It seems that especially at times of
"new beginnings" the LORD
shows the reality of His judgment to
His people that they may fear Him.
by William Smith
Text: Leviticus 10: 1-7
One of the things I most look forward to, if the Lord wills, is attending
my son Jeremy's ordination to the ministry. I expect it to be a day of
great joy. Maybe the whole family can be present. There will be a solemn
ordination service, with the taking of vows, the laying on of hands,
and
the giving of the right hand of fellowship. There will be a reception
at
which some congregation of God's people will join with Jeremy's family
and
friends to celebrate this happy occasion.
There was a day like that for Aaron when, in a very special ceremony,
he
was ordained as High Priest and his sons were ordained to serve as
priests
with him. All were washed with water and dressed in special priestly
clothes. All were anointed with oil. Three sacrifices were offered
- the
sin offering, the burnt offering, and the ordination offering.
Eight days later Aaron and his sons began their official ministry
as
priests. They offered their first offerings to the LORD, and the
LORD
accepted their offerings and confirmed their priesthood. The glory
of the
LORD appeared, and the LORD sent fire to consume the offerings
on the
altar. The people shouted for joy, and fell down on their faces
in awe.
It was a wonderful day. There was celebration. And then there was
death.
Death of two of Aaron's sons on their first day of public ministry.
What
are we to make of this strange judgment?
I. THE SIN
Nadab and Abihu were Aaron's two oldest sons. They had enjoyed
a wonderful
privilege when the LORD made His covenant with Israel at
Mount Sinai. They
went up on the mountain with Moses, and Aaron, and the seventy
elders. They
beheld God and they ate and drank in His presence. It is
a scene of glory
and fellowship. When the priesthood was officially established,
they, along
with Aaron and their brothers, were ordained. But on the
first day of their
ministry they sinned against the LORD.
What was their sin? The record in Leviticus is brief. They
took their
censers, shallow metal pans, put coals in them and sprinkled
a mixture of
spices on the coals to offer incense. Incense was used
in the Old Testament
worship, so there was nothing in itself wrong with offering
incense. But
this act is described as offering "unauthorized" or "strange
fire" before
the LORD. But what exactly did they do that was wrong?
Suggestions are made that they violated some instruction
about the offering
of incense. Some suggest that they took the coals from
some place other
than the Altar of Sacrifice. Others think they offered
the incense at some
time of day other than that God had prescribed. Still
others believe that
they were going into the Holy Place to the Altar of Incense,
which stood
right in front of the Most Holy Place, an altar at which
only the High
Priest was allowed to offer incense. Others tell us they
were possibly
drunk which led to their acting without care and discretion.
Then others
say that they may have had wrong motives, such as pride,
ambition, and
rebelliousness. Of all these the one that appeals to
me most is that the
coals did not come from the altar, since fire is described
as
'unauthorized.'
But, from the brief description we cannot be sure. What
we do know is that
they sinned, acting as priests, in the matter of worship
and that they did
so by doing something that the LORD "had not commanded them." The
priests
were responsible for worship - that was one of there
distinctive functions.
They were supposed to know all the directions that
God had given for
worship and were to follow them very carefully so that
nothing done in
worship might offend the LORD. But these priests did
something in the
offering of incense that the LORD had not commanded.
God takes His worship very seriously. He is the One
being worshiped and He
reserves for Himself the right to determine how He
will be worshiped. He
does not leave it to us to devise the ways in which
we worship Him, as
though He said, "So long as you are sincere in worshiping
me, I don't care
what you do. Do as you like." No, God tells us we
must worship Him, that we
must worship only Him, and that we must worship Him
according to His
directions.
In the Reformed churches this text is one that has
been used to teach what
is called "the regulative principle of worship."
That principle asserts
that in worship we are not only forbidden to do
what God forbids, but also
that we are forbidden to do anything that God does
not command. Put
positively the principle is that in worship we
are to do only those things
which God authorizes. The Westminster Confession's
statement of the
principle is printed at the top of the order of
worship today: "But
the
acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted
by himself, and so
limited by his revealed will, that he may not be
worshiped according to the
imaginations a and devices of men... or in any
other way not prescribed in
Holy Scripture."
If you think about it doing it God's way makes
great good sense. I do not
know about you, but if I were invited to meet
the President in the Oval
Office, I would not just go and do whatever seemed
natural to me. Even
though we live in a country which prides itself
on having no royalty, I
would want to know the details of protocol and
I would follow the
prescribed protocol out of respect.
To Christians, who love and worship the true
God, it is the most natural
thing in the world to ask about the divinely
prescribed protocol for an
audience with our Creator, Redeemer, and King.
We take worship seriously,
and we want to worship God according to the
directions He has given in His
word that our worship may be a delight to Him.
II.
THE SENTENCE
The sentence was severe and summarily executed.
Before fire came out from
the LORD and consumed the sacrifice on the
altar, signifying God's
acceptance of the offerings of the newly
ordained priests. Now, as soon as
Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire
the fire of judgment came out
from the LORD and consumed Nadab and Abihu.
