Leviticus 10:3

Good evening. As we continue in our series on God in the Pentateuch, as a reminder, the overall emphasis in this series is to help us meditate on God himself as he reveals himself through the verse we're going over. All these verses in this series have been selected to show something significant about who God is. Now having spent the last nine weeks in Genesis and Exodus, this week and next week, we will be in Leviticus. And this book shows us the need for personal holiness in light of a holy God. So if you have not already, please join me in Leviticus chapter 10 and follow along as I read verse three. God's word says, 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. Our main idea for tonight and what I hope you leave here with is that God is holy. So submit to his righteous judgment. God is holy. So submit to his righteous judgment. We'll see this fleshed out in two points. First, the God who spoke, and second, the man who didn't. So first, the God who spoke. And briefly by way of context, so we have a better idea of what's going on. Israel is on their way through the wilderness, on the way to the land of Canaan. Roughly one year has passed since they've left Egypt. The tabernacle has already been built, but no one is allowed in it. And this leads to the question that Leviticus addresses. How can God's people who are sinful and rebellious live in the presence of a perfect and holy God? The first seven chapters describe different ritual sacrifices that the people were to perform Chapter eight highlights the ordination of the priests, namely Aaron and his sons, to set them apart, to be able to enter into God's presence on behalf of the people of Israel. And they were held to a higher level of holiness, given their role as spiritual leaders. Particular attention is paid again and again to the fact that Moses and Aaron followed God's instructions precisely as they had been commanded to do. The Lord spoke to Moses and Moses did as the Lord commanded him. Leviticus chapter nine continues with this ceremony and Aaron and his sons begin to offer sacrifices to God. Chapter nine, verses six and seven, give us the reason why they are doing this. It says, Moses said, this is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you Then Moses said to Aaron, draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them as the Lord commanded. God spoke, gave clear instruction and the priest listened. And at the end of chapter nine, after completing these sacrifices, Aaron lifted up his hands and blessed the people. Moses and Aaron went into the tent to meeting, and when they came out, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the offering on the altar, and the people shouted and fell on their faces. And this brings us to chapter 10. And the two verses preceding our verse tonight, we quickly see triumph turn to tragedy. Chapter 10 verses one and two says, 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. Now this is quite the drastic change of events. Right after the glory of the Lord appeared and accepting a sacrifice which signified forgiveness, we now see the glory of the Lord appearing and bringing punishment in the place of forgiveness. And after being initially consecrated as priest, Aaron and his sons followed God's directions on how to offer sacrifices. But later, Nadab and Abihu decided to connect with God in their own way. apart from the specific instructions God had given to Moses. They offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Now we don't know exactly how they violated God's instructions or what their exact motivation was for doing this. Perhaps they used the wrong incense. Perhaps they came at the wrong time. Perhaps they went where they weren't supposed to, such as the Holy of Holies. Perhaps they were too impatient to follow all of the steps of God that he laid out. Perhaps they were too proud to even think it mattered. Or perhaps they even got drunk. Verse eight of chapter 10 says, the Lord spoke to Aaron saying, drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. And whatever the case, the point is that they disregarded God's instructions and did not regard the holiness of God. Exodus 30 verse nine says, you shall not offer unauthorized incense. By doing so, these men committed rebellion. Either God's glory would be tarnished by allowing the men he chose to draw near to him to defy him, or God would have glory himself in their judgment, would glorify himself in their judgment. Now, God was gracious in making his instructions clear. He was not silent. He did not leave them in the dark, guessing how to make the correct sacrifices or in to honor him. He spoke to them. Anitab and Abihu were firsthand witnesses to the miracles of God and bringing Israel out of Egypt. They heard the voice of God, saw the lightning, smoke, and even felt a thunder and earthquake at Sinai. And even with these experiences and witnessing God's awesome power, they came in an unauthorized way to God according to their own preference. The fire on the altar of burnt offering was sacred because it was kindled by God himself. Nadab and Abihu offered a fire of their own making. They may have thought that all fire was the same, but there's a huge difference between the fire kindled by God and one conjured up by man. So what did God do? He judged Nadab and Abihu. That same consuming fire that displayed God's glory at the end of Leviticus 9 now showed his judgment of these unfaithful priests. God sent a big warning to Moses and to Aaron he shall be worshiped as he says. Have you ever come to worship with your own agenda? Have you ever gathered and worshiped with God's people yet came with a heart hardened to his commands? Again, in our verse, God says, among those who are near me, I will be sanctified or treated as holy. And for all the people, I will be glorified or honored. And Aaron held his peace or kept silent. God will be sanctified either by obedience or by punishment among those who are near to him. Now this was not some impulsive reaction of a quick-tempered God. This reaction, while shocking to read, underscores that the Israelites then and shows us today that God has a holy hatred of sin. God will be treated as holy and he demands glory. This serves as a warning and an example. Worship requires a proper action as well as a heart fixed on God. Our propensity is to minimize sin, to make up our own rules for worship just like these priests did. These priests and every priest fail to honor God fully. And their judgment shows us our need for a better priest. One who keeps God's law and always intercedes for us. And we have that in Jesus Christ. Speaking about Jesus, Hebrews 4, 15 to 16 says, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Praise God for our perfect priest. In our verse, God says, among those who are near me, I will be sanctified. And the New Testament does not reverse this. Nowhere does it tell us anything that resembles a casual or flippant attitude as we come to God. Think of Hebrews 12. At the end of the chapter, we are told to be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, to offer God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, And then we're reminded for our God is a