Study in the Epistle of Jude # 61: Verse 11

by Chris McCann

EBible Fellowship (http://www.ebiblefellowship.com)

Welcome to the Electronic Bible Fellowship’s Bible study. We are in Numbers 16, and we are learning more about Korah and his rebellion. We have begun to get into the matter of censers, as we have seen that Moses commanded Korah and his company to take censers, place fire therein, put incense in them, and then come before the Lord. Before we get into that, though, let us back up a little bit, because we do not want to overlook anything that might be of significance. Of course, everything is significant—we just want to make sure that we are touching all of the right points before we move on. Numbers 16:2 says:

And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

The number 250, as everything else in the Bible, has a spiritual meaning. Now we may not be able to find the spiritual meaning for this particularly large number of 250, but there are certain large numbers that do have spiritual meanings attached to them. For example, the number 153, which we read about in John 21 where 153 fish were caught in the net that did not break, has a spiritual meaning. It points to all those whom God intends to save during the last days of the Great Tribulation. Also, the death-age of Sarah at 127 years has spiritual meaning. Sarah typifies believers, and she is representing all the believers. The number 127 is also used in connection with the number of provinces that King Ahasuerus, the king of the Medes and the Persians, rules over, as we read in the book of Esther. It represents his complete rule over the whole world, just as Sarah’s death-age of 127 points to her representation of the believers throughout the whole world.

However, the number 250 is not the kind of number that can stand by itself. It is a number that can be broken down into smaller numbers, and we find that it can be broken down in a number of ways. One way is to break it down into two times five times five times five. The number two is pointing to the church, and the number five is a number that has to do with either grace or judgment.

In this case, it is most definitely the judgment of God that is in view, and that is why the number five is repeated three times. It is the purpose of God to bring judgment upon these rebels who have risen up against Him, who have dared to speak against Moses and Aaron, and who are standing in the place of God.

These 250 princes of the assembly are famous in the congregation, men of renown. This is the other thing that we want to look at before we move on. Genesis 6:4 says:

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

We read a verse like this and we wonder, “What is God talking about?” When we see “men of renown” both in Genesis 6:4 and in Numbers 16, it is historically speaking of men who were well-to-do and well-known in the congregation. That is why it says that they were famous in the congregation. People would have recognized their names. In other words, if you would have mentioned the name of one of these 250 princes to any of the people of Israel, they would have said, “Oh yes, I know him. He is a leader in Israel, a prince in Israel.” Historically, that is what it means to be a man of renown.

We use that same kind of language today when we speak about people who are famous, those who are men of renown. These are widely known people. They are the ones who are well respected, or they simply have famous names. You can go to many cities within our land and the actors or the athletes who are especially gifted and who have been successful in their field will be easily recognized—these are the famous ones. Everyone in the world today desires either to be one of these famous people or to know them. People get a thrill whenever someone who is famous happens across their path. The autographs of these famous people are highly desired. People are thrilled if someone who is famous actually stops to sign their name on a piece of paper. This is something that they will cherish.

This is how the world is and how it operates, and I think that a verse like Numbers 16:2 is giving us some insight into the fact that the world has not changed much at all. It would have been the same case then, though not to the degree it is today. There would have been men who were highly esteemed among their peers of Israel, among their fellow Israelites. They would have been the ones that the Israelites would have looked to in times of trouble and crisis. These were the princes, the famous ones, and those that were renowned among the people of Israel.

Historically, that is what I think that this means. Yet spiritually, God has something else in view. The Hebrew word that is translated as “renown” is actually translated into another English word, the word “name.” They were “men of a name.” It is the same word in Genesis 6:4 as it is in Numbers 16—these men were famous in the congregation, men of a name.

When we think of that, we wonder, “What name were these men associated with?” They were the people of God; they were Jews, Israelites. This is the claim that they were making about themselves—”We are holy. God is among us. We are the chosen ones of God.” This is the name that these Israelites were identified with, the name of God Himself.

This is also the name that those giants in the earth of Genesis 6:4 were associated with. We read that the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men. The sons of God are the believers, the ones who are associated with the line of the faithful, the line of those who have identification with God Himself. They had children, and the same became mighty men that were of old, men of renown. Once again, we see the identification is with God Himself.

