And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, “This is it that the LORD spake, saying, ‘I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, “Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
Leviticus 10:1-7
Nadab
Day 8 – Holiness and the LORD
Sometimes, maybe much time is made of mocking all that is holy. Even among Christians it is not often taken seriously. Someone who becomes devoted to living holy is often told something like, “O, come on now. You can’t be serious”. God is serious about holiness, because He is holy.
In reading Leviticus you will find much about “Holiness”. You will find it stated by the LORD, “Be holy; for I am holy” many times. I read that several times as I was reading Leviticus 9 – 22 this morning.
When two sons of Aaron did not take holiness seriously; or right worship seriously they died,
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Leviticus 10:1-2 (KJV)
Their death seems to have been due to entering the most Holy Place with alcoholic drink on them;
“And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, ‘Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.'” Leviticus 10:9
Whatever the “strange fire” was that Nadab and Abihu took into the Holy Place it was not holy unto the LORD. God takes holiness among His people very seriously, and so should the Christian of today.
As we look at Leviticus with all its commandments, requirements for holiness, laws for dealing with body sores, and skins rashes, and leprosy, sexual relationships, eating; the right kinds of animals, insects and fish to eat, etc. it seems like it would be an impossible feat to meet God’s requirements for holiness. I believe that to be an accurate assessment of our situation.
With all that God requires for our holiness we all fall short. I mean who would always be aware of sitting on something that is unclean (Leviticus 15). Only God would always know that.
The declaration of the Law is that we are Guilty, Guilty, and Guilty of being unholy; unless we can keep the whole law. There is only One who did. His name is Jesus Christ and He was and is the atonement for all our sins.
God has said many times through my reading to day, “I am the LORD”. That is it. He is holy; and He requires holiness of His people. It is only attainable through the once and for all shed blood of His Son; who was our atonement, and scapegoat for our sins (Leviticus 16); carrying our sin away. God is still serious about sin and holiness. Jesus rose bodily from the grave, and ever lives as our intercessor.
Blessed be the holy name of the LORD.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Scarlet Thread – Fire
There are many times in Scripture where God answers by fire from above. Today we look at one of those in the book of Leviticus:
“And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9:24
What does the fire have to do with the scarlet thread of redemption which flows throughout all of Scripture? It has much to do with it; but I will probably not begin to touch the surface of its true power, and instruction.
Most likely the first time it was seen, though not mentioned directly, is in the sacrifice offered by Abel in Genesis 4:4 and God had respect unto Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. The LORD probably answered by fire to show His approval of the offering.
In our text for today God is showing His approval on the leadership of Moses and Aaron in their worship and upon the worship in holiness. The fire shows us the holiness of God and His acceptance of holiness when He sees it. We cannot manufacture the fire of God; His acceptance. There is much in worship today that is manufactured; put on and forward as worship which is more a show, entertainment, than worship; and with that I am sure the LORD is not well pleased.
The sons of Aaron; Nadab and Abihu; found out that “strange fire” was not accepted by GOD. They died as a result of their own attempt at fire. The fire, excitement of the flesh which we manufacture is not holiness, but unholiness before the Almighty, and Holy One.
We must always keep in mind that holiness is from God. We cannot manufacture it. It is revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. He is holy. We see in the Revelation a revealing of the Son as He is now;
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.” Revelation 1:12-15
Notice particularly “…His eyes were as a flame of fire; His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace…” He could be called the living fire of God. Those who may be reluctant to accept this image of Christ will be reluctant to receive His as Lord and Savior of their lives as well. For the apostle Paul writes,
“For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29
-Tim A. Blankenship
My Observations 020211
Today’s Bible Reading is for Leviticus 8 – 10
There are three things I want us to see in today’s reading. The first two have to do with the fire of God found in verses 23 and 24 of chapter 9; at least the first three verses of chapter 10 and verses 16 – 20 of the same chapter.
The fire of God is very repetitious; and usually when God’s word repeats something it is due to the fact of God’s making a very clear statement. It matters. It matters very much. Part of the reason that it matters is because of God’s holiness, power, and you could even add His awe-inspiring ways. It is enough to strike fear into the heart of those who would follow Him, believing Him.
There are many today who are teaching that God does not desire us to fear Him; but I beg to differ with that. We should shudder at the thought of offending the Creator GOD who has made all things and even sustains them by His own power (Colossians 1:17)
“And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9:23-24 (KJV)
It is a fear and reverence which realizes a greater power and presence than one’s self. It is a fear that causes one who is loved by Him and loves Him to seek to know Him better; and to get closer to Him.
The tabernacle is starting its operation with the offering, the glory of the LORD appears to all the people. Fire comes out from before the LORD and consumes the burnt offering and fat. Where did the fire come from? It came from God, the LORD. The people who witnessed this marvelous event were awe-struck and fell on their faces. Ever an act of humility, reverence, and worship. They recognized the presence and power of God.
Many times when we see God move in a powerful way there are some so eager to see it again, that they will try and manipulate the act of God all over again. This may be what happens with Nadab and Abihu in 10:1-2,
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Leviticus 10:1-2
“Strange fire” had been offered to the LORD by Aaron’s two sons. What this entailed is not fully explained in the text. There have been several suggestions: 1) is that they were intoxicated and that is why the warning of verse 9 is given concerning the drinking of wine; 2) that they may have made their own concoction for a fiery event of their own.
It really seems to me that the event of the last two verses of chapter 9 leading up to these verses in chapter 10 may suggest that they were so zealous and eager to see this miraculous event again that they violated God’s clear direction on entering the tabernacle and the offerings that God showed Himself strong for His righteousness. This clearly made an impact on the people and Aaron.
From this we go to verses 16-20 where we find that God’s commandment concerning the “goat of the sin offering”:
“And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, ‘Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.’ And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? And when Moses heard that, he was content.” Leviticus 10:16-20
It seems that Eleazar and Ithamar had not taken the meat of the sin offering to eat it as God’s commandment had said. They had broken the commandment to do so. Moses was rightly angry with the sons. Aaron has quickly stepped in behalf of his sons and spoke of the grief of the day. Their may have been fear in Aaron’s and his son’s minds and heart for the events and what they had witnessed God doing as well as grief over losing his two sons. When Moses heard Aaron’s grief he went no further with the issue, thus we see the mercy of God.
When fire comes out from God; it must come from God alone. When we – God’s people – try and manipulate the power of God; or try and imitate the power of God strangely; ie., in our own flesh; for our own benefit, or notoriety; then, why should we be shocked to see God claim it for Himself. I believe it was Charles H. Spurgeon who said, “God will not allow His children to sin successfully”.
Someone has said, “When we fear God; we need fear nothing else.” The right fear of God; not a fear that keeps us from God; but the fear that draws us to Him for salvation, solace, peace, and His glory will cause us to fear nothing the world can throw at us.
The fire of God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
Join us in reading Leviticus 8 – 10
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 