Neville Goddard on Numbers 16:41-50 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Numbers 16 in context

Scripture Focus

41But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.

42And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

43And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.

44And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

45Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

46And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.

47And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

48And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

50And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Numbers 16:41-50

Biblical Context

The Israelites murmur against Moses and Aaron; God reveals His presence; Aaron intercedes with incense as a plague begins, staying the dying, though many die. The event illustrates the power of inner atonement to shift collective distress.

Neville's Inner Vision

To Neville's ear, the uproar of the people is a fever of doubt in the mind. The cloud and glory are the I AM revealed within you, the awareness that pierces your flimsy belief that you are at the mercy of circumstances. Moses and Aaron stand at the threshold of action and faith, not as separate men but as inner faculties that must act in concert when the mind trembles. The command, 'Get you up from among this congregation,' is the moment you withdraw identification with the mistaken state; the censer and the incense are your means of refinement—fire from the altar transmuting fear into love. When Aaron moves among the crowd, offering intercession, the inner condition shifts: the plague begins as a lesson, and the intercession represents your choosing to align with the higher order rather than the loud murmuring of doubt. The plague is stayed when the heart chooses unity and mercy over accusation; those who die mark old patterns dissolved by a deeper realization that divine life flows in every moment. In truth, you are the I AM keeping the living from the dead by a single act of compassionate imagining.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and imagine stepping into your inner tabernacle; breathe deeply and hold the inner conflict. Raise the censer of forgiveness, invoke a revised assumption that I am the I AM, and feel the plague of fear dissolving as mercy fills your mind.