I Will Be Sanctified: Understanding the Deaths of Nadab and Abihu

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.  And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.  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.  (Lev. 10:1-3, ESV)

The Vital Lesson of Leviticus
Leviticus is perhaps the most often ignored book of the Old Testament.  Few preachers care to wind through the maze of legal requirements and narratives for fear of 1) putting their congregations to sleep and/or 2) rousing the specter of legalism by emphasizing a book that speaks so much of the Mosaic Law.  However, even in his worst moments any preacher would acknowledge that every book of the Bible is useful for the building up of the saints (2 Timothy 3:16).  Leviticus is no different.  In fact, the book of Leviticus carries a message that today’s Church is in dire need of hearing.
     The Church needs Leviticus.  Not in the sense that we need to return to the keeping of the Mosaic Law.  That question has long been settled.  No, a study of Leviticus will reveal in no uncertain terms what Christians only think they understand:  God is holy.
     Few passages are more effective in hammering home the holiness of God than Leviticus 10:1-3, which recounts the death of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of the high priest Aaron.  On the surface, this passage looks very much like one a preacher would avoid.  God consumes two young men for offering unauthorized fire?  That is not exactly what most evangelical Christians like to hear preached from the Sunday pulpit (or lectern or podium if you prefer).  Worse still, many would try to explain it away by saying, “That was the wrathful God of the Old Testament, not the gracious God of the New Testament!”  Ignoring the fact that this sounds like a statement straight out of a skeptic’s attack on the Bible, I would direct such a person to Acts 5:1-11, the account of Ananias and Sapphira.  It is neither needful nor useful to make such distinctions in the character of God.
     Faithful Christians must seek a true interpretation of Leviticus 10:1-3, even if it is an uncomfortable process, and even if we do not care for the results.  Why would God, who had graciously saved the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and delivered them at the Red Sea, now take the lives of two men who were attempting to serve Him?  Let us first examine the underlying assumptions that lead us to ask this question.

Christianity and the American Mentality
“I consider myself very spiritual, just not particularly religious.”  What statement is more common to the American religious vocabulary than this?  Many people recognize their need for God.  Their desire for contact with the transcendent is intact, but it has been strangely altered by the individualism we cherish here.
     American spirituality begins with the assumption that it is proper to pursue it individualistically.  We assume that God should be satisfied if we just take a stab at acknowledging Him every once in a while.  In fact, most are not particularly concerned over whether God is satisfied or not.  Spiritual life for Americans consists of exercises in self-fulfillment and self-actualization.  It is the religious corollary to the “if it feels good, do it” philosophy.
     Christians have proven to have no immunity to this trend.  We seem to be too concerned with being as much like our surrounding culture as possible to notice that we too have individualized our spirituality.  Many Christians have deemphasized the Church in favor of “quiet times” and “personal devotions.”  Do not misunderstand:  personal devotions are integral to the Christian life, but it is a severe problem indeed when Christians feel no strong ties to their local Church.  We have forgotten that God has given us the Church as His means of service.  This brings us back to Nadab and Abihu.
     Nadab and Abihu had been consecrated as priests.  They were to serve the Lord in His temple, and if you have read Exodus and Leviticus you know that His instructions were quite specific.  There were certain things that the priests were commanded to do in God’s service, and they were to do nothing else.  One such service was the burning of incense, as detailed in Exodus 30:1-10.  This is the command that the sons of Aaron disobeyed.
     What lead Nadab and Abihu to so quickly violate God’s command?  Was it carelessness?  It is difficult to say.  There did not seem to be an indication that they were consciously rebelling against God, but that was not enough to save their lives.  They disobeyed and explicit command of the Lord in how He was to be approached, and He made known His displeasure.
     How do we justify such an action?  The world may never understand passages such as this, but we as Christians must come to grips with them.  Why was it appropriate for God to take their lives?  Why not something like the temporary leprosy that God gave to Miriam in Numbers 12?  We must keep in mind that Miriam’s affront was primarily against Moses, while Nadab and Abihu were an affront to God Himself.  They did not act properly with respect to the means by which God commanded that He be worshipped.  They took Him lightly.
     Ultimately the only justification that matters is God’s own:  “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.”  There were two reasons for God’s actions, and one actually enfolds into the other quite nicely.  The priests were the mediators between men and God.  They were to demonstrate the holiness of God.  This is why the rituals they performed were so closely scripted.  Through the rituals God meant to show everyone that He was not to be approached lightly.  If even the priests did so, what example was left for the people to follow?  How would God be glorified by the people of Israel?  In order to preserve His glory before the people and demonstrate His holiness and perfection, Nadab and Abihu had to die.  Such was the seriousness of their error.

Conclusion
Preachers who gloss over books such as Leviticus do a great disservice to the Church, as we have seen.  We must become acquainted with the holiness of God, and store in our hearts the truth that He will be worshipped as He desires to be worshipped.  No man can approach the Lord in his own way and hope to have any fate other than that of Nadab and Abihu.  Let this be an admonition to the Church today.  God is Holy, and He will be approached as such.  Take heed of the Lord’s commands, and do not let pride or carelessness sneak into His worship.