Leviticus 10:3 “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.”
Some of the stories of the Bible are hard to read as they shock us. While they may be hard to read and to fully understand, some of the stories are to bring us to a place where we realize that God is incredibly serious about appropriately handling holy things. The names of Nadab and Abihu and their story may not be very familiar, as we tend to pass over reading Leviticus in our Bible reading, but their names are in Leviticus 10, as is their story. With just two verses, we learn that holy things are to be handled seriously and there is swift and severe judgment from God when they are not.
Notice the two verses: Leviticus 10:1-2 “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. 2 So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
Shocking, maybe surprising, and definitely sobering to read, is it not? Like reading about Uzza touching the Ark of God, and the anger of the Lord was aroused, and God killed Uzza. It is like reading about Ananias and Sapphira dying for lying in Acts 5.
Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord because of disobedience with holy things. And as Moses reviews, if you will, analyzes the situation, he speaks to the new High Priest, Aaron, and tells him what God’s expectations are for those who will be serving Him as priests. As a reminder, here is what God said. “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.”
To the point: There must be a holy reverence for the one who is Holy!
While the story of swift and severe judgment shocks us and maybe shakes us up, we need to let it shape us. Are we handling holy things lightly? Are we handling holy things carelessly? Do we have a reverence for the one who is Holy?
Handle HOLY things entrusted to you with all reverence!
Continue Strong, having reverence and respect for God,
And remember to DATE THE WORD