Leviticus 10

A day which should have ended with the glorious worship of Jehovah God was instead climaxed with the funeral of two of Aaron’s sons. The words of C. H. Mackintosh are pertinent and powerful: The page of human history has ever been a sadly blotted one. It is a record of failure from first to last. Amid all the delights of Eden, man hearkened to the tempter’s lie (Gen. 3); when preserved from judgment by the hand of electing love, and introduced into a restored earth, he was guilty of the sin of intemperance (Gen. 9); when conducted, by Jehovah’s outstretched arm, into the land of Canaan, he “forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth’’ (Judges 2:3); when placed at the very summit of earthly power and glory, with untold wealth at his feet, and all the resources of the world at his command, he gave his heart to the uncircumcised stranger (1 Kings 11). No sooner had the blessings of the gospel been promulgated than it became needful for the Holy Ghost to prophesy concerning “grievous wolves,’’ “apostacy,’’ and all manner of failure. … Thus, man spoils everything.

Nadab and Abihu’s sin (vv. 1–2). Everything that these two men did was wrong. To begin with, they were the wrong people to be handling the incense and presenting it to the Lord. This was the task of their father, the high priest (Ex. 30:7–10). They also used the wrong instruments, their own censers instead of the censer of the high priest, sanctified by the special anointing oil (40:9). They acted at the wrong time, for it was only on the annual day of Atonement that the high priest was permitted to take incense into the Holy of Holies, and even then he had to submit to a special ritual (Lev. 16:1ff.).

They acted under the wrong authority. They didn’t consult with Moses or their father, nor did they seek to follow the Word of God, which Moses had received. In burning the incense, they used the wrong fire, what Scripture calls “strange fire’’ (10:1; niv says “unauthorized fire’’). The high priest was commanded to burn the incense on coals taken from the brazen altar (16:12), but Nadab and Abihu supplied their own fire, and God rejected it. They acted from the wrong motive and didn’t seek to glorify God alone (10:3). We don’t know the secrets of their hearts, but you get the impression that what they did was a willful act of pride. Their desire wasn’t to sanctify and glorify the Lord but to promote themselves and be important.

Finally, they depended on the wrong energy, for verses 9–10 imply that they were under the influence of alcohol. This reminds us of Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine … but be filled with the Spirit.’’ If every child of God were killed who substituted fleshly energy for the power of the Spirit, not many would be left! A. W. Tozer once said, “If God were to take His Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on; and nobody would know the difference.’’

Nadab and Abihu were not outsiders; they were anointed priests who had seen God on the mountain (Ex. 24:1–11). Their father was the high priest, and they were trained in the service of the Lord. Yet they were killed for their disobedience! “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’’ (1 Cor. 10: niv). It’s a serious thing to be a servant of God, and our service must be empowered by His Spirit and controlled by His Word. We must serve God “acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire’’ (Heb. 12:28–29).

Aaron’s sorrow (vv. 3–11). With the privileges of ministry come also responsibilities and sacrifices. Aaron wasn’t permitted to mourn the death of his two older sons (Lev. 10:6–7; 21:10–12) but had to remain in the tabernacle precincts and complete the ceremony of ordination. Two of his nephews took care of the burial of the bodies (Ex. 6:21–22).

It may seem strange to us that God killed Nadab and Abihu instead of merely warning them, but often at the beginning of a new era in salvation history, the Lord brought judgment in order to warn the people. The priestly ministry at the tabernacle was about to begin, and the Lord wanted to be sure the priests understood the seriousness of their work. When Israel entered the Promised Land, God used Achan’s disobedience as a warning (Josh. 7), and the death of Uzzah was His warning when the ark was brought to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:1–7). Early in the church age, the death of Ananias and Sapphira served as a warning to the saints not to try to lie to God (Acts 5).

It wasn’t enough for the priests merely to teach the people the difference between the holy and the unholy; they also had to practice it in their own lives. This is one of the burdens of the message of Ezekiel the prophet (Ezek. 22:26; 42:20; 44:23; 48:14–15).

Aaron’s sincerity (vv. 12–20). Since Moses was concerned lest any other commandment of the Lord be disobeyed and His judgment fall again, he admonished Aaron and his two remaining sons to be sure to eat their share of the peace (fellowship) offerings (Lev. 7:28–36). They were also to eat their part of the sin offering (6:24–30). Moses discovered that the sin offering hadn’t been presented according to the law and that Aaron and his sons hadn’t eaten it. At first he was angry, but Aaron’s explanation satisfied him.

Aaron explained that he couldn’t eat the offering with a good conscience because of the sorrow that had befallen him that day. The Lord knew his heart, and he wasn’t going to attempt to fool God by playing the hypocrite. Aaron knew that a mere mechanical observance of the ritual wouldn’t have pleased God, for the Lord looks on the heart and wants obedience, not sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22–23; 16:7; Ps. 51:16–17; Mic. 6:6–8). The law didn’t allow Aaron to express his grief in the usual ways, but it didn’t forbid him to fast, and fasting was his way of showing his grief for the loss of his two sons.

As you review these three chapters, several lessons stand out clearly:

1. God’s Word commands us concerning our ministry, and we must obey what He says. God’s instructions are more detailed for the Old Testament priests than for New Testament ministers, but the principles and examples are clearly given in the New Testament so that we shouldn’t go astray.

2. We dedicate ourselves to God, and He consecrates us for His service. He wants servants who are clean, yielded, obedient, and “marked’’ by the blood and the oil.

3. Apart from the finished work of Christ and the power of the Spirit, we can’t serve God acceptably (1 Peter 2:5). No amount of fleshly zeal or “false fire’’ can substitute for Spirit-filled devotion to the Lord. Be sure the “fire’’ of your ministry comes from God’s altar and not from this world.

4. We minister first of all to the Lord and for His glory. No matter how much we sacrifice and serve, if God doesn’t get the glory, there can be no blessing.

5. The privileges of ministry bring with them serious responsibilities. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required’’ (Luke 12: nkjv).

6. Our greatest joy in life should be to serve the Lord and bring glory to His name. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling’’ (Ps. 2: nkjv).