Strange Fire in Leviticus 10, and Why It Earned a Death Sentence
Nadab and Abihu’s death penalty for the strange fire in Leviticus 10 might seem harsh. But was it? Read on to explore the answer.
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- Just a question - what about God's next direction to Aaron to prohibit consuming intoxicating drink while serving God (in the Tabernacle of the congregation)? It seems Aaron's sons had impaired judgment leading to their defilement.
- David Campbell asked a very simple yet powerful question. It concerned consumption of alcohol. Excess can indeed impair judgment and I do not want to discuss the “legalities” of alcohol in the church. Paul told us in Ephesians 5:17 not to get drunk because of excess adding that we should be filled with the Spirit! Paul also said that real sons of God are led by that same Spirit. In colossians 2 and 3 we see that we should not become embroiled in legalism, formalism, ritualism and other matters. It engenders unnecessary debate, whereas we should inspire, bless and encourage each other in the Lord. Our individual walk is a daily walk and is not dependent on any church affiliation. The problem Aaron’s sons had was that they tried to do something that God had not ordained them to do. This is a principle that applies today to all areas of The Church that Jesus said He would build. In Matthew 7 for example, many people came to Jesus saying that they had done all kinds of wonderful things, supposedly “in His name” but He told them thayt they were workers of iniquity. They may well have done what they claimed, bugt He told them That He did not “Know” them and that speaks of intimacy of relationship and that He had not authorized them to do what they did. This is a serious matter and sadly, it is happening today. Careful analysis of the Tabernacle and all that was associated with it spoke in typology from of Jesus and God’s plan of salvation. Everything from the tent pegs to the Ark of the Covenant spoke of it. The Levitical Priesthood was holy and God chose men who may or may not be “perfect” in our eyes and ordained them. They were set apart and anointed, but still human and so fallible. If you look at their qualifications in Leviticus, they had to be married, able to have sons and without any physical defect. The ark of the covenant had to be carried by priests only and in a special manner, ordained by God. When in 1 Chronicles 13, Gods people wanted to bring the Ark back home, they did not follow God’s instructions and put it on a cart and Uzza reached out and touched it. His motive was right, but he did not do it Gods way and it cost him his life. Such things are the issue. It is true that we are in “days of grace” because of Jesus, but God is still God who never changes. His word never changes and those feasts of the Lord, we tend to disregard, thinking that they are “Jewish” are still valid. Those little seemingly “innocent” action can and do mean something.
- On the back burners of my mind is just this, as you so clearly stated. Booths are just one of many joys I wonder if were missing believing their just Jewish tradition ? Thank you Brother for the motivation to my curiosity Off to talk to the Teacher what a wonder HE is ...