Every precaution had been taken to be sure the construction of the wilderness tabernacle was right. All of the articles of worship had been carefully consecrated and all of the requirements had been specifically explained to every son of Aaron who now made up the priesthood. Their ministry in the tabernacle had been purified and consecrated and set apart unto God for seven days. The priests (who were all the sons of Aaron) had been taught exactly how to kindle the fires of the altar. Now the true worship was to begin!
Can you imagine the excitement of the people?
I promise you they were not imagining one of the things that happened in the very beginning. As in most cases where humans are involved; there are always a few who cannot listen and who do not understand how to follow instructions.
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF THE FIRE FROM THE ALTAR
Remember that the altar fires had been lit originally from the fire of God that fell from Heaven. This was holy fire it was never put out. It was to burn perpetually forever. When the priest lit the fire for the Sanctuary; they were instructed to use only the fire of God from the altar. When sacrifices were made; the altar was kept burning and the fire of God was used to consume them.
The requirements had been spelled out over and over to these new priests. They had been carefully instructed by Moses and Aaron. Everything needed to be done God’s way or not at all; and each and every individual priest knew this.
God wasn’t there to follow the priests; the priests were there to follow God.
So with all of this great preparation; the tabernacle was ready for worship.
What should have been an amazing first few weeks of the priesthood turned into a tragic disaster. Why? Because of human nature and man’s tendency to be in control of things that only God can do.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our every-Thursday ongoing bible study called COME AS A CHILD. We are studying Leviticus Chapter 10 today. Thank you for joining us. If you missed last week’s lesson; you may review it here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/following-god-to-eternity/.
NADAB AND ABIHU
Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s two oldest sons. They should have been the two most ready to step into the priesthood and follow under the teachings of their High Priest father, Aaron; but something was amiss with them.
Did they not listen to Moses as he gave the instructions?
Either they didn’t listen; or they just didn’t care.
Did they forget everything they learned about being a priest and doing ministry in the tabernacle?
Either they forgot; or they just didn’t care.
They had to do things their own way. God’s way wasn’t good enough for them.
These two wanted to stand out; to be special; to be different. It was more about their platform than God’s worship.
CAREFUL INSTRUCTIONS HAD BEEN GIVEN
Every priest had been instructed carefully on how to light the censors for the incense. The fire had to be taken from the altar of the burnt offerings; the altar with the eternal fire from God. No other fire was to be used inside the wilderness tabernacle. This was so important that certain people had been assigned how to carry the fire around when they traveled. It was never to go out. It was to burn perpetually.
There was no way these two guys could have missed this point.
Did these guys just get lazy? Maybe they didn’t want to walk out to where the burnt altar was and get the fire?
Not all of the details are provided; but the scriptures say that these two sons of Aaron came before God with strange fire.
WHAT IS “STRANGE FIRE”?
There are lots of theories about what the phrase “strange fire” means in the scripture passages of Leviticus.
One should point out here that in ancient times as well as modern times there are two kinds of fire,. There is an authentic fire that comes straight from God and there is a false fire that is man-made. True worship can only happen with authentic fire. Unless God is the flame of the altar of sacrifice; the sacrifice is not acceptable.
Nadab and Abihu didn’t start their censors with the fire from God. They made their own fire for burning the incense in The Holy Place. It wasn’t acceptable then; and it isn’t acceptable now.
STRANGE FIRE IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE
Whether you realize it or not you have probably lived through many examples of this same problem that started from the very beginnings of formal worship with Nadab and Abihu at the wilderness tabernacle.
You might have been present in a worship service where God’s Holy Spirit was misrepresented by men. God abhors this. It isn’t worship at all; it is counterfeit worship.
There is always that possibility that you might have been in a worship service where people let their emotions and human nature lead them into strange places that had nothing to do with worship at all; but might have been more about the ego of the person or people claiming to worship. This too is counterfeit worship and God doesn’t put up with it for long. It is “strange fire.”
Maybe you have encountered false prophets using God’s name in vain and proclaiming all kinds of things in order to profit for themselves instead of God. Some ministries run solely on the “name it and claim it” mode of worship. This is counterfeit. It is strange fire.
God isn’t a magic handy man that you yell up to and ask to make all of your wildest dreams come true. That isn’t what worship is all about; and if that is what you have learned; you might want to take a closer look at Nadab and Abihu. They had no reverence for God or His specific instructions for ministry and worship.
