“Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.’” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.” Leviticus 10:3
Today we read about the Ordination Ceremony where Aaron and his sons will be consecrated. The Sacrifices are gathered, the Children of Israel are invited, and are told “today the Lord will appear to you”. So picture if you will, the “whole congregation” standing there, watching the Tabernacle, the Altar, and Aaron and his sons, all being sprinkled with the Anointing Oil. Then, the Animals are slaughtered, the blood is sprinkled and applied, and the Animals placed on the Altar. Then suddenly, without warning, Fire comes rushing out from the inside of the Tabernacle and consumes the Sacrifices. A Spectacular Display of God’s Presence and Power!!!
In the Context of this Story, and not long after, Aaron’s two oldest sons prepare Incense to be offered inside the Tabernacle. But we’re told that they “offered strange fire before the Lord”, and as they did so, “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them”. We’re not sure what made their offering “strange fire”; we can only speculate. But whatever it was, we’re told it was not what He Commanded, and Nadab and Abihu were burned to death. Today’s Verse is Moses’ response to the Tragic Event.
So in our Reading today, we see The God who Answers by Fire! With one instance, God shows His Acceptance; with another, He shows His Wrath. In the first, from Obedience; in the second, from Disobedience. This is Huge Folks! If we do not see the Importance of the Lesson here, we can be guilty of Worshiping a God of our own Imagination. This “IS” the God of the Bible. Obviously, from our reading, He is the God of the Old Testament. But, He is also the God revealed by Christ as “The Father” in the New Testament. AND…He Has Not Changed!!! So, what has changed? Well, just as Fire came out and consumed the Ordination Sacrifices, so the Fire of God’s Wrath has come out and consumed Christ on the Cross. And because He was offered up “once and for all” for ALL God’s People, when we are Irreverent, when we are Sinful, when we Fail, God’s Fire will not consume us; it has already done its job on Christ. But make no mistake; GOD IS HOLY!!! And must still be treated so!