“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. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 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.” Leviticus 10:1-3
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, officials of the holy sanctuary, went contrary to the express command of God and used common fire instead of what the Lord had kindled from the altar when coming before Him with an incense offering. The immediate judgment of God followed these disobedient actions of Aaron’s sons.
God’s commandments are not to be trifled with. God says what He means. In the New Testament/Second Testament, God is just as serious about His commandments as He was before. Just because immediate death does not cease upon those who are disobedient, does not mean that He is any less particular. Death is still the punishment of sin. (Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.) We should be examining ourselves to be diligent to obey the commandments of God, lest we offer strange fire.
In fact, the reason why Aaron’s sons made this poor decision was because they were intoxicated with wine. Hence the command: “And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, 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:” Leviticus 10:8-9
In the same way that Christians of today disobey the Lord; for they are intoxicated, drunk, and blinded from drinking wine, which symbolizes false doctrine (Jeremiah 51:7 “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.”; Revelation 14:8 “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.“), which makes them offer strange fire to God.
What is our modern day strange fire? Sunday Worship.
To go against the direct commandment of God and sanctify, honor, and exalt a different day of our choosing, a day of tradition, a day of the Sun; offers strange fire to God. It is strange because God never commanded it. Just like God never commanded Nadab and Abihu to use common fire. In the exact same way, the first day of the week is a common working day. It is not sanctified, holy, or sacred. No where in the Bible does God command this. Yet, the Christian world over offers this corrupted and common offering as a means of worship.
We know what the Bible says, we know what God commands expressly in His word: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11
As saints of God, we are to show no partiality, just as God shows none. When the sons of Aaron were destroyed by God as a result of sin, Aaron did not murmur against God and feel sorry for himself or his sons; instead, he held his peace: “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.” Leviticus 10:3
We are not to sympathize with those who willingly go against the commands of God. We are to hold our peace, and listen and take heed to Gods word as Aaron did when destruction came to his own children.
Moses also told Aaron and his other sons: “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. 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.” Leviticus 10:6-7
Just because Nadab and Abihu were the very sons of the high priest Aaron, and they themselves were officers of holy things, does not mean they were exempt and shielded from Gods wrath when disobedient to His express commands. God does not show partiality, and is not a respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34 “…Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”) How much more should we, who were not a people at first, but have been grafted in to the family of God, take heed to His word and commandments.
“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 2 Peter 3:17
Does God enjoy when his creation chooses to sin and dies in result? Of course not, our Father in heaven is not a tyrant.
Ezekiel 18:32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
Does God want His creation to perish? Of course not, God wants and desires that ALL come to repentance and to be saved. But being that He is the definition of love itself, He gave us freewill to chose Him or reject Him. 1 John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
2 Peter 3:9-14
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
As God says through the prophet Ezekiel, and is still saying today dear Christian: “..wherefore turn yourselves, and live..”