Leviticus 10:1-4 - Now Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put
fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the
Lord, such as he had not commanded them. And fire
came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before
the Lord. Then
Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when he said,
"Through those who are near me I will show myself holy, and before all the
people I will be glorified.' " And Aaron was silent.
The directions of God were not followed
exactly…and these two sons of Aaron got the fire for their censer from another
source than the one God had ordered. So God made their disobedience an example for
the others in the camp. Just as he has
come out of the fire of presence to consume the offerings they offered….he now
came out of the fire to judge and punish those that did not follow his orders …exactly
to the very details ….given to them by Moses.
God means business…when we disobey….when we
try to take short cuts…when we think that we know a better way than the one we
know he has given us in our heart…it always ends bad for us. The story doesn’t
say where they got this ‘unholy’ fire…and it really doesn’t matter. It was not fire from the holy altar…dedicated
to God…sanctified for his use. And God did not like it…and immediately let them
know he meant exactly what he said.
I felt such empathy and respect for Aaron
as I read this sad story. His silence must have held in that initial scream of
loss…the tears of grief…the fear of the holy Lord…and the guilt that he may not
have taught them with enough vigor and seriousness. But Aaron…showed in his outward stature…the
acceptance of the will of God. In his
silence…he showed reverence and understanding…of a God that was in control...who
had the power to punish those who did not follow the directions he had given
them.
I was reminded in my spirit immediately of
the powerful words of Ecclesiastes 3….penned by the wise son of King David…Solomon. It was pre-planted there by my pastor this
weekend….for he had preached on it Sunday night. It tells us that there is a
season…a time in our life for everything.
It says that we are placed in seasons of life. Some of those seasons are for laughter and
some are to mourn…sometimes we are to speak boldly for Christ and sometimes we
are to accept the will of God with reverent silence.
Father…I thank you for Aaron’s model of
acceptance…of how he understood that you had a reason for taking the life of
his sons…and he accepted it as a part of a bigger plan for the people of Israel. Forgive me for the times I have screamed at
you…cried and flailed myself against the bed and cried out why? Help me to soak
in the humbleness and respect of Aaron…and stand before you with reverent
silence…and accept your will as what you have planned to teach me…to train me
for your service. Amen.
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