Thursday Night Bible Study

Leviticus 10 (Click title for audio access)

"Sobering Thoughts!"  •  9.8.11  •  Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- The chapter before us begins with the most famous story in Leviticus. Even if one knows nothing about Leviticus, that person undoubtedly knows or has heard this story!

- The backdrop is the inaugural worship service, where God's presence has filled the Tabernacle and allowed His fire to consume the burnt offering and the fat that was on the Altar.

- At this moment, the people responded and it's recorded for us like this way:

•  Leviticus 9:24b (NLT)  :  "When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground."

- The people shouted for joy that God's promised presence had come into their midst and at the same time, they were fearful or reverent, knowing God's power and holiness.

- It's on the heels of this moment that we cover this next part, that is admittedly difficult to comprehend for our way of thinking, but necessary for our sanctification.

- I want to consider this chapter in 2 movements tonight:

I. The Problem (v.1-3)

II. The Priority (v.4-20)

Text

I. The Problem (v.1-3)

•  Leviticus 10:1  :  "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them." :  Nadab's name means "generous." Abihu means "He is my Father," the He referring to God.

- They are privileged to be in this position as priests, by birth into Aaron's family and by choice.

- They were not just born for the priesthood, but they were also Moses' nephews!

- They were leaders of an entire nation's worship and in the proverbial first family.

- We are not told here what possessed these men toward this action, though I believe we get hints of it later. It was at this time that it came into their mind to do something together.

- They took their censers, metallic pans which could hold coals of fire within it.

- They mixed in the sacred incense with fire. Then, they offered this before the Lord. Some believe that the phrase "before the Lord" refers to the actual Holy Place!

- They came with profane fire and potentially moved toward the Holy Place with it!

- The word "profane" speaks to a strange or foreign fire. The NLT calls it the "wrong fire" which might just be the best way to put it.

- One commentator postulated that they brought fire from another location and not the brazen altar. The idea being that they decided to approach God without going to the Brazen Altar.

- The picture that has been established was that the Altar's fire had been lit supernaturally by the Lord at the place where sin was dealt with. If they got their fire elsewhere, it ruins the type.

- Their sprinkling of Holy Incense on it would make for a perfect picture of a man who attempts to dress up his flesh and make his sin smell good! That would be an abomination to God.

- Whatever this fire was, whatever their intention, one thing is clear: It was not God who had commanded them to bring it!

- Last time we were together, we noted that they had been doing all that God commanded.

- This stands out as a striking contrast, as the priests, the ones who should know better, did'nt!

- Nadab and Abihu messed up the type, the picture that God has been providing.

- Any person who would say that there is another offering that man can offer to God beside that which is represented in Jesus Christ, is worse than a criminal. He is cursed of God!

- Please turn to Galatians 1. Listen to what Paul says of people who claim another gospel.

•  Galatians 1:8,9  :  "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

- At the very least, Nadab and Abihu messed with the message, but it's just as easy to manipulate the method!

- Strange fire can come from the minister's motivation to make you in the image of what he or she calls a good Christian.

- I have seen men pull a Nadab and Abihu by cheerleading or revving people up to some sort of emotional experience. God wants to be represented rightly in His message and His method!

- If you can point to something that I have worked up in your heart, reject it. If that fire comes from His Word, His Spirit inspiring you, receive it!

• Leviticus 10:2,3  :  "So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord spoke, saying:  ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ So Aaron held his peace." : When they did this immediately, the fire of God's wrath stretched out against them and consumed them.

- To those who had obeyed, the fire was glorious. To those who had not, it was injurious! To one group, His presence is delightful. To another group, it is devastating.

- When God allowed His fire to consume the offering, He showed the people His utter approval of the sacrifice and the priesthood. In the same way, He shows His utter displeasure by this action!

- God explained this to Moses who in turn came to Aaron, who has just watched his two sons die in this horrifying, scary incident.

- God must be regarded as Holy and He must be revered or glorified. Those who would come to Him should understand that there is a holy standard.

- In worship, there is a standard that must be the foundation. God is holy and we must be also.

- What sets us apart? What sets Him apart? We are to live in light of these things, representing Him with how we talk, what we do, where we go, what we watch! We must desire holiness!

- In worship, it is God, not human instruments, that is to receive the glory from His people.

- Nadab and Abihu did not consider God's holiness nor His glory.

- When you are tempted to consider whether God was wrong or not, take your cue from Aaron.

- Notice that when this happened to his sons, that he held his peace. Aaron was silent. He did not reproach the Lord. He understood what had happened clearly.

- Aaron did not argue. He was grieved for the loss of his sons, but he also knew of God's holiness and that they had acted foolishly.

II. The Priority (v.4-20)

•  Leviticus 10:4-7 : "Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, 'Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.' So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Elemazar and Ithamar, his sons, 'Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.' And they did according to the word of Moses."  : Our first priority is to agree with God and show that in our actions.

- Moses instructed Aaron's extended family to come and remove the bodies of their cousins.

- The fire had not consumed their bodies, as the cousins came in and were able to carry them outside of the camp, the place where unclean things were.

