What comes to mind when I say the word ‘sacred?’ What about the word ‘holy?’ Usually these words come with a sense of caution, humility, and reverence. Sacred things are special, set apart, held in high regard, different from normal things. How is it seen when someone blatantly disregards or defiles something sacred? When someone does something unseemly or gross in a special place, like a church? It shows a lack of respect, a lack of sense, an unwarranted boldness. In the Bible we have a startling story in relation to this topic, where something sacred was treated without due reverence and caution. This is the story of Nadab and Abihu.
Nadab and Abihu were the sons of Aaron, the priest, and they were chosen to minister in the sanctuary service before the Lord with their father. God had just specified all of the exact particulars in which He was to be served and worshiped, and it was their ‘first day on the job,’ so to speak. The Bible describes how Aaron performed all of the sacrifices, rituals, and cleansings according to God’s order as Moses commanded. What was God’s response? The Bible tells us in Leviticus 9:23-24, “... the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” We see that God revealed His glory and a fire came out and consumed the sacrifice, showing His approval of their construction and consecration of the sanctuary. Yet we see a sad turn of events in the very next verse.
Nadab and Abihu, like their father Aaron, had been greatly honored by God and were in high positions, with many advantages and privileges. They were with their father through all of the sacred preparation of the sanctuary service, and they knew well how they were to perform their duties and what they were supposed to do. Nevertheless, right after being consecrated to the service of God, they violated their sacred trust by offering ‘strange fire’ before the Lord. What does this mean? Well, God had commanded that only the sacred fire, which He Himself ignited, be used in the service of the sanctuary. This was not a common fire of man’s kindling, but a sacred, holy, fire, approved by God. Everything in relation to God’s service was holy, precise, exact. In offering common fire to God, Nadab and Abihu showed no reverence for God, no discernment between the common and the sacred. The blatant disregard for the command of God by those in high positions, consecrated to His service, was a heinous crime in God’s eyes and called forth a swift retribution. “And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” What reason did God give for this? “Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” The Lord basically said, “I will be held in reverence by those who serve near to me; I will be shown to be holy and set apart and special; You will not disrespect and dishonor me by your reckless irreverence of My holy name.” If God had allowed this sin to go unpunished, so soon after the establishment of the sanctuary; if God had not intervened to uphold the sacredness of His service, then all of the priests and people would have taken it as a light thing, as no big deal, and violated this sacred service with boldness.
The lesson is clear for us today; we serve a holy God, who will not tolerate being placed on a level with the common and unclean. He is holy, and everything in relation to His service is to be holy. Our bodies are His temple, so we should treat our bodies with care and respect and caution; Other people are His children, so we should treat them with respect and care; our work in His service, our worship with His people, every action we take and word we speak, should be done with the realization that God is with us and that we are His. Let us not grow careless or indifferent; let us not kindle strange fire in our lives; let us be diligent to do just as the Lord has commanded us!
Isaiah 33:14-16 says:
The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
“Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
Those who are honest and fair,
who refuse to profit by fraud,
who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
These are the ones who will dwell on high.
We are called to live in the midst of a holy God, and our God is a consuming fire to all sin. Will you live a life of reckless indifference, like Nadab and Abihu, and be consumed by the fire? Or will you live a life of holiness unto the Lord, and dwell forevermore?
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