From Triumph to Tragedy

From Triumph to Tragedy

Christian Friedrich Schonbein was a German chemistry professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland in the mid-1800s. Soon after he and his wife were married, Mrs. Schonbein discovered that her husband liked to tinker with chemicals. Sometimes his experiments would fill their home with the stench of rotten eggs or vapor that stung her eyes. Finally, Mrs. Schonbein put her foot down and told her husband that no more chemical experiments were allowed in the house. Professor Schonbein reluctantly promised to abide by his wife’s rules, but he didn't keep his promise. When he knew that his wife would be out of the house for most of the day, he would sneak bottles of chemicals into the house and conduct his experiments and then after he was done, he would open the doors and windows and air out the house to avoid getting caught.

One day while his wife was out, Professor Schonbein was conducting an experiment in his wife's kitchen when he accidentally spilled a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid on the tile counter. Horrified that he would destroy the tile and incur his wife’s wrath he grabbed his wife's cotton apron from the place where it hung next to the oven. He quickly mopped up the spill with the apron and hung it back on the peg to dry. When his wife returned everything was in place just as she had left it. Professor Schonbein had erased all evidence of his forbidden experiments. Later that night, while he was in the study of his home, he heard a scream from the kitchen and hurried to her to find out what had happened. His wife’s apron had spontaneously burst into flames. Fortunately, the apron was still hanging on the peg by the oven and she hadn't put it on yet.

It turned out that when he mopped up the acid mixture with the cloth apron, Professor Schonbein had accidentally invented a substance now known as nitrocellulose or gun cotton, a highly explosive flammable substance. In disobeying his wife’s wishes he made a new chemical discovery; however his discovery could have had tragic consequences if his wife had been wearing her apron when it exploded. As we come to Leviticus 10, we are introduced to two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. They have just witnessed the triumph of seeing God’s Shekinah glory appear to them and consume the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. But this morning we will see tragedy as these same two priests disobey God's commands by experimenting with “strange fire”, and the consequences of their disobedience will be tragic. We will see that they approach the Lord with “fire” of their own invention and instead of approaching Him with holiness, they approach Him with presumption. Instead of honoring and glorifying God before the people they profane Him which brings us to our big idea this morning that God demands His people approach him with “holy fire”, honoring and glorifying Him in the sight of all people.

Let’s pray: Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name, pour out your Holy Spirit on your people gathered in your presence together this morning. Fill us, so that our hearts and minds may be opened to what you have to say to us, and so that our lives may be transformed and conformed to your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Our first point this morning is, Sin, found in Leviticus 10:1-2. Follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”

The last two chapters have been a triumph of obedience. Moses carries out the Lord’s commands to consecrate Aaron and his sons. Through washing, anointing, dressing in sacred garments, and sacrifice, the priests are fully set apart for God’s service. Every detail reflects God’s order and purpose, showing that true victory begins with faithful submission to His will. Then on the eighth day, Aaron and his sons obeyed the Word of the Lord from Moses and offered sacrifices that brought atonement for themselves and the people as the Lord commanded. Aaron then blesses the people and enters into the tent of meeting with Moses. When they come out, they bless the people again and the glory of the Lord appears just as God promised. Fire comes from the presence of God igniting the altar and consuming the sacrifice, confirming His acceptance of their worship. The people respond with shouts of joy, reverent awe and fall facedown before the Lord. This is triumph in its fullest sense: God dwelling among His people, His servants confirmed, and His glory revealed. Our faithful worship and obedience also lead to joy, awe and the fire of God’s presence.

As we open our scripture this morning, we are still on the eighth day, probably soon after the sacrifices offered on behalf of the people. We are confronted with Nadab and Abihu, the eldest sons of Aaron. Nadab being the oldest is the rightful heir to the office of High Priest. They had accompanied Moses, Aaron, and seventy elders up Mount Sinai in Exodus 28. There they saw Yahweh with great clarity, walking on a pavement of sapphire stone, and shared a meal in His presence, without being harmed. They had been appointed with Aaron and his other sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, for priestly service, holding privileged, high positions in the Israelite community. Now we notice that they are doing a number of things that constitute sinning against the Lord. First, they took their censors, implying that these were not the ones to be used in the sanctuary, but were for their personal use. These were not the censers anointed or consecrated and set aside as holy. Second, they came together to offer this “strange” or “unauthorized” or “profane” fire. According to Luke 1:9, this duty was to be conducted by one priest at a time. Third, according to Leviticus 16, only the high priest was allowed to offer incense in a censer in the Most Holy Place. The other priests could burn incense at the golden altar in the Holy Place or at the burnt altar along with the other sacrifices. Fourth, they offered “strange” fire meaning they lit their censers with their own fire not from the fire of the burnt altar. According to Leviticus 16, the high priest was to take fire from the burnt altar to burn the incense in the censer. This was a sanctified fire that came out from the presence of the Lord just three verses ago and lit the offerings on the burnt altar. This fire was never to be put out. Instead of using the Lord’s “sanctified” fire, they used their own “strange” or “profane” fire. To profane something meant treating something sacred with irreverence or disrespect.

