Treated as Holy

Mark Dunagan
02/17/13 - Sunday Morning

Treated as Holy

As we start reading in Leviticus chapter 8 we find Aaron and his sons being consecrated as priests, with an emphasis of doing exactly as God instructs:

• “Moses did just as the Lord commanded” (8:4).
• “Just as the Lord had commanded Moses” (8:9).
• 8:13, 17, 21, 29, 31, 34, 35.

In the next chapter, Aaron starts to officiate and offer sacrifices (9:2), and again there is an emphasis on doing what has been commanded: 9:5-6, 7, 10, 21.  So far, so good.  Yet as we enter the next chapter, two sons of Aaron will die because they do something which had not been commanded.  “Tragedy and triumph go hand in hand in the Bible and in life.  In the early Church the healing of the lame man was succeeded by the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 3-5).  In many parts of the Church the biblical view of divine judgment is conveniently forgotten or supposed to be something that passed away in the Old Testament.  Heine’s famous last words, ‘God will forgive me.  That’s His job’, have become the unexpressed axiom of much modern theology.  This short story is therefore an affront to liberal thinkers.  It should also challenge Bible-believing Christians whose theological attitudes are influenced by prevailing trends of thought more often than they realize” (NICOT, Leviticus, G.J. Wenham, p. 153).

Leviticus 10:1

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded”

We are told nothing about their motivation or why they did this.  The motivation may have been sincere, but even the most sincere intentions do not allow us to either ignore a Scripture or add to Scripture.  Concerning what made the fire “strange” or “unauthorized” is a matter of some speculation.  According to Leviticus 16:12 the coals of fire had to be taken from the altar.  Did they get fire from another source?  Daily incense offerings are commanded in Exodus 30:7-8.  Yet that offering was to be offered by Aaron, the High Priest.  God had already issued some warning here, in Exodus 30:9 He says, “You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar”.

“Which He had not commanded”

Seeing that fire consumed these two sons of the High Priest, we need to get it straight in our own heads what is going on here.  God is making an invaluable point!  These are sons of the High Priest, priests themselves, yet even they are not exempt from His expectations. 

• God is clear.  Their offering was not in violation of a “Thou shalt not”.  The text does not say they offered something that had been forbidden. Rather, what made it wrong was doing something as an act of worship for which no command existed.  They had no permission from God to do what they did.
• Therefore, when it comes to worshipping or serving God we must have a command, example or necessary inference that gives us permission for what we are going to do. 
• Simply arguing, “The Bible does not specifically condemn it”—is in no way safe ground. 

Modern Applications

• The reason we sing when we meet as Christians, is because singing spiritual songs is specifically commanded (Ephesians 5:19), and it is to be congregational.  We abstain from the issue of musical instruments because no New Testament passage authorizes them in worship.
• The reason we teach the party guilty of sexual immorality in a divorce cannot remarry, is because, while the Bible clearly authorizes single people to marry (1 Corinthians 7:2), widows (7:39) and the “innocent party” (Matthew 19:9) in a marriage where unfaithfulness has occurred, there is no authority from God for the guilty party to remarry.
• The reason we do not use the building in which we meet for worship for social or recreational purposes, is because while we have authority to use the collection for benevolence, edification and evangelism, there is no authority for the work of the church to provide social events and recreation for the members.

Leviticus 10:2-3 “And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord”

Is this just an Old Testament concept that no longer applies today? Any serious Bible reader will see otherwise.   What was written in the Old Testament was written so that we might learn from it (Romans 15:4), and an outburst of God’s wrath is similarly recorded among Christians in the early church (Acts 5).

Leviticus 10:3 “Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘It is what the Lord spoke saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored’”

Continuing to treat God as holy has been a challenge for God’s people in both Testaments.  It is tempting to lose our awe for God and think that He will accept lower standards.  During the time of Malachi, the people thought that God would not mind if the sacrifices brought to Him were blind, lame, sick and otherwise worthless (Malachi 1:8), and of course God was insulted. 

Modern Applications

• We must resist the thought that a “little bit of error” or a “little bit of liberalism” is okay.  What these men did was just one violation of Scripture—and they died.
• We must not believe people who argue that God is rather tolerant about doctrinal deviations.  Really?  Revelation 22:18-19.  There are many passages warning about doctrinal error (2 John 9; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Timothy 4:4).  Where is just one passage that says it is no big deal?
• We must reject the idea that just showing up for worship (now and then) is all that God expects.  God expects so much more of me than simply showing up. He wants me moved to worship from a heart overflowing with love and gratitude and joy for all He's done. He wants me ready to encourage my spiritual family, ready to learn all I can about who He is and He wants me to live a pure and beautiful life (Hebrews 10:24; Proverbs 15:8).
• If people in the world don’t take today’s churches seriously, it is probably because many of today’s churches do not take God seriously.

Treating God as Holy

• When I come and worship, I will be prepared to worship God with thankfulness:  Colossians 3:16
• I will keep myself morally pure and will not presume upon His grace.  I will never allow myself to think, “This sin isn’t so bad", "everyone is doing it", or "God will always give me time to repent”.
• I will quickly repent of and confess my sins and I will never allow myself to think that “God will not punish me”, or that God “understands” my situation.
• I will be dead serious about how I handle His word:  2 Timothy 2:15
• When I approach Him in prayer, I will manifest great respect and appreciation:  Matthew 6:9
• I will remember that worship is worship.  We are coming before the holy and true God.  This is certainly not the time to be casual or lax:  Ecclesiastes 5:1-2.
• I will not envy, but rather pity the unfaithful:  Psalm 73:15-19.
• I will not join with those who mock God, His word or faithful Christians:  Psalm 1:1-4.
• I will be serious about saving others!  2 Corinthians 5:11
• I will not be ashamed when it comes to speaking the truth.
• I will never apologize for God or anything in the Bible.
• I will downplay nothing in Scripture, resisting the temptation to think that certain commands are not as important or necessary to keep as others.
• I will be honest about whether or not I am obeying a command. 

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net