A verse that really paints the picture that God is illustrating, I think, is Revelation 3:1. It says there:

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

There is the name that each Christian possesses. We have the name of “Christian” that says we live, we are children of God, and we are born again. “I am a Christian,” it says. “I am someone who is in the family of Christ. God has saved me.” We have a name that we live.

So did these men. They were princes of Israel, famous in the congregation, men of renown, men of a name. If any were alive spiritually, it would have been them. They were the leaders of Israel. They were not your ordinary, average Israelites, but the specially gifted ones. They were learned in the traditions of the fathers and in the history of Israel. They were the leaders. Of course they had a name that they lived—they were the princes of the assembly.

That is what they are coming forth and saying—”All the congregation is holy.” When they say that “we are all holy and the Lord is among us,” they are really saying, “We are spiritually alive because God has saved us. We are the people of God.”

This is the very question that God is going to address. He says, “No, I have selected certain ones to be priests and to offer sacrifices.” This, spiritually, is pointing to the fact that God has elected certain ones to salvation, and those that He has elected are His people. Jesus Christ came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). He came to draw some unto Himself and to pay the penalty for their sins, not for everyone’s. He did not die for the sins of everyone in the world, or even of everyone in the churches. Christ did not save every single person who professes the name of God, but He saved His people, a certain, limited number of individuals.

Many are envious at this; they do not like it at all. Consequently, they rebel against this teaching. Yet when they rebel against the doctrine of election, they are really rebelling against God Himself, just as Korah and his companions were. Now, God is going to show who are His people with these censers. We read in Numbers 16:6-7:

This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow…

What does this test of censers have to do with? In order to find out, let us turn to Leviticus 16:11-13. It says there:

And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

This is to take place on the Day of Atonement, that time that came once a year when the high priest was to enter inside the Holy of Holies. We see that the censer was an integral part of the sacrifice that was to be offered on that day. The high priest, which was Aaron, was to take a censer full of burning coals of fire.

The censer, by the way, if we were wondering what it was exactly, is mentioned in Exodus 27:3. There, I think, we have a more apt description of it. We read:

And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

The word “firepan” is the exact same word as “censer.” That is exactly what it was—it was a pan made of brass to hold fire. The coals that were burning with fire would be taken from off the altar and placed in this pan, this firepan called a “censer.” It would be held by the hand of the high priest, as he would go inside the Holy of Holies. Then he would take his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, bring it within the veil, and put the incense upon the fire before the Lord. He would drop some of that incense on the burning coals of fire in the firepan. Following, the cloud of the incense would begin to rise, as it says in Leviticus 16:13, that it “may cover the Mercy Seat that is upon the Testimony, that he die not “

This Testimony, the Ark of the Testimony, is where the Ten Commandments were kept—they were inside the Ark. That represented the complete Law of God, the number ten pointing to completeness. In other words, it represented the whole Bible. Now what does that Law do but condemn man? The Law finds mankind guilty of breaking it, and the penalty for breaking the Law of God is eternal damnation. Therefore, the Testimony inside the Holy of Holies is condemning man.

That is why it was necessary for the high priest to go in with the blood of a sacrificial animal—this is one picture that we see here—which he would sprinkle upon the Mercy Seat. This was pointing to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He would give His life for the sins of His people. He would pay the penalty that the Law demands; He would pay the equivalent of an eternity in Hell for each of those whom He came to save, thereby satisfying the requirements of the Law for each one whom God had chosen to salvation (Ephesians 1:4).

Another picture here is that the high priest would go in with the censer, the firepan, full of burning coals. That pan full of burning coals represents Hell. Whenever we read about fire in the Bible, it is normally pointing to the fires of Hell, and that is the case here. The burning coals are a picture of the wrath of God as a fire has been kindled in His anger against the sinners of the world, against mankind (Jeremiah 17:4).

The high priest takes the censer full of these burning coals. He puts incense upon the fire and the cloud of the incense begins to rise up. That incense is a picture, a representation, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was placed upon the fires of Hell; He is the Lamb of God that was slain to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He is that sacrificial lamb that was placed upon the burning fire, and He is that incense that was placed upon those burning coals.