And fifth, they offered this profane fire “before” or “in the face” of the Lord. This means that either they actually went into the Most Holy Place or that was their intent and were stopped by God. Imagine the audacity of these priests. Leviticus 16:1-2 seems to confirm that they actually went into Most Holy Place. “The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die.” Lastly, Nadab and Abihu took these actions contrary to the Lord’s command. In the Hebrew this is said emphatically and means not only did they not have authority from God to do this, but they were also expressly forbidden to do it. Nadab and Abihu’s sin was the perverting of their worship before the Lord by bringing “strange” fire.

What would it mean to offer “strange” or “unauthorized” or “profane” fire before the Lord, today? Here are some examples: preaching another gospel not of Jesus Christ or proposing a way to God that is not through Jesus, who is the only way, the truth and the life. It would be softening the offensiveness of the blood or downplaying the necessity of his shed blood. It would include false teachings and practices that confuse and turn people away from the true worship of the Lord and modern ways and ideas that are in fact pagan. Some spiritual leaders may try to experiment, innovate or improve upon God’s design for faith and worship. We must heed the warning given to us from the lives of Nadab and Abihu. Christ-followers must conduct matters of faith and worship according to God’s revealed instructions and purposes. That brings us to our first next step which I will purposely offer “holy” fire and not “profane” fire before the Lord in my faith and worship.

Next, we see the penalty for their sin. The penalty was immediate death as fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them. We saw the exact same words used two verses ago when the fire consumed the offerings of the priests and the people on the burnt altar. The words, the Source and the effect are the same, but the result was quite the opposite. We saw acceptance before and rejection here. This event is made all the more tragic because of the short time between this tragic event and the previous triumphant one. Throughout God’s Word we see the Lord giving commands that if violated will bring about dire consequences. And then we read stories of someone violating those commands and being punished either by the Lord or the Israelite congregation. In Exodus 31, we see the penalty for not keeping the Sabbath day holy was death. Then in Numbers 15, we see a man violating this command by carrying wood on the Sabbath. The punishment meted out by God was swift and severe and the man was stoned to death by the congregation. Later in Acts 5, we read the story of Ananias and Sapphira who sinned against the Lord’s “holy things” by lying about the amount of money they received for selling their house that they were giving to the church. Each one in succession was struck down by God as they lied to the apostles about it.

These examples are given in God’s Word to show that God’s punishment is just for violating his laws and commands. Notice that he brings severe judgment on the first violation, but we don’t see judgment on successive violations. A precedent needed to be set from the beginning for what was acceptable and unacceptable and to show that God was just. If he let the first violation go, it would set the precedent that violating that law or command was ok. Garrett says, “It would demonstrate an unjust and fickle nature of God to let the first instance be overlooked, and then to arbitrarily choose to punish a later violation of the same nature.” If a later violation occurred, it was an opportunity to demonstrate His grace, mercy and forgiveness. There would be no questioning His holiness. To let Nadab and Abihu’s sin go would have jeopardized the sacrificial system that the Lord commanded. And if the sin of Ananias and Sapphira were let go it would have jeopardized the fledgling church. The Lord will be sanctified whether from our obedience or our disobedience.

That brings us to our second point, Silence, found in verses 3-7. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: “‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’” Aaron remained silent. Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.” So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered. Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, because the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.” So, they did as Moses said.”

We can imagine that Aaron and his two remaining sons are stunned, confused, maybe angry, and wanting to grieve their loss. But Moses steps in to keep them from compounding the situation and also violating the Lord’s holiness. Moses reminds Aaron that everything God has done for and with the Israelites has proven His holiness and His holy nature. We see God’s holy nature in Exodus 3 at the burning bush encounter with Moses. We also see it in Exodus 15:11 following the crossing of the Red Sea. In Moses’ song it says, “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders.” The holiness and justice of God that must punish sin has always existed and was now made manifest in a most tragic way.

