Leviticus 10 ~ 20160724 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

07/24 Leviticus 10; God Sanctified and Glorified; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20160724_leviticus-10.mp3


As The LORD Commanded

In Leviticus 8 we have seen the consecration of Aaron and his sons 'as the Lord has commanded Moses'. In chapter 9 we have seen the first offerings made 'as the Lord commanded Moses'. Back at the end of Exodus we saw every detail of the tabernacle constructed 'as the Lord commanded Moses'. We heard this refrain 'as the LORD commanded Moses' in Exodus 39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 43; 40:16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32. At the end of Exodus we read

Exodus 39:32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did.

Exodus 39:42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

And then we hear again this refrain 'as the LORD commanded Moses' in Leviticus 8:9, 13, 17, 21, 29; 9:7, 10. This all climaxes at the end of chapter 9, when

Leviticus 9:23 ...and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Which He Had Not Commanded

This is what makes chapter 10 so shocking.

Leviticus 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.

This should sound like fingernails on chalkboard. The newly ordained priests in the newly consecrated tabernacle in response to the manifestation of the glory of God, suddenly do something that God had not commanded them, offering something that was unauthorized. We tend to be shocked by what happened to them. We need to be shocked at what they did. In the context of grace, in the context of covenant treason, forgiveness, and then delighted obedience by all the people, we have priests who have been set apart to the LORD by a seven day process, now step out and do something unauthorized, something the LORD had not commanded. The exact details of their violation are not clear. Some speculate they were drunk based on verse 9. Some suggest they attempted to enter the most holy place, because of what is said in chapter 16. In light of that chapter, they may have been attempting to usurp the responsibility of the high priest. Some think they used the wrong censers, or the wrong fire, or the wrong kind of incense, or that they offered it at the wrong time. What the text tells us is that they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded. It could be any combination of these possibilities, but the bottom line is that their act was an act of defiant disobedience to the clearly revealed instructions of the LORD. They did that which was unauthorized in the presence of the LORD. They did that which he had not commanded them.

Fire From the LORD

2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

God is just, God is holy. God will not be trifled with. God will not be taken lightly. This is a warning to us all. We tend to take God for granted. To think of him lightly. To presume on his grace. God is a jealous God. He will not tolerate rivals. He will not be approached any way we choose. God is worthy of all honor and affection, all glory and praise. God will defend his own honor.

In Ezekiel 20, recounting the rebellion of the people in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt, God restrained his anger and did not fully destroy his people.

Ezekiel 20:22 But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. (cf. 20:9, 14)

In Ezekiel 36, God promises to regather his people from the nations into which he had scattered them in judgment for their rebellion.

Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. (cf. 36:21; Isaiah 48:11)

Ezekiel 39, looking to a future time,

Ezekiel 39:7 “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

God acts for the honor of his holy name. He defends his honor. God cares about his reputation. If he is treated as common, ordinary by the people who claim to know him, to be close to him, then those that do not know him will more readily blow him off as no big deal, not worth attending to, to their eternal harm. So 'fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.' This was radical, startling, shocking. But it was right. For the sake of the advance of the gospel, God must defend his honor.

3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

The appropriate response of anyone who has access to God's presence is 'holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!' (Is.6:3). God will be set apart, recognized to be in a class by himself, by those who are near to him. He will be glorified before all the people. This is evangelistic. God has made a way for himself to be approached by sinful people. He has instituted sacrifices by which he can be approached while at the same time preserving the seriousness of sin and the absolute holiness of his nature. To come in a different way than he has established is to scorn his provision and to set oneself up as a higher authority than God. God's sanctity, God's glory is primary.

Aaron held his peace. Aaron was silent. Notice the contrast with the last chapter. In chapter 9, God's instructions were heeded, and fire came out from the presence of the LORD in blessing, demonstrating that their sacrifice was acceptable, and the response was shouts of joy. Here in chapter 10, God's instructions were disregarded, and fire came out from the presence of the LORD in judgment, consuming those who violated his commands, and the response was stunned silence. Aaron had lost in an instant his two oldest boys. But his silence affirmed the righteousness of God. God was right to punish them.

Priests and Mourning

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the LORD has kindled. 7 And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

Because of their position as ordained priests, they were not permitted to touch dead bodies, or mourn or leave the tabernacle courtyard. They were set apart to God for service. Their service was to be characterized by joy, because 'in your presence there is fullness of joy' (Ps.16:11).

Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ...

These were set apart to draw near to God. It would be inconsistent to mourn in the presence of God. Even in the face of great tragedy, the presence of God is greater, and joy in his presence outshines sorrow. Here we find a refreshing return to obedience. “And they did according to the word of Moses.”

