We haven’t talked about the Tabernacle in some time, even though it dominated the conversation in the second half of Exodus.
Indeed, we talked about it so much, that I wondered if we would ever get around to talking about what actually happened inside the Tabernacle. But I digress.
Numbers 16 allows a glimpse back into the construction of the Tabernacle—or, more specifically, into a later addition to the bronze altar. If you remember from Exodus 29, the bronze altar was the place where sacrifices were made by the priests. It was enormous, constantly lit, and centrally located in the courtyard. You couldn’t miss it.
Despite its size, God demands that the censers that were used in Korah’s rebellion be made into hammered plating for the altar. Why? Because the censers were holy, so they couldn’t just be discarded with the everyday trash.
Their holiness answers one major question as to why they made another layer of plating, but it doesn’t answer the other: Did the altar even need more plating? According to Exodus 27:2, the altar already had a layer of bronze. Why did it need more?
There is a note in the Septuagint for Exodus 38:2—which also talks about the initial bronze layer—that claims this first layer was the one supplied by Korah’s censers.
If that’s true though, that means that from the time of its construction until Numbers 16 (which could have been several months, if not years), the wood underneath laid bare. That’s hard to imagine when God took such great pains to make sure every detail was taken care of and completed before service.
Instead, we have to assume that this is legitimately a second layer of bronze. But still…why?
The Text provides the answer to this in Numbers 16:38-40, when It says that this layer “will be a sign” to the sons of Israel so that no one who is not a priest would “burn incense before the Lord.”
In the end, the censers stood as a constant reminder to the people of Israel of what happens when you challenge God’s authority and the authority of those whom He delegates for service.
Unfortunately, this example didn’t convince everyone, as King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16-21) later tried to offer incense himself, instead of reserving that for the priests. He did so for the exact same reason that Korah did: Because he thought he was as holy as anyone else.
God’s authority is all throughout the Old Testament, but it’s an idea that we often overlook in the New Testament. We’re so obsessed with grace and mercy and forgiveness and patience that we forget that God is fundamentally a God of reverence.
Examples like Korah remind us just who we are actually worshipping.