We notice that when the Lord sent the plague on the Israelites

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



We notice that when the Lord sent the plague on the Israelites, Aaron the chief priest, upon Moses' command, took his censer, put incense in it and burnt it with fire from the altar to intercede for the people before God,
. When he ran into the midst of the assembly and offered the incense, the plague ceased. The Lord accepted the incense from Aaron as a prayer (Num.16: 44-48) as though it were a sacrifice.
We notice that Aaron did not offer a sacrifice for the Israelites, but incense alone. The incense was not offered to absorb the smell of a burnt offering but it was an offering to make atonement for the people (Num. 16: 46,47).