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God did not just punish the challengers, He killed them and their families and followers. When the people complained, 14,700 more died of the plague. Only Aaron, the rightful priest, offering incense as only he should, was able to atone and stop the plague. In the same way that the Levites camped around the Ark to form a buffer between the people and God, Aaron's sons would stand between them and God to deliver them from judgment. God's sign that Aaron had God-given priestly authority was unmistakable. Twelve rods representing the twelve tribes were left overnight in the tent of the testimony. The next day, Aaron's rod had not only sprouted and budded; it had blossomed and born ripe almonds. This was kept in the Art of the Covenant as a lasting reminder to all who would rebel against the priestly leadership God had established.
Numbers Chapters 16-17 contain a single narrative that recounts another Israelite rebellion and its disastrous conclusion. The narrative is divided into seven parts:
Part I: The announcement of the revolt (16:1-3)
Part II: Moses' response to the rebels (16:4-15)
Part III: The test of divinely appointed leadership (16:16-19)
Part IV: Yahweh's judgment (16:20-35)
Part V: The sign of the bronze censers/firepans (17:1-5/16:36-40)
Part VI: The plague judgment and Aaron's intercession (17:6/16:41-15/16:50)
Part VII: The miracle of Aaron's living branch (17:16-26)
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Chapter 17: Aaron's Priestly Authority Confirmed
Numbers 17:1-5/16:36-40 The Firepans of the Dead Rebels
Question: Why was Eleazar commanded to scatter the fire that remained from the destruction of the rebels and to collect the bronze metal firepans?
Answer: The fire was holy because it came from Yahweh. It must be scattered for the flames to die out so that no one will try to collect it and put it to profane use. Consumed by holy fire, the metal of the firepans have now become consecrated and must be used as holy objects. To keep the metal from being used in a profane way, the bronze will be applied to a sacred object.
Numbers 17:6-15/16:41-50 Aaron Offers Expiation for the People's Sin
We cannot loose sight of the fact that sin within the covenant community can be judged both individually and collectively. The entire community, bound to Yahweh as one person, had the obligation to suppress opposition to the Law and to punish those whose intent was to damage Israel's covenant bond with Yahweh. If the community fails in its covenant obligations, the whole community is at risk in facing divine judgment. The community of Israel refused to accept God's divine judgment concerning the rebellion of Korah and company. Instead of blaming Korah, they blamed Moses and Aaron for the deaths of their brother Israelites. Blaming God's ordained leaders of the covenant community for just actions in accord with their covenant obligations is the same as blaming God. The pillar of cloud that was over the Tabernacle moved to the center of the Sanctuary courtyard, and it probably changed from a white pillar to a fiery red pillar.
At God's warning, Moses and Aaron obediently got out of the line of holy wrath, but then Moses again took charge and sent Aaron into the breach between the sinful people and God's righteous wrath.
Question: What is ironic about Aaron's use of incense to stop the plague?
Answer: The same incense that caused the destruction when used by unauthorized persons now averts destruction when it is used by the divinely authorized person.
Question: How does the death judgment in this rebellion compare to the deaths in the rebellion of the Golden Calf? See Ex 32:25-28.
Answer: In this rebellion, including those who died in the plague, the two hundred and fifty who died offering incense and those on the south side of the camp of Korah and the Reubenites who were swallowed by the earth, five times more people died than those that died in the revolt of the Golden Calf.
Notice that it was Aaron who stood in the breech between life and death. Aaron and the Aaronic priesthood stands before the people as a bridge between the people and God and between life and death, offering expiation for sin and teaching the Law that leads to life.
In the fortieth year after leaving Egypt, when the tribes of Israel are assembled on the Plains of Moab in preparation for the conquest of Canaan, the five daughters of Zelophehad of the tribe of Manasseh will petition Moses, Eleazar (then the high priest) and the leaders of the tribes to inherit their father's portion of the Promised Land since they have no brothers. They will frame their petition by including that their father had no part in what they call "Korah's revolt".
