Leviticus 10:1-3 - Reverent Worship

Leviticus 10:1-3 - Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which 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, "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.'"

Message: Reverent Worship

Time: There is sufficient evidence that Moses penned Exodus and Leviticus including references to Leviticus by New Testament authors. Its name means "pertaining to the Levites" and its purpose was to instruct the Israelites on right living and proper worship. The most likely time for this is 1446 BC. The book communicates that receiving God’s forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Leviticus is a book that often describes rules concerning sacrifices. As such, it is a book today that I hardly read. I suppose it is in the clean part of my Bible. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and so fulfilled these sacrifices once and for all. Yet, there are principles in the book that remain pertinent to our lives today. 

The passage selected today concerns the story of Nadab and Abihu. Aaron was the older brother of Moses. He had two sons: Nadab and Abihu. They were all in the line of Levi and therefore had the responsibility of leading worship. What is interesting here is they decided on their own to offer an offering to the Lord. This offering was described as "strange." It was offering a fire he had not commanded. And God consumed them by fire and they died. And the lesson being that people need to be careful as to how we follow the Lord's commands, in this situation, regarding worship. 

Let me break it down a little further because at first glance this does sound shocking. I was looking at Ellicot's commentary ((1819-1905), an English theologian who wrote a commentary on the New Testament in 1878 and then was editor, meaning he wrote some but mostly compiled commentaries of other writers on the Old Testament in 1897.

He says:

(1) They each took his own censer, and not the sacred utensil of the sanctuary. 

(2) They both offered it together, whereas the incense was only to be offered by one. 

(3) They presumptuously encroached upon the functions of the high priest; for according to the Law the high priest alone burnt incense in a censer. 

(4) They offered the incense at an unauthorized time, since it was apart from the morning and evening sacrifice.

In other words, they didn't show respect. God had previously told them what they needed to do in regards to worship, but they didn't do it. They were not careful in how they acted. This is interesting and yet, I am not sure I am very careful when I show up to worship. I don't think Abihu and Nadab intended to be disrespectful. 

Summary: We must take care to worship God with reverence, according to God's word. 

Promise: As you attend worship, endeavor to remember who God is and to approach Him with reverent thanks for His goodness to you.

Prayer: Lord, it hits me hard that when I show up for Sunday worship, I struggle dealing with personal desires and miss sometimes the heart of worship. I get distracted by the showmanship Lord. I get critical. And I am not sure my actions and my heart are into it. Help me Lord. Help me to truly worship and have a deep heart for it. Teach me Lord what I need to do. Thank you for our church and the emphasis they place on it.