Strange Fire

Leviticus 10: 1-3

1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them.
2 And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah.
3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that Jehovah spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

It appears that Nadab and Abihu had intoxicated themselves before going into the temple to officiate, losing their clarity of thought and judgment they chose to offer incense using “strange fire” instead of the fire God Himself had kindled as a show of his favor and pleasure with the sacrifice offered on behalf of the Nation of Israel. This strange fire displeased God and the sons of the high priest were consumed by fire.

Every time I read this brief narrative I am again reminded of the responsibility that rests upon us as believers. The priceless gift of Christ's sacrifice is being desecrated by the unconverted and rebellious. The blood of Jesus Christ was the only means of satisfying the ransom demand of sin and death that kept us hostage, and now that we are freed from that condemnation, the invitation in extended to us as freedmen and women to walk after the Spirit, for it the Spirit that navigates the path which leads to eternal life.

Yet, even while Christ has done all the work and allows us to freely drink from this fountain of Grace, many have chosen to drink from the well of popular culture, determining right from wrong on the grounds of what is acceptable and what is not, measured only by popular opinion. The ability to discern the will of God is lost somewhere between the view, “that this was written so long ago and does not apply today” and the false teachings being attributed to the Bible but is only found in the gospel of “Nowhere 3:16”. Intoxicated by pop culture, many are still trying to make spiritual decisions, but with very little clarity of thought and poor judgment and we are seeing the results reflected in our relationships, lifestyles habits, moral values and they are being passed on to our children.

God is still as particular today as he was when this story was recorded; He has done the work so that we might experience life victorious over sin, and that we may glorify Him through our lives so others might find for themselves the free gift of salvation, that we have found in Christ Jesus.

In choosing their own fire, strange fire, they presumed that their way was a good as God’s way, however the end result was their consummation by fire. Aaron unable to mourn his sons, recognized that their act of disobedience caused them to become their own sin offering (verse 10). There was no need for their death because God had already accepted the sacrifice that would take their place, but it was their own choosing led to their demise.

I pray that we will turn to the Word of God, the Bible, to find direction for our lives, because “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12), but His Word is "a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)