Numbers 17:16-26/ 17:1-13 The Sign of Aaron's Branch
To end the question of who has authority over the community among the tribal chieftains, Yahweh provided a final, definitive sign. The test of the chieftain's staffs is intended to settle the issue once and for all.
Question: Where is Moses commanded to place the twelve staffs of the tribes with Aaron's staff?
Answer: According to verse 25, all the tribal leader's staffs were placed in the Holy of Holies front of the Ark of the Testimony, also called the Ark of the Covenant. After the miracle, Aaron's staff was to remain in the Holy of Holies with the Ark.
Question: The inspired writer of the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews records that later three sacred objects were kept inside the Ark of the Covenant. What were those three objects?
Answer: A golden jar filled with manna (the bread that came from heaven), Aaron's staff /branch that budded, and the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Question: How do those three objects prefigure Christ and the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant? Hint: "branch" is one of the Messiah's messianic titles in the books of the prophets.
Answer: Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven; He is the dead branch that came back to life; and He is the living Word of God. Jesus was all three of these signs present in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
Agape Bible Commentary
Deuteronomy 16:18-17:The Appointment of Judges and Other Officials
These commands are in addition to the other commands for judges to act with impartiality and to not subvert justice:
- The Book of the Covenant (Ex 23:3)
- The Holiness Code (Lev 19:15)
- Earlier in Deuteronomy (Dt 1:16-18 and 10:17).
Local courts of law were to be established in each community (verses 18-20), appointing men who are impartial (Dt 16:19), wise and experienced (Dt 1:19). Difficult cases were to be sent to the high court of Levitical priests over which the High Priest presided (Dt 17:8-13). Judges were to show no partiality-they were not to sympathize with the poor, nor were they to be impressed by the wealthy.
Next follows three prohibitions concerning worship at God's altar that judges and officials must be vigilant in preventing.
Question: What are the three forbidden practices? Also see Ex 23:24; 34:12-13; Num 33:52; Lev 22:20-25.
Answer:
- Do not set up a pagan sacred pole or any kind of wood beside Yahweh's altar.
- Do not set up any pagan standing-stones.
- Do not offer Yahweh blemished or physically defective for sacrifice.
Chapter 17:2-20: Levitical Courts and the Rules for a King
The Prosecution of Apostates
Question: How were witnesses to take personal responsibility for testimony in death penalty cases?
Answer: The witnesses were to cast the first stones in the execution. If they conspired together to lie and condemned an innocent person, then they were guilty of murder and would be held accountable by God before His judgment throne.
The blood of the apostate was not permitted to pollute the ground of the town of the faithful covenant people, nor was any dead body to be buried within the town limits.
Question: Where were the condemned executed, what restrictions were placed on their burial, and where were all bodies buried? See Dt 21:23; Josh 8:29; 10:26-27; Mt 27:57-60; Mk 15:42-47; Lk 23:50-55; Jn 19:38-42.
Answer: People were executed outside the walls of a town and all graves were to be outside the limits of the town. The executed had to be buried before sundown.
All death penalty verdicts were carried out outside the limits of the town or outside the city walls, including Jesus' crucifixion in the spring of 30 AD.
Deuteronomy 17:8-13 Levitical Judges
Difficult cases were to be referred to the High Court where the High Priest resides with the Sanctuary. The High Court's decision is final and defiance of its ruling is a death penalty offense. A case of murder could be referred to the High Court if the local court could not decide if it was a case of manslaughter or homicide. In some cases, passions might be too enflamed and the community too divided for the local judges to feel they could safely render a decision. In such cases, the High Court took on the responsibility of rendering the final verdict, over which there was no appeal.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 Rules for a Limited Monarchy
The choice of Israel to have a king is optional; it is the only office mentioned that is optional. Yahweh is Israel's king, but God knows that in the future the Israelites will demand to have a human king to represent their nation like their neighbors (see 1 Sam 8:1-9).
