Leviticus 10

The last couple of chapters were beautiful. The children of Israel walked out all that God commanded them to do… Every detail was right! The priest’s outfitted… CHECK! The priest’s anointed… CHECK! The offerings properly prepared, slaughtered, and presented before the Lord… CHECK!

The result of this was amazing and I believe quite unexpected. The glory of God appeared, His fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, and the people shouted, falling on their faces in worship of the Lord. It was a HOLY moment; the entire nation was having a very real encounter with the one and only Holy God.

As chapter 9 closes and chapter 10 begins, the “camera” zooms in upon a couple of observers there at this monumental occasion. These new characters in our story are Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. Now remember, all of the children of Israel are prostrated before the Lord right now, awed by his presence… But that isn’t what Nadab and Abihu are looking at! Their attention is drawn towards 2 individuals in particular: Moses, and their father Aaron. You see, though it was God’s glory that had fallen, Moses and Aaron were the instruments God was using. So when the people saw God and worshipped, Nadab and Abihu saw Aaron and Moses, and were envious. They thought to themselves, “let’s get a little taste of that glory, and see what it tastes like”. They grab censers and fill them with incense, and then they go charging out in front of all the people, anticipating their awe as they bring down more manifestations of God’s glory and power.

They got a taste of the glory alright, but it wasn’t at all what they expected! Instead of becoming spiritual superstars, these boys became ominous object lessons. They were instantaneously burnt to a crisp... consumed by the fire of God! Why did it happen? Was looking for a little glory all that bad? Did God over react?

Look at what Moses says in verse 3: “It is that which Jehovah spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” These guys were not seeking God’s glory; they were after their OWN GLORY. The actions of Moses and Aaron were commanded by the Lord, and were done to draw attention to the Lord. The boys did the opposite; they took advantage of the situation. They had a crowd of people, a captivated audience, and tried to bring the attention off of the Lord onto themselves, operating outside of the bounds of His commandments.

This provides us with a 2 fold test that we can apply to ourselves anytime we are “serving the Lord”.

Are you setting the Lord apart as Holy?
Are you giving all the glory to God?

I often ask myself these questions in a slightly different way:

“Why do I do the things I do, and who do I do them for?” Nadab and Abihu were offering strange fire for attention, for glory, for the respect of the others around them… they were not doing it for God’s glory… Let me exhort you this way: “whatever you do, do it with all your heart as unto the LORD, and not unto men”.