Leviticus 10:1 says, And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. Two of Aarons sons offered a strange burnt offering to the LORD, one that He had not commanded them to offer. We today cannot just assume that we can offer things to God without first making sure that what we are doing is in accordance with His will. Verse two adds, And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. God destroyed them with fire. God has offered us one way to salvation today, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and if we attempt to find salvation by any other method, we will one day find ourselves in the fiery pits of hell. Verse three continues, Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. Moses told Aaron that this was but a fulfillment of God's word. God had said that He would sanctify those that came near Him, and when Nadab and Abihu did not come under the sanctification of God, they were destroyed. We cannot come into the presence of God without being sanctified, and we can only be sanctified through the blood of Christ. Then we are told that Aaron held his peace. If we see something removed from our Christian life that has been bringing dishonor to God, no matter how much we may have valued it, we can only hold our peace. Verse four states, And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. Moses called on two of Aaron's cousins to carry the bodies of Nadab and Abihu from the camp. Those things that corrupt the worship of God cannot be allowed to continue to stay in God's presence. Of course, we could say that God is present everywhere, which is true, but some places are known as places where He is worshipped, and they certainly cannot be allowed to have things present which do not honor God. Verse five adds, So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. Mishael and Elzaphan did as Moses had instructed them to do, just as we must do as God instructs us to do today. Verse six continues, And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. Aaron and his sons were forbidden to publicly mourn since they represented God, and it was God who had destroyed the two sons and brothers. When we are representing God, which as Christians we should do at all times, we should not mourn when God deals with sin, even if it hits close to home. The people were to mourn the loss of two of their priests, I believe because of the reason for their death. We need to take our relationship with God very seriously. Verse seven says, And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. Aaron and his sons, the priests, were forbidden from going out of the tabernacle since God' anointing oil was upon them. Verse eight adds, And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Now, God spoke directly to Aaron without going through Moses. God speaks directly to us as followers of Christ, though He may speak to us through others as well as we grow in discipleship. Verse nine continues, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: Aaron and his sons were warned to not go into the tabernacle of the congregation if they had been drinking strong drinks. This could be viewed as a prohibition for the priests to not drink, or as a prohibition for the priest on duty to not drink. The best way to be sure would be for Aaron and his sons to just not drink strong drinks. We certainly should never come into God's presence under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, and we most definitely should not attempt to carry out our calling as Christians while we are. Verse ten states, And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; God told Aaron that the prohibition of drinking strong drinks was so that they would be able to tell the difference between the holy and the unholy and between the clean and the unclean. We today should remain clear minded so that we can tell the difference between what God calls us to do and what we might do and what we are not to do as His followers. Verse eleven adds, And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. Aaron and his sons had the responsibility to teach the people of Israel all of God's statutes. We today have the responsibility to teach the world about God, and we can do so much more effectively when we are of a clear mind.
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