Safety In God’s Given Means :: Leviticus 10:1-7

Then the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in them, set incense upon it, and presented before YHWH foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went out from YHWH and consumed them (vv 1-2a).

[Prayer]

*Holy God, You have provided all that is necessary for us to draw near to you and find your mercy. Grant us to trust in your ways that we come forward according to your command and receive the mercy you provide in the presentation of your Son. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.*

5.

After erecting the Tabernacle and prescribing the various offerings, God separated Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, to serve as priests. Earlier, Nadab and Abihu were with Moses, Aaron, and the seventy elders who were called up the mountain by God in Exodus 24. They beheld God and ate and drank (Ex 24:11). They were called to be different from the different, given by God for the people! As we heard a couple of weeks ago, they announced God’s blessing over the people. What a great privilege!

As priests, they served at the pleasure of God Almighty ... to walk in his ways and to uphold his charge. They were to inspect and offer sacrifices for the people ... discern between the holy and common ... teach the people God’s commandments ... and announce God’s grace. 

In the two chapters before our text, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu underwent an eight-day ordination ritual. This God-given ceremony sanctified them and placed them before the Congregation, bringing trust to the people that these are the ones through whom God would work. But those eight days of triumph turned to tragedy, as Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, put fire in them, set incense upon it, and presented before YHWH foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went out from YHWH and consumed them.

4.

It would seem Nadab and Abihu were acting according to the duties that God gave to them, so what’s going on here?

The key is at the end of verse 1. I’ll read it again: The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in them, set incense upon it, and presented before YHWH foreign fire, which he had not commanded them. 

There it is ... as clear as day. Did you hear it?

No matter their position or prominence before men, these two sons of Aaron acted without God’s command. A closer reading of Leviticus 8 and 9 is helpful.

Leviticus 8 and 9 recount the priest’s ordination, and it all revolves around the refrain: “As YHWH commanded.” ... It is repeated 10 times! (8:4, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 34; 9:6, 7, 10). God said, Do it this way! And so they did! They did not presume to act on their own. They did what God commanded, and they received what God gave, and they walked in it “As YHWH commanded.”

Acting according to God’s command gave them confidence and certainty. Through his given means, the people are enabled to approach him without fear ... and they are enabled to find grace and help in times of need. Chapters 8 and 9 move through this rite without pause, so it may be helpful to read the end of 9 and go into 10 the same way. 

Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of YHWH appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before YHWH and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the pieces of fat, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Then the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in them, set incense upon it, and presented before YHWH foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went out from YHWH and consumed them, and they died before YHWH (9:22-10:2).

Without the pause of the chapter headings, you can see that all of this happens in succession ... one action followed by another. Whereas Aaron continually did as YHWH commanded, which brought blessing to the people and God’s action to receive the sacrifices laid out, Nadab and Abihu acted presumptuously. God did not call them forward ... and they came anyway. They did not use what God provided, but they acted like any fire was ‘good enough.’ Over any self-promotion, self-exaltation, or self-styled worship, the sin of Nadab and Abihu was that they acted on their own and without God’s command.

God established the way, the who, the how, the why, and the means. 

There is his way and no other. 

3.

Why is it so difficult to do it God’s way? 

Why is it so difficult to remember to do it the way he taught us?

Nadab and Abihu may not have meant harm. But the heart is full of wickedness, evil, pride, sin, iniquity, transgression. Out of the heart comes immorality, false witness, murder, and the like. The way is broad to destruction. It has many options, inventions, and intentions. Many claim their love of God and good intentions but cannot show that it is the way God had given. That is not the gate that leads to life. The way to life is narrow and opened up only by God ... the One Way ... who has given His means and promise. 

Only His way will suffice. 

Anything else is foreign and strange. 

Anything else defiles God’s Name and Holiness. 

As He says through Moses: I will be hallowed among those approaching me. I will be glorified before all people (v 3).

Nadab and Abihu’s sin demonstrated the folly of acting outside God’s given means and command. They become a lesson to the people. Receive, use, and find confidence in God’s order ... what He has given ... and be at peace. In the God-given means of grace, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. In God’s given means of grace, he leads the way to holiness. The cloud and fire never left them, but marked out the only way to go. He established the means and the way. 

AS YOU WANDER IN THE WILDERNESS, FIND SAFETY IN GOD’S GIVEN MEANS.

2.

Repent from ingenuity and inventiveness bred from a sinful heart. Hear God’s command, receive His given means of grace .. and approach with confidence, trusting in his holy gifts that announce blessing and life through Him Who Is The Way, The Truth, and The Life (Jn 14:6). 

1.

Jesus never deviated, invented, or gave something strange to God. He was appointed, ordained, and announced as the Holy One of God in His Baptism. He walked the way of trial and temptation through the wilderness. He used God’s given word to thwart every self-provided intention suggested by the devil. Jesus was given a cross and gladly took it up to offer His Holiness to God for the payment of your sin. Jesus was given a tomb, and He used it to sanctify all graves. Rising again, Jesus has opened up the way to everlasting life. Jesus then gives his church his means of salvation. Let us honor and use his given means and find confidence and safety in what he has provided. 

Jesus has given you his word, a word of correction and grace. He gives baptism, water combined with his Word and command that drowns your sin and raises you to life. He gives bread and wine to deliver his body and blood to you, come into you, and grant you peace in the forgiveness, life, and salvation he has won. Forsake your good intentions and draw near to him through the means he has provided. Hold fast to these things he has given and commanded, that in them you are placed on the narrow way marked out by Jesus. Come forward ... not by your works, but through God’s given means, and be led into the safety of everlasting life.

To Jesus, who gave himself into the wrath of God for our sins, and who lives again with the announcement of blessing and entrance into his presence ... may he be held in holiness and glory ... now and forevermore ... in his name. Amen.