By Chalcedony Williams
46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.
Numbers 16:46-48 (ESV)
Continuing on from yesterday, God executes His judgment on Israel: all are guilty. The punishment: death. Moses says, “wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” We already know that God was ready to destroy every single person gathered, with the exception of Moses and Aaron. All hope seems to be lost.
Moses acts quickly and decisively on behalf of the people. He instructs Aaron to take his censer, put fire from the altar in it, along with incense and to make atonement for the people. Aaron does what Moses instructed and runs out into the middle of the crowd and stands with his censer in between those who had already died and those who were yet to die, and the plague stops.
If ever there were a clear example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, this is one. Aaron, the high priest, the representative of the people of Israel before God, stands in between the wrath of God and the people of God, offers up a sweet fragrance before God and makes atonement on behalf of the people, which satisfies God’s wrath and stops the destruction. Ephesians 5:2 says, Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. Jesus Christ, the great High Priest, mediator between God and man, offered Himself to appease the wrath of God and gave Himself as a sweet fragrance before God. The sweet fragrance brought about our atonement, making us one with God, breaking down the hostility between us and freeing us from condemnation for sin and the wrath of God. Jesus did this by taking on Himself the wrath of God and dying for our sins – what a beautiful expression of love.
Whilst Aaron was able to stop the plague, he was not able to stop a portion of the people from dying. They were all deserving of death, yet by standing in the gap, Aaron was able to spare some. So, it is with Christ. We all deserve to die for our sins and many of us will die but those who are in Christ, who repent and trust in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Ask – What are the similarities between Aaron’s actions on behalf of Israel and Jesus’ actions on behalf of mankind? What are the differences?
Seek – How can we remind ourselves today of what Jesus did for us?
Knock – Jesus, thank you for standing in the gap. Thank you for making atonement on my behalf, taking upon yourself the wrath of God so that I can have life. May I walk in obedience before you and with the same love that you showed to me, may I extend it to others.
(Upper Photo by Dyu – Ha on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash)