Question: What were the laws concerning the selection of a king of Israel and how he was to rule the nation?
Answer:
- Israel's king had to be chose by God from among the Israelites; a foreigner was not eligible.
- He must not acquire many horses.
- He must not send officials back to Egypt to increase his cavalry.
- He must not acquire many (foreign) wives, which will lead him away from Yahweh.
- He must not acquire vast amounts of wealth.
- At the dictation of the Levites, he must write down a copy of the Law.
- He must read his copy of the Law daily.
- He must not think himself superior as an excuse to abuse his people.
Scripture records that God personally selected, through His holy prophets, Israel's kings Saul, David, and David's son Solomon as well kings Jeroboam and Jehu who ruled over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. All other legitimate kings of Israel were to be Solomon's descendants according to the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. A foreigner was not eligible to be a legitimate king of the covenant people.
| Rules for a King | Rules Broken by Solomon |
| He must be an Israelite chosen by God. | |
| He must not have many horses or send people back to Egypt to increase his cavalry (Dt 17:16). | Solomon had 4,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and twelve thousand cavalrymen (1 Kng 5:1-2). He imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 silver shekels and built up a force of chariots and cavalry with imported horses (1 Kng 10:26-29). |
| He must not acquire many wives, for that could lead his heart astray (Dt 17:17a). | Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of his wives were pagans, including an Egyptian princess. He allowed them to set up pagan shrines and offered sacrifice to their gods (1 Kng 9:24; 11:1-13; 2 Chr 8:11). |
| He must not acquire vast quantities of silver and gold (Dt 17:16b). | Solomon acquired vast quantities of wealth, including 666 talents of gold (1 Kng 10:14-25). |
| He must write a copy of the Deuteronomic Code, dictated by the priests, and must read it every day of his life. | |
| A king must not think he is superior and so abuse his people. | Solomon so heavily taxed his people that they revolted when his son came to power (1 Kng 12:4-5; 12-19). |
| Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2011 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved. | |
Note the use of the numbers 600 and 666; 6 is a number in Scripture that often symbolizes man's rebellion against God: Goliath was 6 cubits tall and King Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide (Dan 3:1-7). The only other place in Scripture where the number 666 is found is in the book of Revelation; it is the number of the name of the beast (Rev 13:17-18). Solomon began his reign as a man of God, but power corrupted him and he fell away from God as his first love.
Question: What is absolutely unique about this section of the Deuteronomic Code?
Answer: It is Yahweh's requirement that the King of Israel to be subject to Law and not above it, as in the case of all other kings in this period of history.
Question: What are the implications concerning God's prophecy that the Israelites would one day ask for a human king?
Answer: God is Israel's great king. The Israelites were to put their trust in Him and not in any human being. Their request for a human king would arise from faltering faith and trust in Yahweh.
Question: When the request came, how did the prophet Samuel interpret the Israelite's request for a human king and what was God's response? See 1 Sam 8:6-9.
Answer: When their request did come, the prophet Samuel rightly interpreted their request as a rejection of God's divine leadership. God affirmed Samuel's interpretation, but told Samuel to grant their request after telling the people the burden a human king would place on them.
In Deuteronomy 16:18-18:22, Moses laid out God's historical blueprint for Israel's constitutional government, placing limitations on the absolute authority of political and religious leaders. Moses addressed the responsibilities and the limits of authority for four kinds of Israel's representatives:
- Judges (Dt 16:18-17:22)
- Kings (Dt 17:14-20)
- Priests (Dt 18:1-8)
- Prophets (Dt 18:9-22)
Chapter 18: The Levitical Priests, Ministers and Prophets
In this chapter the list continues with the responsibilities of Yahweh's chief priests and lesser ministers of the tribe of Levi and the role of Yahweh's prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:1-8 The Levitical Priesthood of Chief Priests and Lesser Levitical Ministers
Question: Why were the chief priests and the Levites without share or heritage in the Promised Land? See Num 18:20-24; 35:1-8; Dt 14:22
Answer: They were not to be given plots of ancestral land since their lives were dedicated to God in ministerial service. Their heritage was God because God promised to provide for them. The Israelites lived off the blessings of the land and the chief priests and Levites lived off the tithe the Israelites were commanded to give to the ministers of the Sanctuary. The Levites also receive Levitical towns and cities of refuge.
