seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Leviticus 10:1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said:
“‘Among those who approach me
I will be proved holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.’”
I will be proved holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.’”
Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.” 5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, 10 so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, 11 and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”
12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering left over from the food offerings prepared without yeast and presented to the Lord and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 Eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the food offerings presented to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings. 15 The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the food offerings, to be waved before the Lord as a wave offering. This will be the perpetual share for you and your children, as the Lord has commanded.”
16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
19 Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?” 20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
This is the link to the commentary I used.
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it: In the afterglow of the consecration experience (which Nadab and Abihu were part of), these two sons of Aaron sought to connect with God their own way, apart from the specific ceremonies God revealed to Moses.
We don’t know what their motivation was. Perhaps it was pride, perhaps it was ambition, perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps it was impatience that motivated them. Maybe they found the seven-day repetition of the sacrifices to be tedious and wanted a new thrill to break what they considered boredom. Whatever their exact motivation, it wasn’t holiness unto the LORD.
Which He had not commanded them: They came in an unauthorized way, coming to God, but demanding to come according to their preference. Therefore, God considered this a profane fire before the LORD.
So Aaron held his peace: Aaron just saw two of his sons struck down dead before the LORD. It was natural for him to question, or even to lament — but God would not allow it. At this moment, the respect of God’s holiness was more important than Aaron’s right to grieve, and Aaron was able to see this wrong from God’s standpoint, not only his own.
Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people: This perhaps was the hardest day of Aaron’s life. Two of his sons were suddenly killed under the judgment of God, and he could not mourn them. To mourn might have implied — even in the slightest way — that God was wrong in bringing this judgment upon Nadab and Abihu. Aaron or Moses could not communicate this; it would dishonor God.
You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die: Aaron perhaps also thought, “I did worse than this at the golden calf incident; why did God judge them?” But Aaron did that before his consecration as a priest. After his consecration, he and his sons had a greater accountability (for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you).
That you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean: This is the first of two priestly responsibilities listed in verse 11. The priest had to discern and explain the difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. He had to know it for himself, and explain it to the people.
And such things have befallen me: Aaron did not eat of the sin offering because he mourned the loss of his sons. Though Aaron was not allowed to do any of the other signs of mourning, it was appropriate that he fast on the day of his sons’ death — and so he did, and Moses was satisfied with this explanation (he was content).
I know, it's a lot of reading... but look... we're in Leviticus 10.... I left off way back in Exodus. Since then, artisans were handpicked by God to teach others how to craft. The artisans crafted the Tent, the Furniture, and even the clothes the priests would use. I also left off the descriptions of all the different offerings the priests and the people had to learn. Please go back and read all those chapters as soon as you get time. A lot of the traditions in the Churches are built on the instruction given to the original priests and the original tabernacle itself.So why did I decide to continue at these verses?
Aaron's sons were killed.
Aaron's sons were priests who didn't take their positions seriously.
Aaron's sons were priests who for whatever reason, decided they knew better than Moses or God.
Aaron couldn't even mourn his sons.... because they snubbed their noses at their priestly training and did things their way.
Aaron decided that if he couldn't mourn them in a traditional way... he could fast... and Moses understood.
Aaron had two sons who were anointed as priests.... and both of them got big heads.... and both of them died.
Aaron had two sons.... who were burnt to a crisp.
Burnt to a crisp!