In Ephesians in 5:2, we read:

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

That “sweetsmelling savour” has to do with the burnt offering, which also is called a “sweet savour” in Exodus 29:18. Certainly, as this incense rose up, it would be a sweetsmelling savour unto God. This is again a picture of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ as He was enduring the wrath of God in the stead of each one whom God chose to save.

This is also the picture in Isaiah 6. Isaiah has a vision of God, that glorious vision, where he sees God high and lifted up and seated upon His throne. We read in Isaiah 6:3-7:

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

That burning coal from off the altar represents the fires of Hell that purge away sin. Christ is the One who can apply that salvation of God; He is the One who can apply that spiritual washing away of sin to each of His elect. That is what happened to Isaiah; that is the picture there.

So it is with the high priest. He goes into the Holy of Holies with the censer full of the coals burning, and he places the incense upon them. A cloud of smoke rises up and covers the Mercy Seat. This is the satisfaction, the appeasement, of the Law. The picture is that now the Law of God cannot see the sin of the sinner because the Law is covered with this incense. This is the satisfaction of the Law’s demands. The Law demands that an eternity be spent in Hell, so Christ is placed in the pit of Hell and suffers that wrath of God. Now the Law is covered over and it no longer points a finger at the sinner whom God has saved. The penalty of the Law has been satisfied and completed. This is what the censer has to do with.

That is why Moses says to Korah, “Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;” that is, take this representation of the true Gospel of the Bible that points to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, it is a figure of the Gospel itself, of the truth of the Word of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “And put fire therein,” Moses says. That is what the priest would do on that Day of Atonement. He would take the fire and put incense in it. Moses is saying to Korah and his company, “You say that you are holy. You say that you are priests, and that all the Lord’s people are in the same spiritual situation. Therefore, perform a duty of a priest. Perform a duty of the high priest and take this censer and put fire and incense therein.”

This is an extremely dangerous thing for Korah and his company to involve themselves with. We remember what happened earlier in Leviticus 10. We read in verses 1-2:

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

This is a tragic thing. Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron; that is, they were in the proper and correct line for the priesthood. They were children of Aaron, whom God had decided would be the line of the priest. Yet they took the censer and put fire in it with incense thereon, and God looked at it as strange fire. In Exodus 30, God gave laws regarding strange fire. In verse 1, He says:

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

Then He says in verses 6-9:

And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

God is indicating that He had a particular design. He had a particular plan in mind regarding the offering of incense in this censer, and no strange incense was to be offered thereupon. There were undoubtedly some instructions that had to be followed for the proper ingredients of the incense, and you could not add or subtract from the incense that God required. God gave very specific guidelines for the making of holy anointing oil or sweet incense. In Exodus 25:6 we read:

Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,

Here God connects these spices for anointing oil with sweet incense. In that connection, we see that God very exactly required that the incense or the anointing oil be comprised of certain ingredients. Exodus 30:23-25 says:

Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

God very specifically describes the composition of this ointment. Therefore, to offer strange fire would be to offer something of a different composition, something that maybe lacked an ingredient. That is one way that we could look at this strange fire that Nadab and Abihu offered unto the Lord, but there could have been really any number of reasons why God would have slain them. We notice that He does destroy them by fire in Leviticus 10:2. It says there:

And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

The composition of the incense is pointing to the Gospel, the true and faithful Gospel of the Bible. When someone offers it rightly, it is a picture of bringing the faithful message of God. They are the true believers who are bringing the true Word from God, the whole counsel of God. However, when Nadab and Abihu, even though they were in the line of Aaron, took incense and put it on their censer full of burning coals, it was said to be strange fire before the Lord that He did not command them to offer. Possibly, they offered this fire at a different time of day; but whatever it was, something was different, and something was strange. It was not as God had commanded, indicating that the Gospel that they were bringing was not the Gospel that God commands His messengers to bring.

We are not to play around with the Gospel. We are not to pick and choose what is to be declared and what is to be left out. We are not to pervert the Gospel in any sense, and to pervert simply means to change. This is what we find in Galatians 1:6-7, which says:

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.