How do you want to be remembered? And how is your worship going? Do you want people to recognize you as a hero or a goat? As a winner or a loser? As God's good servant or as toast?
If you are familiar with the story of Nadab and Abihu, then you know how they ended up. Toast. Now get this, this pair was in a position of great importance. They were in the rare air of priesthood. Their dad was the Big guy. Aaron was the First High Priest of Israel.
Mind you, the priesthood was just being set up, and the rules were all new. The three knew that they were to walk and act in a set pattern of obedience to God's directions. His instructions had been clearly spoken to Moses and then passed on to Aaron and his sons. There was no stuttering. This was not a game of "telephone" where something was lost in the passing on of information. This was life and death stuff.
So, what exactly, Strange fire is no one knows. Later in this chapter, God instructed Aaron not to drink strong drink, so his two oldest sons may have been drunk trying to make their offering. Whatever the case, their lack of discipline in this sacred act took their lives in an oh-so-dramatic way. All must have been stunned into silence, and there was to be no mourning by the family members.
Was this an act of cruel treatment by a loving God? It was not. What it was, was an essential lesson in the sanctity of entering the presence of Holy God. The record had to be set straight from the unveiling of this new position. There were to be no games or sloppy worship like we see these days.
In fact, if God still did this vaporizing thing today, how many Tostitos would occupy the pews of your average worship service? Or would your pews have to be made of George Foreman grill material? Would you be there to carry out the briquettes? Just wondering.
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