Next, we see this poetic admonition, ““Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’” This is speaking of those, such as the priests, who because of being set apart to the Lord would come “near” to Him as they performed their duties. Either what they would do before the Lord would be holy and they would be accepted or what they would do would not be holy and they would be destroyed. No matter the outcome, God will always be regarded or proven “holy.” Nadab and Abihu had a tragic lapse in judgment. For whatever reason they thought they were above God’s law possibly because of their consecrated status. They presumed upon the holiness of God. The Hebrew word here for “near” is used three times in verses 3 and 4. Again, the probable meaning is that they presumed to go into the Most Holy Place and were struck down by God. Also, we see that “in the sight of all the people, God must be honored and glorified.” The Lord had shown His glory numerous times including in the construction of the tabernacle and in the sacred garments given to Aaron, the High Priest and his sons, which were made for dignity, beauty, honor and glory. ​​ The Lord vindicated His “trampled on” glory through the destruction of Nadab and Abihu. His actions were not arbitrary or unreasonable.

Once Moses finished warning Aaron and his sons, we are told that Aaron was silent. Aaron realized that His sons had violated the holiness and the glory of the Lord and deserved the judgment that God handed down. If Aaron wanted to question the Lord and His judgment, Moses' explanation caused him to be silent. David realized the same thing in Psalm 39:9-10, “I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.” Instinctively we know that the Lord is perfect in all His attributes including his holiness, his justice, his love and compassion, etc. In those moments of pain and trouble, we can forget that and want to lash out but we must remember that everything God does is perfect, fair and final. The Lord is a consuming fire and jealous for the sake of his holiness. We see this in Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29. Now that Aaron and his sons had been admonished by Moses to restrain themselves from earning God’s wrath, Moses deals with having the bodies of Nadab and Abihu removed from the sanctuary. Moses calls Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron and charges them with carrying their cousins’ bodies from the camp. We again see the word “near” as Moses is telling Mishael and Elzaphan to “come near, carry your brothers from the face of the “holy.” This exceptional circumstance demanded exceptional action as nobody, but a priest was to enter into the presence of God; in the face of the holy.

Mishael and Elzaphan obeyed Moses and the Lord allowed them to come “near” and carry the bodies of Nadab and Abihu from before the Lord. They carried the bodies by their tunics to a place outside the camp. It is important that Mishael and Elzaphan were the ones to carry their cousins’ bodies out because they were family and God would allow them to mourn them unlike Aaron and his sons.

Once the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were carried outside the camp, Moses warns Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar to not mourn. This may seem cruel on God’s part but, of course, His ways are perfect. Aaron and his sons were to be held to a higher standard by the Lord. The normal way of Israelite mourning would have been to let their hair down and allow it to become disheveled or even shave it off. They also would have torn their clothes. But remember this was still the eighth day and the tragic events most likely happened immediately or close to following the three sacrifices Aaron and his sons made for the people. They are still wearing their priestly clothes and so must maintain their dignity and honor before the Lord and the people. Can you imagine Aaron tearing the high priestly garments? According to Leviticus 21:10, the high priest could never uncover his head or tear his clothes. Remember he wore a turban on his head that said, “Holy to the Lord.”

One of the reasons why they were forbidden to mourn was because it could be construed by the congregation that God’s actions were unjust and unmerited and they were accusing God of wrongdoing. This would have led to them to violate the holiness of God and would have been subjected to the same punishment as their kin. If the high priest and his assistant priests were also killed by God, there would be no mediator between God and the people. Without a mediator, the people’s sin and guilt would remain on them, and God’s wrath would come upon them. We see God’s grace in that even though Aaron, Eleazer and Ithamar were not allowed to mourn their loss, their family and the whole house of Israel would be allowed to. There may also be another meaning or reason for mourning here. In the NAS version it says, “your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel shall bewail the burning which the Lord has brought about.” Not only would they be mourning Nadab and Abihu, but they would also be mourning the glory of God. The fact that there had been such a major failing by the priests, God’s representatives and mediators, so soon after seeing the glory of God in their midst, the people would be mourning the trampling on and diminishing of the glory of God.

