Someone should make a movie about the startling action in Chapter 16 of Numbers – arguments, fires, earthquakes, plagues. It’s a freaky, flaming feast.

There is conflict galore. Moses and Aaron had gotten into it a few chapters previously; they seemed to have patched up their differences, but there could still be some animosity there. The Levite Korah accused Moses, Aaron and his sons of “lording” it over the others in their role as priests. Korah pulled together his gang of 250 chiefs from all the tribes to back him up. The 250 all wanted in on the sacrificial system action. Dathan and Abiram, sons of Reuben, were complaining about the living conditions; “this ain’t no land of milk and honey here in the wilderness, and it’s all your fault, Moses!”  Moses is understandably ticked off at being the middle man in all this – he sees the rebels’ anger as inappropriately directed at the messenger rather than the Law Giver – and he lets God know about it.

A battle scene is set up reminiscent of the gunfight at the OK Corral. Moses tells all the complainers to show up at the Tent of Meeting the next day: “Fill your censers with fire, boys, and show up at the tent. We’ll see whose fire God likes!” The 250 are sure of their cause and promise to be there, but Dathan and Abiram proclaim, “You go ahead; we’re not coming to your little party.”

The battle has a false start when the combatants arrive. God tells Moses to step aside so He can wipe out all the people. Moses falls on his face and pleads with God not to destroy everyone for the sins of a few. God relents but then starts the retribution, telling everyone to back away from the ringleaders – insolent Dathan and Abiram as well as jealous Korah. The people move slowly away from the bad guys.

Some would say that then all hell breaks loose, but really God’s justice breaks out; this is a different fearsomeness. The movie viewer would have to be alert to keep all the activity in focus:  The earth splits apart, swallows Korah, Dathan and Abiram; their families; and all their possessions, then closes back up on top of them! And, a REAL fire blazes out from the Tent of Meeting and consumes the 250 chiefs holding their censers.

There is a brief interlude where the LORD tells Moses to gather up the censers. “These men were not supposed to bring the offerings, but they did. They sinned, they are dead, but their censers are now holy because they brought them before the LORD.” The metal was reshaped into holy plates to cover the holy altar.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the camp, all the people start grumbling against Moses and Aaron the next day: “You killed our friends and leaders yesterday!” Once again the LORD wants to wipe them all out (this time they clearly deserve it) and He sends a plague through the congregation. Moses yells instructions to Aaron, who fills his God-ordained censer with holy fire from the altar and dashes to the middle of the people, just in time: “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. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.”

The screenwriters would need to be careful when painting good guys and bad guys in this movie. Clearly the leaders of the rebellion were deserving of punishment. Moses and Aaron appear to be good guys, but they had their flaws just like today’s superheroes. And ALL the people were grumbling against the one true and holy God of the universe; all deserved punishment. The real hero is God, who twice relents from destroying all the people and provides the saving holy fire of forgiveness and atonement.