Text: Leviticus 10:1-7
The Setting — Israelites were in the wilderness
- Had been delivered from Egypt, God was providing for them, He had given His law to them
- Aaron and his sons were offerings sacrifices to God (Leviticus 9:1-2,7-9,12) — according to what God commanded (Leviticus 9:7,16; 8:36)
The Sin of Nadab & Abihu
- Offered “strange fire” — not what the Lord commanded (Leviticus 16:12)
- They failed to treat God as holy/sanctified and did not honor/glorify Him (v. 3)
- Disobedience, presumption, disregard for God’s pattern
The Response
- God’s response — fire came down quickly, indicating intense displeasure in their actions
- How Aaron could have responded (human nature) — mourning (Leviticus 10:6), anger (Numbers 16:41-42), forsaking the work (Leviticus 10:7)
- What Moses said Aaron’s response should be — remain true to the Lord
Application for Us Today
- Just as the Israelites did, we must worship God today according to His standard (John 4:24), pattern (Hebrews 8:5; 2 Timothy 1:13)
- If we deviate from the pattern, we are not treating God as holy/sanctified and we are not honoring/glorifying Him
- We must follow God — regardless of what His instructions are or how others react to them (to follow or to not follow)