Question: Who were the Levitical priests? See Ex 6:18-20; 28:1-4, 40-43; 29:1-30; Heb 5:1; Sirach 45:7-22/27.
Answer: They are the chief priests who were the descendants of Moses' brother Aaron of the tribe of Levi and the clan of Kohath. God made a covenant with Aaron and his descendants. They alone were qualified to minister at Yahweh altar of sacrifice and in the Tabernacle (Tent of Testimony).
Question: Who were the lesser ministers? Num 1:49-53; 3:6-13; 8:5-6, 14-19.
Answer: The lesser ministers were all the other Levites of the three clans that made up the tribe of Levi (Gershon, Kohath and Merari) who were not descendants of Aaron. They served the chief priests and were responsible for guarding and transporting the Sanctuary.
Question: What limitations were placed on the Levitical lesser ministers that separated them from their brothers in the tribe of Levi who where chief priests descended from Aaron? See Lev 1:5-6-9, 11-17; 2:16; 3:1-5, 8, 13; 4:7, 20, 26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 26; 6:2-6; 6:18, 22; 7:1, 6, 28-36; chapter 8; Num 3:9-10; 18:1-24.
Answer:
- They were not anointed or ordained and did not wear the priestly garments.
- They could not serve at the altar or offer the sacrifices.
- They could not touch the sacred vessels.
- They could not forgive sins.
- They could not eat the sacred meal of the sin sacrifices.
- They were not eligible to receive the priestly portions of sacrifices.
- Their term of service was limited to age 50.
- They could not enter the Tabernacle.
- They served the chief priests as "dedicated" men.
- They guarded and transported the Sanctuary.
Question: What was the function of the priesthood of Aaron? See Ex 28:1-4; Lev 3:20, 35; 6:1/6:8-6/13, 17/24-23/30; 7:32/22-36/26; 16:2, 29-34; Dt 33:10; Mal 2:7.
Answer: Prerogatives of the chief priests:
- It was the duty of the priesthood of Aaron to proclaim the Law.
- The priests were anointed and ordained to serve at the altar, offering the communal and individual sacrifices of the people.
- They wore liturgical vestments when ministering in the Sanctuary.
- The priests served in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle.
- The High Priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year on the Feast of Atonement.
- They had the authority to forgive the sins of the people and to eat the sin sacrifices in a sacred meal.
- The priests restored communion with God by sacrifice and prayer.
Question: How was the power of the Old Covenant priesthood limited? What blessing couldn't they offer God's covenant people? See Heb 5:3; 7:27; 10:1-4 and CCC 1540.
Answer: Old Covenant priesthood was powerless to offer the gift of eternal salvation through their sacrifices. The sin sacrifices had to be repeated over and over again, while the single, perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross offered atonement for the sins of all of mankind in every age.
Question: What did the Old Covenant ordained priesthood, the lesser ministers and the religious hierarchy prefigure in the New Covenant Church of Jesus Christ? See CCC 1541; Heb 7:20-27 and 8:1-3.
Answer: The Old Covenant institution of ministry and service prefigures the New Covenant priests and deacons who serve the people and Yahweh in the Church founded by Jesus Christ; like the priests who served God at the altar, our priests represent Christ in the sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus Christ is our eternal High Priest who continues to offer His one perfect sacrifice in the heavenly Sanctuary for the salvation of mankind; the deacons serve as our lesser ministers of the Sanctuary.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 The Israelites must reject all Prophets who do not serve Yahweh
Before introducing the office of God's holy prophet, Moses gives a list of other means of attempting to predict the future apart from God, which he emphatically condemns. The warning against false prophets has already been given (i.e., Dt 13:2-6/1-5), but in this section Moses begins by identifying false prophets before he defines what it means to be a true prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:13-22 The True Prophet
Question: Who is the first man to be called a prophet of Yahweh in the Pentateuch? See Gen 20:7.
