Thurs Devo: God, Honored as Holy

After the earth swallowed Korah, those with him and all his belongings, how would you expect the rest of the Israelites to react?

Number 16:34-40       ³⁴ At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵ And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

³⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— ³⁸ the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, ⁴⁰ as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.

I had a couple questions when studying this passage. First, why did the Israelites fear being swallowed? They had been warned to stay away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their tents. So, if they heeded the warning, why were they afraid? God can be trusted. He wouldn’t accidentally swallow more than He intended.

Second, why did God consider the censers holy, when they were last used by sinful, prideful, and rebellious individuals? In re-reading verse 38, God said they became holy because they were presented before Him. He declared them holy, in spite of the fact that they were presented in an unholy and disrespectful way.

Earlier, when Aaron’s sons approached the Lord in a disobedient way, Moses reminded Aaron of God’s previous words:

Leviticus 10:3           ³ Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said:

“‘Among those who approach me
    I will be proved holy;
in the sight of all the people
    I will be honored.’”

We can either voluntarily honor God as holy, or He can gain honor in spite of us. I’d rather enjoy the blessings of honoring God voluntarily, wouldn’t you?

How might you and I be approaching God in a dishonoring way? How will you and I approach our Holy God this week in an honoring way instead?  

Alice