were once again interceding. Moses and Aaron were still pleading, saying, “Please, do not do this. Please, do not destroy them.” Quickly, quickly now.

Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire from the altar into it, add incense, and quickly carry it to the congregation to make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” Moses understood that this time the wrath of God had truly broken out. What should be done now? This time, merely speaking to God in prayer was no longer enough. What could stop this judgment? There was only one way.

Moses understood the answer: the fire from the altar had to be taken and incense had to be offered. So here once again we see the connection between the altar and the censer, between atonement and intercession. The fire inside the censer had to come from the altar, because without atonement there can be no intercession. We already discussed this earlier. Therefore, incense had to be added quickly.

So Aaron did as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. But by then the plague had already begun among the people. Aaron added incense and made atonement for the people. Then he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

This time, the plague was not stopped simply because Moses spoke a few words before God. Instead, a real person had to stand between the living and the dead. The prayer symbolized by the censer had to be ignited with fire from the altar. A high priest had to stand between the living and the dead before the plague could be stopped. In this moment, the high priest became the mediator between God and man, and through that mediation the plague was restrained.

I think for us as New Testament Christians, this is extremely obvious. Ha, ha. This passage points directly to Jesus Christ. He is the true High Priest who became the Mediator between God and man. He bore our sins and stood between the living and the dead. This is very clear.

And when we look at the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from this perspective, everything becomes even more meaningful. What does it mean that He stood between the living and the dead? It means that He Himself had to bear the death brought by the plague. He Himself had to bear the consequence.

We are the ones who sinned and offended God. We are just like those Israelites in the wilderness who rebelled against Him. We also forget God’s grace. We also refuse to follow Him. We also want to return to Egypt. So what is needed? There must be a High Priest who takes the fire from the altar, offers incense before God, and stands between the living and the dead as a mediator. Only then can the plague be stopped.

Thanks be to God for His grace. In the end, all of this was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ became flesh and came among us. We were dead people, right? We were spiritually dead. Yet He came among us, full of grace and truth. He lived for thirty-three years, and then for our sins He was nailed to the cross. He shed His precious blood, died, was buried, and descended into Hades. In this way He bore the sins of all His people. Every sin had to be paid for by Him.

At the same time, during those thirty-three years, the Lord Jesus also fulfilled perfect righteousness. Then He clothed us with His robe of righteousness, so that we might have the qualification for eternal life before God and become living people before Him. He became dead for us, and He also obtained for us the right to become truly alive.

The plague was stopped. Only such a High Priest, One who was willing to die for us, could truly become the real Mediator. Therefore, all these symbols and pictures are types and prophecies pointing forward to Christ.

So I think there are some people who do not like reading the Old Testament. They say things like, “The God of the Old Testament seems harsh, while Jesus in the New Testament seems loving.” Those are really the words of people who do not understand what they are talking about. In reality, the more clearly we understand the Old Testament, the more deeply we understand the richness of Christ’s redemption.

The Lord Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament. Therefore, when we read the Old Testament through the light of the New Testament, and then also read the New Testament under the illumination of the Old Testament, comparing the two together, our understanding of Jesus Christ becomes clearer and clearer.

So it is not only that the New Testament illuminates the Old Testament. The Old Testament also illuminates the New Testament. Right? You see, through passages like these, including all those passages we studied earlier in Exodus and Leviticus, our understanding of Christ’s redemption for us becomes increasingly clear. Thanks be to God for His grace, because He is that High Priest who truly offered such a sacrifice for us and redeemed us from sin so that we might obtain eternal life.

Otherwise, this passage would actually be very difficult to understand. Think about it. Why would taking a censer with fire from the altar suddenly make atonement? It feels strange, does it not? Because according to the law, atonement required the offering of a sin offering. Right? Animals were supposed to be sacrificed. So why does this High Priest suddenly stand between the living and the dead holding a censer, and somehow atonement is accomplished? On the surface, it does not seem to fit the law.

But this is precisely what points us toward the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when you understand the Old Testament from this perspective, suddenly everything opens up before you.

Then why could the High Priest holding the censer make atonement for the people? Because he used fire from the altar. What does that mean? It means that the sacrifice offered upon the altar had become effective at that moment. The wrath of the Father was turned away. Therefore, thanks be to God for His grace.

I think in today’s passage, verses 36 through 50, we should think more deeply about the redemption accomplished for us by Jesus Christ. We are people who deserve destruction. We live in sin. We do not obey the law of God. Everything we do is imperfect. Like the Israelites, our hearts constantly long for Egypt. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ did not despise us and did not cast us away. He still died for us on the cross, shed His precious blood, rose again for us, ascended into heaven for us, and now continues to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father.

So what should this truth encourage us to do? It should encourage us to love the Lord more deeply. It should encourage us to live a godly life. I think events like these are already more than enough to serve as warnings for us.

These Israelites rebelled three times, and in the end what did they gain? Only more rapid destruction. Right? They did not want to remain in the wilderness for forty years, but what happened? Verse 49 says that besides those who died because of Korah, 14,700 people died because of the plague. If they refused to submit, then they only died more quickly. Judgment came upon them even faster.

So this passage teaches us that these things are examples and warnings for us. Never imitate the Israelites by constantly wanting to return to Egypt. Do not go back. Even if we are disciplined in the wilderness, we should still follow God. There is no problem with remaining in the wilderness, because as long as we trust in Jesus Christ, even the wilderness can become Canaan.

Therefore, for us, we must completely abandon every thought of turning back. Do not think, “Let me continue wandering in the world a little longer and gain a few more earthly benefits.” Do not cherish Egypt in your heart. Do not be like Rachel, who when leaving Laban still carried household idols with her. We do not need those things. All of them should be cast away completely. We should follow the Lord Jesus Christ with a single heart and mind.

He has already died for us on the cross. Is there any good thing He would withhold from us? As Romans chapter 8 says later on. Therefore, for us, we should faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ and live a holy life. We must never again be like the Israelites, loving this world.

May God help us during this process. Through the redemption and atonement of Jesus Christ, through His atoning sacrifice and His intercession, may we offer our lives to the Lord. What a glorious thing this is. What a pleasing thing before God this is. What abundant blessings we may receive from Him. May God have mercy upon us.

All right, our sharing today will end here. Thank you, everyone.