35 Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250Â men who were offering incense. 36 And the Lord said to Moses, 37 "Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals. 38 Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord 's presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel." 39 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250Â bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. 40 This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person-no one who was not a descendant of Aaron-should ever enter the Lord 's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the Lord 's instructions to Moses were carried out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 16:35-40
Commentary on Numbers 16:35-40
(Read Numbers 16:35-40)
A fire went out from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense, while Aaron, who stood with them, was preserved alive. God is jealous of the honour of his own institutions, and will not have them invaded. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The censers are devoted, and, as all devoted things, must be made serviceable to the glory of God. This covering of the altar would remind the children of Israel of this event, that others might hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously. They brought destruction on themselves both in body and soul. Thus all who break the law and neglect the gospel choose and love death.