A Holy Fire
Scripture: Leviticus 9:24-10:3
"Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground. 10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people.’"
Observations:
After spending 8 chapters instructing the priests about how to worship Him by offering specific sacrifices in the prescribed "holy" manner, God watched with excitement as Aaron, the high priest, offered the first official sacrifce on behalf of the people of Israel to initiate their worship. While the first offering was a tremendous success and was accepted by God, the second account provides a shocking contrast as Aaron's two sons lost their very lives for their improper worship of a holy God. While this story raises many questions, it also teaches a very powerful lesson about the deadly consequences of disobedience. It's not because of ignorance that Aaron's sons died because God went into great detail to ensure that their offering would would be accepted. Rather, it was a blatant disregard for God's holiness that brought God's severe judgment.
Application:
One thing we can always say about God is that He is not angry with us and waiting to strike "sinners" down because they disobey Him. That's not the point the writer is making. Rather, God has gone out of His way by revealing Himself to us in such detail, through His Word, through History, and by sending Christ Himself to ensure that anyone, regardless of how holy they are, can approach God through the cleansing provided by Jesus' own blood. The challenge, however, is that if we're not careful, we run the risk of disregarding God's holiness through simple neglect of the instructions. We must not forget that as we seek to live in relationship with a holy God that we must also pursue a holy live "without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). We must be holy because God is (Leviticus 11:44) and we are only made holy by the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:2). The worship of God must be more than the ritual experience but must become the holy life we live as an acceptable offering to God (Romans 12:1).
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your blood today that has given us access to your presence and granted us relationship with You. Purify us today and make us holy in everything we do so that we may remain in covenant relationship with You and become an acceptable offering of worship to You. Amen
"Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground. 10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people.’"
Observations:
After spending 8 chapters instructing the priests about how to worship Him by offering specific sacrifices in the prescribed "holy" manner, God watched with excitement as Aaron, the high priest, offered the first official sacrifce on behalf of the people of Israel to initiate their worship. While the first offering was a tremendous success and was accepted by God, the second account provides a shocking contrast as Aaron's two sons lost their very lives for their improper worship of a holy God. While this story raises many questions, it also teaches a very powerful lesson about the deadly consequences of disobedience. It's not because of ignorance that Aaron's sons died because God went into great detail to ensure that their offering would would be accepted. Rather, it was a blatant disregard for God's holiness that brought God's severe judgment.
Application:
One thing we can always say about God is that He is not angry with us and waiting to strike "sinners" down because they disobey Him. That's not the point the writer is making. Rather, God has gone out of His way by revealing Himself to us in such detail, through His Word, through History, and by sending Christ Himself to ensure that anyone, regardless of how holy they are, can approach God through the cleansing provided by Jesus' own blood. The challenge, however, is that if we're not careful, we run the risk of disregarding God's holiness through simple neglect of the instructions. We must not forget that as we seek to live in relationship with a holy God that we must also pursue a holy live "without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). We must be holy because God is (Leviticus 11:44) and we are only made holy by the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:2). The worship of God must be more than the ritual experience but must become the holy life we live as an acceptable offering to God (Romans 12:1).
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your blood today that has given us access to your presence and granted us relationship with You. Purify us today and make us holy in everything we do so that we may remain in covenant relationship with You and become an acceptable offering of worship to You. Amen
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