Law – Leviticus 10-12

Last week saw the passing of certain great names in showbiz. Before we could believe our eyes and ears, the word was confirmed: Yes, they were gone, both MJ and Farah. This week, we look at the passing of 2 others. And in fact, these 2 were indeed the ones who were “gone too soon”.

Before we get to that, we’ll read ….

Bible Passage:  Leviticus 10-12

DON’T PLAY WITH “FIRE”

After the awesome spectacle presented to the Israelites in Lev 9:23-24, we get to witness an entirely different mood in Lev 10. The 2 brothers, Nadab and Abihu go down in history as the first priests of God to die in service. And for all the wrong reasons.

If we recall, these 2 had been along with Moses and Aaron as they ascended the Mt. Sinai to meet with God (cf. Exodus 24:1, 2, 9-11). And just prior to this, they had been dedicated as priests and had their dedication period of 7 days (cf. Lev 8:1-36). On the 8th day, they began their priestly ministry, and not long after, in Lev 10, their ministry came to an abrupt halt.

The Bible does not say how long later was it that the 2 committed their irreverent act. But that is the not the point of it, and yet also is the point of it all. God’s intent is for us to realise that those who draw near to Him must regard Him as holy (Lev 10:3). This is where Nadab and Abihu infamously failed in their basic duty as priests.

They “offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.” The Bible is clear in the reason for the pronouncement of judgement upon the offenders. I’ve always wondered why this was so, and upon further reading and consideration I believe the answer is made clear:

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum must have been drunk with alcohol, thus making their judgement impaired, thereby leading to their concomitant error in offering.

Reading Lev 10:8-11, the only reason why God instructs Aaron with such a stern command has to be that his own sons had committed the offence. In law, there is always a precedent case that sets the measure for future associated cases, and in this case, God’s justness calls for Him to do the same.

The 2 had been the first to neglect the work of distinguishing between holy and unholy and they paid dearly with their lives. In my mind, I believe that after all they had been through on Mt. Sinai and etc., there is little reason for them to say they did not understand the standards of God.

Thereby, alcohol and drunkenness must have been the reason for their sacrilege. There is no room for pity in this case and God’s treatment of the case shows us just how serious we should be with our attitude in service to Him. There can be no excuse for all priests who have already been taught the right way. We cannot be drunk when we do our work for God. Playing with fire only burns ourselves when we should know better.

DOING THINGS NOT COMMANDED BY GOD?

In our age, many Christians out there are doing things that are not commanded by God, whilst erroneously thinking that it is for God. At the top of our heads, these few roll off easily: Celebrating Christmas, Easter, Keeping Sunday as the day of worship etc?

We can count it to be God’s grace that we have the understanding to know that these are unnecessary and unholy practices in God’s eyes. But we need to go further to explore whether we have adopted other unholy practices in our attitude of service to God, when we should instead be bearing the holy fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:19-23).

Also, what other aspects of our worship and service are profane? When we consider the intent of the punishment for Nadab and Abihu’s error, we inadvertently come to question whether we ourselves are adopting blasphemous attitudes and methods in our own worship and service to God. For example, before we worship God, have we dealt with an unsettled matter that we have with another of our brethren? (cf. Matt 5:23-24)

DOING THINGS GOD HAS COMMANDED

From the error of Nadab and Abihu, we learn that it is necessary to be vigilant in our service and worship to God. At the heart of this is the necessity of holiness required of us. Lev 11 is the record of the list of animals considered to be clean and unclean. Physically, there are explanations as to why God requires strict adherence to these cleanliness statutes. For example, common medical sense tells us that any dead animal will have toxic contaminants that are emitted through the natural process of rotting.

Spiritually however, the abstinence from the unclean animals teaches the Israelites of the need to be on the lookout daily for what is clean and unclean, thereby reminding them daily that they are a race that is set apart to God, which shows even in their diet and practical lives. For us who read Leviticus, it applies spiritually today as well, teaching us that adherence to God’s commands reminds us of God’s reminder in Lev 11:45, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy”.

This will be a constant central tenet upon which the book of Leviticus hangs on and we will revisit it in future posts.

As of now however, we should do well not to tread in the steps of Nadab and Abihu, lest we become Nada and Abi-Who?. We don’t want to become ‘nothing’ and ‘forgotten’ and be gone too soon. We want to be remembered forever in the Book of Life, so let us keep ourselves holy and ready for God’s calling.