This incident is not alone in Scripture.
Much later in Israel's
history,
during the reign of King David, it was
decided that the time had come to
move the holy ark of God to Jerusalem.
As they were moving the ark on a
cart the oxen stumbled and a man named
Uzzah put out his hand to steady the
ark. The writer tells us: "And the anger
of the LORD was kindled against
Uzzah, and God struck him down there because
of his error" (2 Samuel
6:7).
That was the end of the procession for
that day. Several months passed
before the ark was moved to Jerusalem.
Such events are not confined to the Old
Testament. In the early days of the
Christian church in Jerusalem many believers
sold their property and
possessions and made the proceeds available
to the church for the relief of
needy Christians. A man named Ananias
and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of
property and brought the proceeds to
the Apostles, indicating that what
they gave was the entire proceeds, when
in fact, they held back some for
themselves. This act was described by
Peter as "lying to the Holy Spirit"
and as "test(ing) the Spirit of the Lord."
Both of them fell down dead on
the spot.
It seems that especially at times of
"new beginnings" the LORD shows the
reality of His judgment to His people
that they may fear Him. It happened
with Nadab and Abihu when the priesthood
was inaugurated for Israel. It
happened when the ark was moved to
its permanent dwelling place in
Jerusalem. It happened in the formative
days of the New Testament, when the
Holy Spirit had been given in fullness
to sanctify and to equip the Church.
God wants to point out to His people
that knowing Him, that receiving
privileges from Him, that serving Him
is serious business. Texans like to
say, "Don't mess with Texas." Among
the people of God, we ought often to
say to one another, "Don't mess with
God."
No, the Lord does not strike down everyone
who merits judgment. But He
gives us these examples at the beginnings
of new eras to show that He is a
God who takes seriously the sin of
those of His people who do not take
Him
seriously. We will be wise to think
about that, when we worship, when
we
are called to office in the church,
when we offer our service to Him.
III. THE
SAYING
The LORD Himself underscored the
significance of this event with an
easily
remembered poetic saying. Moses told
the shocked father and High Priest,
Aaron: "This is what the LORD has
said, "Among those who are
near me, I
will be sanctified, and before the
people I will be glorified.'"
The LORD intends to be sanctified
- treated as holy - by the priests
and
all who are near Him. God is not
an ordinary person; everything associated
with Him and particularly those things
dedicated to Him are no longer
ordinary; they are holy. Perhaps
the great human problem is that we
have
trouble remembering that God is God,
that He is not a man like us, and
that
we must treat Him as the extraordinary,
majestic, and holy God He is. God
also wants to be glorified before
the people. He wants the people of
God
to
recognize how "heavy he is" - how
significant He is, how big He is,
how
awesome He is. His people must give
Him glory, and they will do that
only
when those who lead them in drawing
near to God treat Him as the infinitely
glorious being He is.
Those of us who serve as elders
of God's people, and those of
us who
are
called to the ministry of the Word
and who lead in worship are "near
God",
and God expects us to sanctify Him
and glorify in all that we do.
Particularly when we lead God's people
in worship we must be careful to
treat Him as holy and to lead the
people to glorify Him. That does
not mean
that worship must be stuffy or cold.
Worship can be warm and personal,
but
it also must be reverent dignified
"for our God is a consuming fire"
This is not just for elders and
ministers of the Word. It is
for all God's
people. God wants you to treat Him
as holy and to glorify Him in all
your
life, but especially when you draw
near to Him in worship. How is it
then
that sometimes we participate in
worship indifferently? How is it
that we
sometimes smirk about what is going
on? How is that we distract ourselves
and others? I speak a special word
to young people who have made
professions of faith. Ever since
your baptism you were included among
God's
people and given the privilege of
worshiping with them. But now you
are not
just a member of a worshiping family
and community. You yourself are a
worshiper, and you, no less than
any adult, are called on to worship
God
with all your being, to treat Him
as holy, and to glorify Him.
I was at a graduation the other
night. And, while I tried not
to be an
"
old fuddy-duddy" I was bothered by the actions of several
students who
called attention to themselves. Some
adults laughed at and with them,
but I
could not. They did not treat the
occasion with the gravity and dignity
it
deserved. They did not show respect
for themselves, or their teachers,
or
for what it means to graduate. You
treat some things as special and
worthy
of special behavior.
God is special. Everything associated
with Him is holy. His worship is
holy. The LORD says to us, "Among
those who are near me I will be
sanctified, and before all the people
I will be glorified."
IV. THE SILENCE
In the presence of this event -
full of awe - "Aaron held his
peace."
He
kept silence as he viewed the judgment
that fell upon his own sons. We
might attribute his silence to the
shock of the suddenness of all that
happened. At one moment he was experiencing
one of the happiest days of his
life as he and his sons went about
their first day of ministry as priests.
Then without any warning it seems
the judgment of the LORD fell and
his
sons were dead.
But, if we think about it, taking
into account even that shock can
leave
one speechless at times, we will
find it more likely that he would
have
given expression to his sudden sorrow.
