Numbers 16:36-40 King James Version (KJV)
36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
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:
40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

Numbers 16:36-40 Amplified Bible (AMP)

36 And the Lord said to Moses,
37 Speak to Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning and scatter the fire at a distance. For the censers are hallowed—
38 The censers of these men who have sinned against themselves and at the cost of their own lives. Let the censers be made into hammered plates for a covering of the altar [of burnt offering], for they were used in offering before the Lord and therefore they are sacred. They shall be a sign [of warning] to the Israelites.
39 Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers with which the Levites who were burned had offered incense, and they were hammered into broad sheets for a covering of the [brazen] altar [of burnt offering],
40 To be a memorial [a warning forever] to the Israelites, so that no outsider, that is, no one not of the descendants of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he become as Korah and as his company, as the Lord said to Eleazar through Moses.

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation


These are my thoughts, please share yours.

36 The Lord thru Moses which showed who God had in charge.

37 They were used in serving God so they were holy and needed to be kept.

38 The ones of the evil were still used for serving God but because they were misused they would become something else to be used by God. It was also to be changed so that the people could remember what had happened. Sometimes we need to keep things to remember, it is good to remember so we do not make the same mistakes again.

39 The priest God had chosen did what God wanted not what he wanted. Often times God chooses people because they are willing to serve Him without questioning or defying Him.

40 By having a memorial they would remember what the Lord did to those that defied Him, they were judged, those defy God will be judged.

This reading reminds me of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass. As the censors were hammered into something else to serve God, so was Christ hammered in order to save His people. It is always amazing to me how every word of the Old Testament gets hammered, too, and is seen in fulfillment in the New through Christ, Our Redeemer.

And in this we are blessed. The formula for God blessing is that He first lifts it up, breaks it, and then presses it down.