consuming fire. Our closeness to God as new covenant believers doesn't mean he hates sin any less than he did in the time of Leviticus. It's not as if God is more comfortable with our sins now that Jesus died for us. Our position in Christ automatically sets us apart from the world and our personal holiness is vital in our daily walk. As Charles Spurgeon said, if you think you can walk in holiness without keeping up perpetual fellowship with Christ, you have made a great mistake. If you would be holy, you must live close to Jesus. So by way of application, let us meditate on how are we coming to God? Are we coming to God as we see fit or as he commands with reverence? Let us take great care not to come to God with any strange fire. Another thing to meditate on is that there are no small sins in light of a holy God. Let us not trivialize any sin and demon as small. Instead, strive for holiness by seeking closeness with Christ. And lastly, knowing that the wages of sin is death and that we too deserve to be consumed for our sin, Let us take great joy knowing that our God endures sinners like us and we can have new life through Christ. This brings us to our second point, the man who didn't speak. Our verse ends with an Aaron held his peace. The father of these sons had nothing to say. Just let that sink in. Two of his sons die and he says nothing. I think the biggest reason why this is the case is because the death of his sons was an action of God. Who is Aaron to question or suggest that God shouldn't have done this? This is an acknowledgement that God has the right to do as he pleases. More than stunned silence, Aaron's reaction is equivalent to worship. We often react in the exact opposite way when something goes wrong, right? When the slightest thing doesn't go our way, how quickly we question God or turn to complaining and discontentment for such little things, let alone the death of two children. Aaron knew the judgment was correct. Yes, it was a shocking demonstration, there's no denying that. But we can be certain that because God is love and is supremely sovereign in his judgment, Every decision will be correct since he himself is the standard. While Aaron was far from perfect, such clear submission and not complaining or talking back to God after such a tragedy is the fruit of truly knowing God. In his silence, Aaron sees the justice in what happened. As painful as the death of his two sons was, Aaron understood that their punishment occurred to glorify God. So he did not object, he held his peace. This is a much more legitimate reason to have an excuse to grumble. Remember Israel so quickly turned to grumbling because they did not like the taste of the water or the food. Aaron's sons were just killed before his eyes in silence. Aaron wanted to treat God as holy and to honor him. His allegiance to God here surpassed all his human relationships. And this should be the same for us. Our highest loyalty should be to God Almighty, not to a spouse or to kids or to friends. While this can be easier said than done, it is necessary. When Aaron had committed a previous sin concerning the worship of the true God with the golden calf, Moses confronted him and Aaron had plenty to say and he tried to shift the blame. In this instance, he held his peace. Aaron offered no defense or excuses. Rather than blaming the fire of God's judgment, he humbly submitted. Aaron was learning to keep silent before a holy God. He of course was grieving, but he was also learning. And for us, when God confronts us with our failures in worship, we too need to hold our peace and simply submit. If we speak, it should be words of surrender, confession, and praise. Leviticus 10 verses six and seven says, and Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, do not let the hair of your heads hang loose and do not tear your clothes lest you die and wrath come upon all the congregation. But let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled and do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting lest you die. for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you, and they did according to the word of Moses. Aaron and his remaining sons were still on duty, and they were not yet permitted to mourn the loss of their son and brother. This might seem like there's a lack of sympathy, but I think there's a vital lesson to be learned here, and that is that God comes first. After the failure of Nadab and Abihu, to listen to what God had said. You'll notice here, Aaron and his remaining sons did not continue down this path of doing what was right in their own eyes. They did according to the word of Moses. And to be clear, this is not suggesting that it is wrong for believers to grieve the death of loved ones or to feel sorrow. Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. And as mentioned on Sunday in Brian's sermon, God does expect us to grieve, but to do so in a way that glorifies him. And that is by a grief that is reinforced by faith in him. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's Job 121. How we grieve is an expression of our worship to God. And the hope that we have as believers in Jesus Christ is that mourning, pain and death will not last. Revelation 21, four says, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying or pain anymore for the former things have passed away. By way of application, let us consider What does it look like for us to be silent before God's judgment? This is not giving God the silent treatment. This is standing in complete awe of him. The Lord's judgment is always just, and we should have a posture of reverence and submissiveness. Additionally, how do we react when things go wrong or in grief? Do we dishonor God by questioning His goodness and wisdom? As James 1 tells us, we should count it all joy when we meet trials, knowing that the testing of faith produces steadfastness. And lastly, even though that Aaron was silent here, it does not mean that we are always silent to God. Psalm 17, six says, I call upon you for you will answer me, O God. incline your ear to me, hear my words. Let us take great advantage of the freedom we have to speak to him, to pray to the God who is gracious enough to bend his ear down to us. Now, if anyone here tonight is not a believer, please do not let the truth of the holiness of God and his power lead you to run away from him. Run to God. Run to the one true God. Run to the God who is a rock and a fortress, whose ways are perfect, whose word proves true, and who is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Now, as we close for tonight, I wanna leave you with the words from a familiar song about our true and holy God. What other beauty demands such praises? What other splendor outshines the sun? What other majesty rules with justice? Only a holy God. Come and behold him, the one and the only. Cry out, sing holy, forever a holy God. Come and worship the holy God. What other glory consumes like fire? What other power can raise the dead? What other name remains undefeated? only a holy God. Let's pray. Gracious Father, thank you for this time to be able to consider the truths from your word. I pray that we would regard you as holy and submit to you in Jesus name, amen.