Put yourself in his place. How
would you have reacted? Surely, if
no words could come, there would
be
shrieks of agony and groans of grief.
Take into account that the Middle
Eastern personality is far more expressive
of emotion than the European,
especially the northern European,
and it seems that in almost any other
case there would have been loud crying
and perhaps words of consternation
and bewilderment.
It seems that Aaron was silent
because he restrained himself,
a thing which
he must have done only with the greatest
difficulty. It is as though he put
his hand over his mouth and refused
to let so much as a whimper to escape.
Aaron was deliberately acquiescing
in the judgment of God. He would
not
question God. He would not lash out
in anger against God. He would not
so
much as groan or weep lest it be
thought that he believed the LORD
had
acted unjustly. This is the LORD's
judgment and before it He will submit.
The Judge of the all the earth has
acted justly. Let it be so.
We can, indeed we must, learn from
this. It does not teach us the faith
is
stoic or that there is never any
place for giving vent to our questions,
our doubts, our grief, and our pain.
Read the Psalms or look at some of
the
things that Jesus said, and you will
see the expression of the tumult
of
the human heart.
But there are times when silence
is required. The writer of Psalm
73 tells
us that, when he compared the lives
of the wicked and the righteous in
this
world, he doubted the goodness and
justice of God. But, while he was
going
through all that he kept silent.
Looking back he wrote, "If I had
said, "I
will speak thus,'"- that is, if he has spoken what he was
thinking - "I
would have betrayed the generation
of your children" (Psalm 73:15).
The
writer of Psalm 39 was going through
an apparent illness which he knew
was
the result of his sin, and he said,
"I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for
it is you who have done it" (Psalm
39:9).
Ultimately before God our calling
is to submit, to recognize the
righteousness of His doings, and
to do nothing that would put ourselves
in
the place of questions His rights
or His justice. This is the place
of man,
the created being and sinful moral
before the all-wise, all-good,
and
all-powerful God.
V. THE SANCTION
This event concludes with the
LORD imposing sanctions on
Aaron and
his two
remaining sons with regard
to the mourning for and burial
of
Nadab
and
Abihu. Moses instructed cousins
of Aaron to take care of the
removal of the
bodies. When they had taken
care of that duty, Moses told
Aaron
and his
sons, Eleazar and Ithamar,
that they were not to go through
the
normal
expressions of mourning. They
could not let their hair go,
nor could
they
tear their clothes. If they
did, they, too, would die,
and God's
wrath
would come upon the whole congregation.
It is not that no mourning
was
allowed, The rest of the congregation
could mourn the deaths of Nadab
and
Abihu, but Aaron, Eleazar and
Ithamar were not allowed to
participate. They
must remain at the holy tent
and continue their priestly
duties. This case
seems to be special in that
both Aaron and his sons were
not permitted
to
go near the dead. Ordinarily
this prohibition applied only
to the
High
Priest who was never to go
near death, not even in the
case of
his father
and mother. Perhaps the reason
now is that they were still
carrying out
their priestly duties and were
about to eat a sacrificial
meal.
There is an important principle
here. God is more important
than
everything, including family.
The Bible everywhere teaches
us the
importance of family. Marriage
is blessed and holy. The
parent-child
relationship is sacred. The
family unit is protected.
But the Bible
does
not teach the cult of the
family. God comes first;
His service
gets
priority; His worship is
most important.
Jesus taught this. A man
came to Him and said, "I
will follow
you,
Lord,
but let me first say farewell
to those at my home." Jesus
replied, "No one
who puts his hand to the
plow and looks back is
fit for the
kingdom
of
heaven." (Luke 9: 61,62)
The point is not that in
every
case Jesus
calls us
to break all family ties,
or always to leave home
to serve
him, or
that he
forbids us to say goodbye
to those from whom we must
be
separated
temporarily or permanently
to serve Him. The point
that Jesus
makes
is that
He comes first, and that
in this He and His kingdom
take
precedence
and
claim loyalty over all
else, event our families.
The family
is a godly
institution, but the family
is not God.
Not just Old Testament
priests, not just disciples
of Jesus'
time, not
just
ministers of the word
and missionaries, but
all of
us are called to
give
God our first and our
best.It's a challenging
passage of
Scripture, isn't it?
Our God is a holy God
who calls for pure worship.
Our God is a just God
who exercises judgment
among His own people.
Our God is a glorious
God,
who is jealous
for His
own
glory. Our God is a righteous
God whom we must not
question. Our
God is the
only God who must have
first place. It would
all be too
much for us
were
it not for this: Jesus
Christ is a great High
Priest, who
though Himself
was holy, righteous and
undefiled, was consumed
by the fire
of God's wrath
for our sins. This Jesus
lives forever to intercede
for us.
In Him and
through Him we come with
confidence, joy, and
reverence, and offer
acceptable worship.
Old Testament Reading:
Leviticus 10: 1-20
WILLIAM H. SMITH
Westminster Presbyterian
Church, Huntsville,
Alabama