Moses continues to warn Aaron and his sons to be holy before the Lord, commanding them not to leave the door of the tabernacle of meeting or they would die. They would have been sorely tempted to follow Mishael and Elzaphan to the burial site and attend the funeral service. But again, in Leviticus 21:11-12 it says, “He (meaning the high priest) must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother, nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.” Aaron, because of his anointing, was never allowed to leave the sanctuary at a time like this because it could appear to the congregation that he had a greater duty to something other than the worship of the Lord. His sons were also to follow these instructions because they had been anointed by God’s holy oil just as Aaron had. It would have been a hard lesson to learn that service to God as His holy and set apart priests was to come before everyone one and everything else. Luke 14:26 says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

We end this section with a triumph of obedience as “they did according to the word of Moses” which of course was the same as the word of the Lord. Aaron and his sons understood the gravity of the situation. They were obedient to the Lord and not their own desires as Nadab and Abihu were. They knew they were first and foremost responsible to the Lord and didn’t want the holiness and glory of the Lord sullied in any way. It was a hard lesson to learn but future priests would better understand the holiness of the Lord and the judgment and punishment that could come if they trampled on it. We can also better understand the reason for God’s judgment when we realize that every part of the sacrificial system designed by God prefigured Christ. It was beyond human wisdom and conjecture. If anyone altered any part, omitted or added anything to what God had set up for His worship and which belonged only to Him, Adam Clarke says, “this person was certainly guilty of a very high offense against the wisdom, justice and righteousness of His Maker.”

The message of Leviticus 10:1-7 is that those who draw near to God must be holy in all they say and do in their service to God. They must be a holy representative of our holy God so as not to disgrace the Name of our Lord and Savior. Now this passage was especially highlighting the priests, Aaron and his sons. And we may think it’s speaking of pastors today and that’s true. But let us never forget that if you are a Christ-follower this morning, you are part of God’s kingdom of priests and as such we all should be drawing near to God. We must always at all times treat Him as holy and must honor and glorify Him before all people. We do this by sanctifying Him before the world by how we conduct ourselves as His followers. We do this by publicly honoring, reverencing, and setting God apart as holy in our life, rather than conforming to worldly standards. That brings us to our last next step in which I will sanctify the Lord before all people by conducting myself in righteousness and holiness.

In conclusion, I want to tell you about a story found in God’s Word in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13. It’s the story of Uzzah. King David was bringing the ark back to Jerusalem, but God’s command was ignored. Instead of following the law, King David copied the Philistine method of placing the ark on a brand-new cart as if it were just a valuable piece of furniture being transported. God had made it plain the ark was not to be touched by human hands, and it was not to be hauled on a cart. It had to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, by people set apart as holy. It was not to be treated as an object but the Holy Presence. So when the cart reached the threshing floor of Nakon the oxen suddenly stumbled, the ark jolted and Uzzah walking beside it instinctively stretched out his hand to steady it. The instant his fingertips touched the Ark, his body locked up, his knees gave way, and he crashed to the ground dead. He was killed instantaneously by God just as Nadab and Abihu were.

Do you know why Uzzah was struck down by God the very moment he reached out to steady the ark of the covenant? Many think it was just a tragedy of good intentions gone wrong but very few stop to ask what boundary God was actually protecting. It sounds brutal but it wasn’t that one second of reaching out; the issue was not the touch alone. The truly terrifying part was that they had already grown used to treating a holy object like a normal thing; treating the presence of God as something you can handle casually. It exposed a whole generation that had gone numb to holiness; choosing convenience over obedience, choosing familiarity over reverence, choosing “but I meant well” over “what did God command.” This story and the story of Nadab and Abihu warn us that God does not judge faith by intention alone; he cares whether we respect the boundaries he has drawn. How often do we do things our own way and say “I'm doing this for you, God; it's out of love” and we forget He doesn't need our help. Instead, what He wants is our obedience and that before we come “near” to Him, we first learn to reverently fear him with our hands and with our hearts.

As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing Your holiness and glory to us through Your Word. Teach us to draw near to You with reverence, offering not what is convenient or familiar, but what honors You. By Your Spirit, help us to sanctify You before all people through lives marked by righteousness and holiness. May our worship, our service, and our daily walk bring You glory. We ask this in the holy and precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Opening: Stedman, Ray; The Way of Wholeness, page 116