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 Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:29 am
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In the Old Testament, there is an unusual story about two young men who died while worshipping God. Nadab was the firstborn son of Aaron, the Israelites’ High Priest; Abihu was his younger brother. Leviticus 10 explains how these two men followed their own desires, rather than doing what God had commanded.
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them and they died before Jehovah" (Leviticus 10:1-2).
This is a scary story, wouldn’t you say? Nadab and Abihu apparently must have done something really bad, because God caused fire to leap from the altar and consume them! Why did this happen? The key to understanding the story lies in the fact that they offered "strange fire" that God "had not commanded." What does the Bible mean when it speaks of "strange" fire? Perhaps we can understand this point better by looking at other passages in the Old Testament that discuss worship to God. There is a good example in Exodus 30:9 where God gave the Israelites specific instructions regarding the altar of incense. He warned them: "You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it."
God told the Israelites exactly what kind of incense they were to burn during their worship of Him [read Exodus 30:7-8]. Anything else was "strange" incense that God had not authorized, and therefore violated God’s law. In Leviticus 16:12, we learn where Nadab and Abihu should have gotten the fire they used in their worship. "Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord." Aaron’s two sons ignored Jehovah’s law and obtained the fire they used from somewhere else. This was a terrible sin that ultimately cost them their lives!
In referring to the Old Testament, the apostle Paul commented: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning," (Romans 15:4). From the account of Nadab and Abihu, we can learn a really important lesson regarding how God wants us to worship Him. That lesson is this: God expects us to obey Him—not just in how we worship, but in every aspect of our lives.
Does God want us to be sincere in what we do? Yes, indeed. But it is not enough to be just sincere. We also must do exactly what God has commanded, in exactly the way He has commanded that we do it. Nothing can take the place of simple obedience to God. Therefore, let us all try not only to worship and serve God, but also to worship and serve Him in a scriptural manner as He has commanded.
apologeticspress.org
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:35 am
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When I first started reading scripture, this story drove the point home: I can't just do whatever I want and think it's holy unto God. I may be sincere, but if it's something he doesn't like or want, then it was pretty useless and a waste of time. He's not looking at it thinking "oh she loves me", more like "hate" since we're disobeying. In a way, we're making ourselves out to be God saying what's holy and what's not, instead of how he defines it. It's also damaging his reputation and spreading a lie: he never authorized this, so why are you doing it and making others believe he did? These were priests; they had access to the scriptures. They had no excuse. The public looked to them for spiritual guidance. Likewise, we have access to scripture, so we have less of an excuse to disobey.
TBH, I don't understand Nadab & Abihu's mindset. That wasn't even a hard-to-control sin, but a physical action they were responsible for carrying out as part of their priestly duties. Were they just being lazy that day? or were they new to this / still young? Not that I'm trying to find an excuse for their actions because if they were old enough to be handed this responsibility, they were old enough to know the routine and how important accuracy was to YHWH.
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:42 pm
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real eyes realize When I first started reading scripture, this story drove the point home: I can't just do whatever I want and think it's holy unto God. I may be sincere, but if it's something he doesn't like or want, then it was pretty useless and a waste of time. He's not looking at it thinking "oh she loves me", more like "hate" since we're disobeying. In a way, we're making ourselves out to be God saying what's holy and what's not, instead of how he defines it. It's also damaging his reputation and spreading a lie: he never authorized this, so why are you doing it and making others believe he did? These were priests; they had access to the scriptures. They had no excuse. The public looked to them for spiritual guidance. Likewise, we have access to scripture, so we have less of an excuse to disobey. TBH, I don't understand Nadab & Abihu's mindset. That wasn't even a hard-to-control sin, but a physical action they were responsible for carrying out as part of their priestly duties. Were they just being lazy that day? or were they new to this / still young? Not that I'm trying to find an excuse for their actions because if they were old enough to be handed this responsibility, they were old enough to know the routine and how important accuracy was to YHWH.
Lev 10:8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
Lev 10:9 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: (see also Eze 44:21)
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; (see also Eze 44:23)
Lev 10:11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Aaron's sons had been drunk, their reasoning was impaired, and they could see no reason to bother with getting coals from the sacred fire of the altar of burnt offering. They did not discern the difference between the holy and unholy, and between the unclean and clean. Common unholy fire probably looked no different to them, and it surely would burn the incense in their censors too. Who cares? - they probably thought in their drunken stupor, it won't matter to God which fire we use, He can't be that particular. So they offered God what was common, instead of what was holy, as God required. They paid with their lives for their drunken disobedience. |
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:18 am
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:58 am
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:29 am
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Garland-Green real eyes realize Ah yes, that explains it. Oy vey emotion_facepalm No no! It is fine. I love getting a chance to help answering questions! It makes me feel like i am good for something. lol
I haven't been dissuaded from asking questions at all, hehe. ^___^ The woe/facepalm was for Nadab and Abihu sweatdrop Thank you for answering! |
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