- They went from the being the symbol of closeness to God to a symbol of an unclean thing! What an amazing fall and yet another motivation to remain close to the Lord.

-  Moses then spoke to Aaron and the brothers and told them not to mourn. In those days, mourning would be done by uncovering the head or tearing the clothes.

- To do that would have been inappropriate. The nation would mourn and they would have their time as well, but they were priests first, and that was their priority in this moment.

- The oil of consecration was upon them, which reminds us that their hearts accept what God decrees, even when we don't understand.

- They would mourn privately, but not publicly, as even a hint of that could cause the congregation to sin in questioning the Lord's action.

- They were to regard God as being holy by showing the watching world that they were in agreement with God's action. For their part, they did what Moses had told them.

•  Leviticus 10:8-11  :  "Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: ^'Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.'"  :  Our second priority is to avoid anything that would hinder our effectiveness. 

- In the previous sections, God had spoken to Moses, who in turn spoke to Aaron. This time, God spoke directly to Aaron.

- God conveyed that as Priests, neither he as the High Priest, nor his sons were to drink wine or intoxicating drink. They were told specifically not to drink anything that would cause drunkenness.

- It's obvious the drunkenness is as old as the earth itself! The first time we seen drunkeness is in the life of Noah, shortly after the flood. It's significant in that it's a godly man God speaks to.

- Here, God speaks to Aaron about this, letting us know that this could have been a problem.

- This might give us a clue about Nadab and Abihu's actions. It's possible that their rash and foolish action was inspired by drunkenness. That wouldn't be hard to conceive of!

- Please remember that God is speaking to those who represent Him. His High Priest, the Priestly family represented in the sons and their line forever.

- They were not to drink when they were to go into the Tabernacle of Meeting, or else it would be possible that they also would die.

- Wine or the freedom to drink is often a touchy subject for many people. We balk at anyone telling us that we can or cannot do something that we have control over.

- Sadly, when we speak about drinking, this is a demon that rarely stays under the control of it's master! As priests ourselves, it is wise for us to view our freedoms in the appropriate light.

- If we can be brought under the influence of a freedom, it's possible that we love our freedom in a way that might cause our love for the one who freed us to fail!

- And lest we consider ourselves immune from this, remember that this is repeated in the New Testament, once again, to the believing community. Ephesians 5:18 says not to be drunk with wine.

- Instead, Aaron and his sons, the priests, needed clear minds when they came to serve and distinquishing eyes regarding holy and unholy, clean and unclean

- They were to distinguish, to separate that what was good and right, from that which was not.

- Having a mind that is clear for that is important for them to judge a thing. It was also important for those that they would teach.

- The priests were to teach. It's a very loaded word in the Hebrew language. It means to demonstrate. It was used of an archer, who shot accurately at a target.

- It can also be used of one who lays a foundation. All of this can be accurately used for one who teaches another. They were to have wisdom in how to approach that job.

•  Leviticus 10:12-15  :  "And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Elemazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: 'Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy. You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.'"  : The third priority is to maintain a current fellowship with the Lord. 

- After this time of tragedy for the priests, the Lord invited them to come in for the sake of fellowship through the command of Moses.

- That was what the grain offering was symbolic of: Fellowship in the work or the service. The hands of man giving to the hands of God. God called them to this place of offering before Him.

- This issue was not to interrupt our relationship with God. He tells them to come to Him. Often we do the opposite.

- Our troublesome issues sometimes foster bitterness and we respond with distance! God is saying, "I want to have fellowship with you. That is where the healing will come!"

•  Leviticus 10:16-18  :  "Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Elemazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, ^'Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.'"  : After all that had happened with Nadab and Abihu, Moses was careful about the details and the actions of the priests.

- Moses made a CSI level investigation in the propriety of the sin offering. The goat was there, but if you recall, it should not have been there. It was burned, but it had not been consumed.

- The priests, according to what we have already seen, were to eat of it and it was not to be left until the morning. The priests on duty were Elemazar and Ithamar, Aaron's other sons.

- Moses was also their uncle and he wanted to make sure that they did not meet the same end as their brothers.

•  Leviticus 10:19,20  :  "And Aaron said to Moses, 'Look, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?' So when Moses heard that, he was content."  : Our final priority is to be authentic and honest with the Lord. The heart behind this statement, I believe, is simple: "I just can't do this today! My heart is not in the right place!"

- Aaron expresses weakness at this moment that any human would feel. Should he then just do this exercise devoid of faith or in a fake way? Would God want an empty ritual?

- Would God approve of performance, when our hearts are far from where they need to be? That is utter hypocrisy and Aaron knew that that was just as offensive to the Lord.

 - God wanted Aaron's heart and I believe that Moses was satisfied with Aaron's answer because of the heart of God.

Conclusion

- As we close, I remind us that we serve a Holy God. Do you regard Him as Holy? Does His Holiness guide your life decisions?

- As His Priests, I remind us that this is what our whole life is about: Saying what He says, living how He says and doing what He wants.

- If I can point to a place where I am out of line or I feel the slightest uneasiness, I pray that you would join me in making sure that this will not continue to be the case.