Duties of the Priests

8 And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.”

This is a significant word from the LORD. In Leviticus we see 29 times 'the LORD spoke to Moses'; 4 times 'the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron'; only here do we find 'the LORD spoke to Aaron'. God gave 'wine to gladden the heart of man' (Ps.104:15); but the priests are to be clear-headed in carrying out their duties. The first duty of the priests is to distinguish between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean. They need to know the difference. Anything that would blur their judgment in these issues was prohibited while on duty. Nadab and Abihu failed to treat God as holy. They treated him as common. The first seven chapters on sacrifices deal with issues of what is common and what is holy. The next section, chapters 11-15 deal with making distinctions between the unclean and the clean.

The second duty of the priests is to teach the people the rules of the LORD. We rightly identify priests with sacrifice in the tabernacle, and with entering God's presence on behalf of the people, but probably a more common role of priests in Israel was to apply the law to distinguish between holy and common, clean and unclean, and to teach the people. Priests were to be teachers, communicators of God's truth.

Priests Rights to the Offerings

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the grain offering that is left of the LORD's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the LORD's food offerings, for so I am commanded. 14 But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. 15 The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the LORD, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the LORD has commanded.”

At first glance, this section seems out of place. The rights of the priests to eat specific portions of specific offerings has already been explained in the earlier chapters. Why repeat that here? This is addressed to Aaron and his surviving sons in the immediate aftermath of serious sin in the family where two of Aaron's sons were executed by the LORD himself. It would be natural to wonder if this kind of sin in the family disqualified the remaining family from service or from the benefits of service. Moses affirms to the survivors that they are still fully entitled to eat the priests' portions of the offerings.

Violation of the Command Approved

16 Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, 17 “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? 18 Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the LORD have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.

Nadab and Abihu were judged by the LORD and killed. Now Moses is angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the other two sons of Aaron. Moses rarely is angry, except when God's glory is dishonored. He is angry because Aaron and his remaining sons failed to do what they were commanded to do. Nadab and Abihu did what they were not commanded to do and they were judged by God. Now Eleazar and Ithamar have failed to do what they were commanded to do and Moses is angry. They failed to eat the priests portion of the sin offering that was clearly given to them in chapter 6. Were they any less guilty than their brothers? Would they suffer the same judgment? To understand what is going on here, we need to step back and see the structure of this passage.

1-3 Incident of Nadab & Abihu's disobedience

4-7 Holiness prohibits grieving for the dead

8-11 Description of Priests Role

12-15 Holiness requires eating of the sacrifices

16-20 Incident of Eleazar and Ithamar's disobedience

The central part of this chapter is the description of the Priests role in verses 8-11. The rest of the chapter is mirrored around that instruction. The chapter begins with Nadab and Abihu's disobedience, and the chapter ends with Eleazar and Ithamar's disobedience. But where Nadab and Abihu were immediately judged by God, Moses receives Aaron's reasoning for the disobedience of he and his younger sons. What is going on here? Aaron is stepping into his role as priest, distinguishing between the holy and the common. He is evaluating the situation and seeking in all things to honor the LORD. His heart and his desire in all things is the LORD's approval, not man's.

Andrew Bonar, Minister of the Free Church of Scotland commented in 1846 on this passage: “He saw that Aaron entered into the spirit and meaning of the rites he ministered among; and was satisfied. And it is to be noticed that this attention to the spirit, and not to the mere letter, of the ceremonial law, at the very outset, indicated to Israel that the things signified by these types were their chief concern, not the bare types themselves. ...Aaron's service was not formality; it was a worship done in the spirit; and where the spirit could not accompany the rite, he left the rite undone. Herein he glorified God – he gave Him the honour due unto His name! He felt that it was not worship at all if his soul was not engaged; for “God is Spirit.” [Bonar, Leviticus p.207-208]

Where Nadab & Abihu's disobedience was proud, arrogant and flagrant; Aaron was carefully distinguishing in his own heart what was common and what was holy, and what would be acceptable to God.

Application

What can we take away from a passage like this? First of all, God is holy. God is zealous to defend his own honor. Especially among those who draw near to him. Lest we thing this is a distant Old Testament event with little relevance today, we need to be reminded of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, who in the early church were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. God still cares deeply that he be treated as holy. This is a gospel issue. Our interaction with God must reflect accurately who he is or no one will listen to our message, and God cares deeply that sinners come to him through the one way that he is to be approached, through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus.

Second, We must listen to God's word.

Hebrews 12:25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Finally, God cares about your heart. Mere outward obedience without genuine affection for God is hypocrisy. True worship is not about my preference; true worship is that which is pleasing to God. Acceptable worship, worship in spirit and truth is worship characterized by reverence and awe. God is pleased when we approach him on the basis of Christ's finished work.


Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org