Monite Me 17, 2021
The sin of Aaron's sons
Ko e angahala ‘a e ongo foha ‘o ‘Elone
(v. 1) Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.
(v. 1) KA ko e ongo foha ‘o ‘Ēlone, ‘a
Nātapi mo e ‘Āpiu, na‘a na to‘o takitaha ‘ene ‘ainga malala, ‘o ‘ai ki ai ha
afi, ‘o tuku ki ai ha ‘inisēnisi, ‘o na ‘oatu ki he ‘ao ‘o Sihova ha afi kehe,
ko e me‘a na‘e ‘ikai te ne tu‘utu‘uni kiate kinautolu.
*Commentary: David Guzik Study Guide on Leviticus*
1. (Lev 10:1) The sin of Aaron's sons.
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it: In the afterglow of the consecration experience (which Nadab and Abihu were part of), these two sons of Aaron sought out their own relationship with God, apart from the revelation granted through Moses.
We don't know what their motivation was. Perhaps it was pride, perhaps it was ambition, perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps it was impatience that motivated them. Whatever their exact motivation, it wasn't holiness unto the LORD.
Nadab and Abihu had a legacy of great
spiritual experiences. They saw first-hand:
- All the miracles God did in bringing the
nation out of Egypt.
- The voice of God and saw the fire,
lightning, smoke, and felt the thunder and the earthquake with the rest of the
nation at Mount Sinai.
- They went up with Moses, Aaron, and the seventy elders for a special meeting with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:1-2), where they saw the God of Israel … so they say God, and they ate and drank (Exodus 24:9-11).
This shows that even a legacy of great spiritual experiences can't keep us right with God - only an abiding relationship grounded in the truth of God's word can.
Which He had not commanded them: They came in an unauthorized way, coming to God, but demanding to come their own way. Therefore God considered this a profane fire before the LORD.
This was a misuse of special incense. This incense was regarded as holy for the LORD (Exodus 30:35-37). It wasn't to be used in someone's experiment with God.
Profane fire was a fire not kindled from the altar of burnt offering; it was fire not associated with the atoning and redeeming work of sacrifice.
The fire in the altar of burnt offering was sacred because it was kindled by God Himself. Nadab and Abihu offered a fire of their own making. Perhaps they thought that all fire was the same, and the undiscerning may have agreed with them. But all fire isn't the same and there is a huge difference between the fire kindled by God and fire conjured up by man.
Worst of all, before the LORD probably
means they dared even to go past the veil into the Most Holy Place. Perhaps
they thought they had accomplished too much during their time of consecration,
and were now worthy to go right in.
Verse 3
ReplyDeleteAnd 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.
From the Enduring Word Bible Commentary
a. By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy: Many think they can come their own way before God and do their own thing in His presence. But God demands to be regarded as holy by all those who come near to Him.
i. Make no mistake: We can come to God just as we are, but we may not come to Him any way we please. We must come the way He has provided, the way made in Jesus Christ.
· I must be regarded as holy means that God will show His holiness.
· I must be regarded as holy means that God’s servants must honor Him in a way that is fitting for a holy God.
ii. “Sanctified he will be, either in the sincerity of men’s conversation, or else in the severity of their condemnation.” (Trapp)
b. And before all the people I must be glorified: This reminds us that God must be glorified in the meetings of His people. The focus must not be on man, on his cleverness, on his insight, or on his ingenuity. Those who fail to glorify God will not be rewarded.
· I must be glorified means that God will guard and proclaim His glory.
· I must be glorified means that God’s servants must be concerned for His glory, not their own glory, thrill-seeking, or curiosity.
c. So Aaron held his peace: Aaron just saw two of his sons struck down dead before the LORD. It was natural for him to question, or even to lament – but God would not allow it. At this moment, the respect of God’s holiness was more important than Aaron’s right to grieve, and Aaron was able to see this wrong from God’s standpoint, not only his own.
i. “How elegantly expressive is this of his parental affection, his deep sense of the presumption of his sons, and his own submission to the justice of God!” (Clarke)
No matter how long someone has been serving the Lord it doesn’t give them any right to do things on his own accord. God will always be the sacred Holiness we should strive to become no matter what. What Aaron’s sons had done was basically a slap in the face for their father but especially to God because out of all the things these two sons have seen growing up they should’ve known what they had done was wrong. For example, I have been brought up in the ministry since before I was born. If I were to curse God in front of a crowd and set up false alters would be an abomination because I know God is almighty and merciful but He could strike me before the words have left my mouth and for me to go ahead after all I’ve seen and heard is unacceptable. Regardless of the reason Aaron’s sons had, they had to have known that this would be something they’d get in trouble for. Do better 🙏🏼
ReplyDelete