Many of us are still operating under this same wrong theory. We are bringing “strange fire” into God’s holy place and God is not pleased.
FALSE GOSPELS ARE STILL AROUND
We have many examples of the spirit of Nadab and Abihu in the worship of today. In the wilderness tabernacle it was stopped immediately. The men were killed with the holy fire from God that would not tolerate such an abomination.
There are times when God corrects things immediately; and there are times when He simply turns his back and lets men discover their own depravity on their own.
Today many men twist the meaning of the holy scriptures and make up their own gospel.
No one worries whether or not they keep the true Sabbath.
No one cares whether or not they honor God’s wishes to keep His Holy Days and to set aside the appointed times He has commanded.
Many feel the ten commandments are no longer valid. They practice abominations before the altar of God and call it worship.
The spirit of Nadab and Abihu still lurks around our sanctuaries of today.
FINDING AND USING THE TRUE ALTAR
Fire is not placed on our altars we use today. God puts the fire within His people’s spirits with His Holy Spirit. The fire of God resides inside the hearts and souls of men and women who have come to God in surrender to sins. True repentance kindles God’s fire in our hearts. Your heart toward God is your true altar. Never allow strange fires to burn there.
These true altars have been covered with the blood of Jesus and cleansed with the waters of baptism. Then the true fire from God comes to live within their being. It bears repeating that this true fire happens when God’s Holy Spirit comes to reside within God’s people’s hearts and souls. At that point; the instructions of a very real God matter more than ever. All worship must be clean and pure and holy before God. No counterfeit will ever be tolerated by the true fire because God is holy.
God’s Holy Spirit living within His people recognizes and discerns false and counterfeit worship. The longer you walk in the true fire from God the easier it will be for you to discern true and false worship.
WHAT TO DO TO STOP FALSE FIRES
When you hit a Nadab and Abihu moment in today’s modern worship; listen to God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead you away from anything that isn’t godly or right.
This is your compass for the ship called worship today.
The people living in the days of Moses did not yet have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within their heart and souls. It was contained within the fire of the altar of burnt offerings; the fire that symbolicly represented God’s love story with His people. You had to pass by that altar of burnt offerings and make the sacrifice before you even entered the door to the Tabernacle. The real fire of God was there. It was available for all who needed to use it. All they had to do was to take it!
THE FIRE WORKS LIKE A WEDDING RING
This REAL fire from God was the fire that bound them together; the fire that formed their relationship; that worked like a seal and a sign between God and His people. It was like the ring of a marriage covenant. Would you approach your future bride with the ring of another man? No; only God’s promise would work; it was true way back then and it is true now.
All worship must be real and true in order to be effective for The Kingdom of God.
It must be done God’s way or not at all.
We simply can’t recreate God in our own image; we must conform and imitate the true image of God.
We must follow the instructions in his letter to us; the holy scriptures.
REWRITING HISTORY ISN’T EFFECTIVE
It seems today that people think they can rewrite history.
They are taking out pages from the records that happened and claiming they didn’t ever exist. By pretending a lie; they try to recreate their own little perfect world. It doesn’t work though. Worlds built on lies are fake and false. They are not real.
The same happens with religious practices. By picking and choosing the scriptures that fit into their own image of God; people worship a counterfeit God; one of their own making. This is idolatry in its truest form. It doesn’t fly with God. He will not endure it for long.
SOME SONS WILL NEVER BE TRUE
At a time in Aaron’s life when he should have obtained the greatest joy of a father; that of seeing all of his sons truly worshiping God in God’s special holy place among His people; Aaron was severely disappointed because the hearts of two of his sons were never really true to God. They had not listened to God’s requirements and instructions.
They had done things their own way.
The results were the same as every other time that men have tried to create a God in their own image; death happened.
True worship brings life.
Counterfeit worship brings death.
REMEMBER NADAB AND ABIHU
Let the true fire of God lead you into the real truths of God.
Do not be led astray by other men’s false egos and other men’s desire to control God. When you see this come into the place where you worship; remember Nadab and Abihu and take warning.
Educate yourself on the true ways of God and do not veer to the right or the left.
Follow God; not man.
You will never be disappointed and you will find the way to eternal life.