Answer: Abraham is called a prophet by King Abimelech, meaning that the king considered Abraham to have a privileged standing before his God and was therefore a powerful intercessor.
Question: For Christians, what single event in the Gospels unquestionably reveals that Jesus isn't just "a prophet" but that He is the promised prophet in Deuteronomy 18:18-19? See Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:35). What did Jesus say about the origin of the words He spoke? See Jn 14:24.
Answer: God's command in Deuteronomy is that the people must listen to the prophet like Moses that He will send to speak His words. On the Mt. of Transfiguration, when Jesus revealed Himself in His glory to the Apostles Peter, James and John in the presence of Moses and Elijah, the Apostles heard a voice from heaven commanding: "This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him" (Mt 17:5; emphasis added). The command to "listen," found in all three Synoptic Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, is the same command as in Dt 18:19. And, in fulfillment of Moses' prophecy that the future prophet like him would speak the word of God, Jesus testified ... And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me.
Jesus may have also revealed to the Jewish crowd that He is the prophet Moses prophesied to the people and who Moses wrote about for future generations in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, when Jesus said: Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you have placed your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be the one who accuses you. If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was about me that he was writing; but if you will not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say? (Jn 5:45-47). And, in his teaching at the Temple after Pentecost, St. Peter spoke of the promise of Christ's Second Coming and referred to the prophecy of a prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 and 19: Then he will send you the Christ he has predestined, that is Jesus, whom heaven must deep till the universal restoration comes which God proclaimed, speaking through his holy prophets. Moses, for example, said, "From among your brothers the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me; you will listen to whatever he tells you. Anyone who refuses to listen to that prophet shall be cut off from the people." In fact, all the prophets that have ever spoken, from Samuel onwards, have predicted these days (Acts 3:20-24). Later, addressing the Sanhedrin and giving his witness of Jesus as the Christ, St. Stephen will refer to the same prophecy (Acts 7:37).
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A Daily Defense
Day 66
An Eye for an Eye
CHALLENGE: “The Old Testament laws stating that people should be punished in an ‘eye for an eye’ fashion are cruel.”
DEFENSE: Properly understood, these passages expressed a principle of justice and sought to promote the common good. Three passages mention the “eye for an eye” principle: Exodus 21:22–25, Leviticus 24:17–21, and Deuteronomy 19:16–21.
The first deals with the case of men who are fighting and accidentally injure a pregnant woman, causing miscarriage. The second deals with a man who attacks and maims another. The third deals with a witness who lies in court to harm an innocent person.
In each passage a similar formula occurs: “you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exod. 21:23–25).
Note that these passages are intended to be used by a court when a crime has been committed. They aren’t instructions telling people to take personal revenge.
The point of having a court system is to prevent people from doing that by seeing that justice is done when an innocent party is harmed. If people take their own revenge, they often do so excessively. A person who has been wounded or has seen a loved one wounded may kill the perpetrator. Courts exist to keep this from happening. To do their job properly, courts need to be seen as administering justice fairly. If they are seen as being too lenient, people may take matters into their own hands.
Thus the “eye for an eye” passages. They direct courts to let the punishment fit the crime, which is a fundamental principle of justice. This promoted the common good and order of society by discouraging people from taking their own revenge.
In a world without an extensive prison system, this may have literally meant “an eye for an eye,” though not always. Numbers 35:31 specifies that no ransom can be accepted in a case of murder, suggesting that in lesser cases the guilty party could pay compensation. A person thus might avoid “an eye for an eye” if he provided appropriate compensation to the injured party.
Justice can also be tempered by mercy in other ways. Thus Jesus counseled individuals to “turn the other cheek” rather than pressing for “eye for an eye” justice (Matt. 5:38–39).
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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