From the time I was a little kid, if I knew anything about the book of Leviticus, it was the story of Nadab and Abihu. I heard it referenced in sermons, classes, devotionals, articles, everywhere you could possibly think of.
Imagine my surprise when I started actually looking into that story and found out it was only three verses long. Seriously. Three whole verses that describe fire coming from heaven and annihilating two people for their egregious crimes against the Tabernacle.
Their sin was in using “strange fire” for the incense. To my child-like brain, death seemed like an awfully high price to pay for someone who just used the wrong brand of charcoal.
But is that really what happened? If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time studying the Bible, it’s to never discount the strength of a Bible story just because of its brevity. The stories of Ananias and Sapphira or Lot’s wife also don’t have a lot of Scriptural real estate, but they still pack a punch when you look at them closely.
So what actually happened here?
I won’t try to contradict all the legions of commentaries and scholars that are way smarter than me, but I do think that what this passage shows is that those who want to approach God must do so in holiness. That’s not my opinion; God literally says that in Leviticus 10:4.
If that’s the case, then how did Nadab and Abihu not revere God’s holiness simply by messing up the source of their fire? That part is relatively easy—more so, if you’ve stayed with us in reading Leviticus up to this point.
The entire book—and especially the last few chapters—are all about the ordination of the priests and the different types of sacrifices. Repeated throughout the Text is the statement that these are things that God commanded (Leviticus 9:10) and that the priests did all these things just as God commanded (Leviticus 8:36). The Word is careful to highlight this.
In contrast, Nadab and Abihu offered fire “which He had not commanded them.” Using a different type of fire is a direct violation of the Law at a time when the Law was so clearly detailed to His people.
It’s not known exactly where they got their “strange fire,” but since Leviticus 9:24 talks about fire coming from the Lord to light the Altar for the first time, their source would logically be something else. But it’s very possible that in Nadab and Abihu’s mind, they didn’t think the difference would matter. Fire is fire, right?
Not according to God. The point is that Nadab and Abihu should have known better. Their proximity to the Tabernacle and the time spent hearing all the commandments from God meant they knew where they were supposed to get their fire. They willingly chose to get it from somewhere else.
Obedience is what it means to revere the name of God. When He tells us what to do and we choose to do something else, that’s tells Him that we don’t care about His authority. We elevate ourselves and what we want at the expense of His name.
How can we commit the same type of sin as Nadab and Abihu in today’s world? Email me at brady@coffeeandaBible.com and let me know what you think!
