"So far blazed forth from the LORD's presence and burned them up, and they died there before the LORD."
Leviticus 10:2
"The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, sot that we may obey all the terms of these instructions."
Deuteronomy 29:29
Leviticus 10:2
"The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, sot that we may obey all the terms of these instructions."
Deuteronomy 29:29
My Take-Aways
Something Old:
I received a stern warning of what I offer to the Lord in worship.
Something New:
As priest, Aaron and his descendants had to determine what was sacred and common, clean and unclean. What a big responsibility.
Something to Do:
My worship should be spirit and in truth.
God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24
For further study of the scripture concerning the death of Aaron's sons.
Biblios
Strange Fire
26 Comments:
Hi Wendy,
Thanks again for your tender insight. My bible's commentary comments on aaron's sons - As leaders, they had special responsibility to obey God. In their position, they could easily lead many people astray.
Sacrificing and worhipping correctly is an act of obedience and show s respect for God.
God always has good reasons for His commands and we place ouselves in danger when we Conscioulsy or carelessly disobey them.
I have to try not to grow careless in my worship or obedience so that I dont suffer severe consequences.
Praying for all our unsaved and for continued encouragement and energy for you Wendy.
Susanxx
Good Morning,
I have always found it difficult to reach out for help; though I love to give. But this morning God said, "You asked for help and I'm giving you Deb and Jeanne; two who have recently shared powerful stories about the death of their parent." I would love to hear your stories. My email is jags@hughes.net. Anne from VA
Oh Wendy... this is only my second day... Can you or someone tell me your thoughts on staying in a marriage when your watching your husband become an Alcoholic before your eyes but want get help.
We have been walking in Faith with God over the last year and God has really blessed our family... however, I now found along the way, what I thought was a blessing, is also enabling my husband?
Happy Friday, ALL~
Something New:
Nadab & Abihu, sons of Aaron, the high priest, failed to recognize the importance of obedience to the authority of God’s Word. (10:1, 2). We have to watch that our zeal for God and our activities that get mixed into the picture do not show a proud spirit which ends up seeking personal pleasure. Mixed motives and pride lead us away from being humble and focusing on God.
Another New:
Wendy, yesterday after hearing your vlog, I went to Bible Study, and guess what Beth discussed? Your very same thing! How cool is that! She spoke about the Altar - with 4 corners, as being a place of “awe, relief, refuge, and joy.” Then today we read one of the verses she ended with! Leading up to her verse today we read: “Moses said to Aaron, Come to the alter and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people” (9:7)….”Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them” (22) then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle,…came back out…[they] blessed the people” (23)
The people were forgiven. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1). The Hebrew word blessed translates to happy & blissful. How did the people react when they were forgiven and saw God’s fire? Awe! Pure bliss! Pure happiness! “When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground” (24).
When we experience God’s forgiveness, it is time to let it go! The Israelites were joyful-they had been forgiven; they shorted with joy and fell face down! (24)
Thank you everyone for blessing me with your comments! enJOY today, Friday! What a quick week it has been! Hugs, Lori
Thank you Wendy for putting some explanation on the death of Nadab and Abihu. When I read things like this in the Bible; I just remind myself that God is a just God and He handles things with perfection and I need to trust that.
I noticed the reading said "they disobeyed the Lord...doing differently than He had commanded". Disobedience in my children begets discipline. God's discipline is perfect, I need to trust that.
Further on down the cousins "picked them up by their garments" and carried them out of the camp. Would they have been defiled to touch their bodies?
Lori I liked your tie in to our guilt discussion from yesterday...we need to shout for joy when we are forgiven! Don't hang on to the guilt...celebrate being forgiven!
Anonymous: I'm so sorry about your husband's alcoholism. I'm not living your situation so I cannot fully relate, but I do see alcoholism around me. I will say a prayer for you. Don't give up...addictions manifest themselves in many ways...there is always hope for your husband...pray diligently for him and address it with grace and love.
Happy Friday GIG!
Morgen
I'm praying for the woman who has a husband who drinks. It is possible to respond to this man in a Christ like manner with God's help, wisdom and strength. You are not responsible for his behavior, only your own. God will not give you more than you can handle. He's always with you. Trust in Him for a spirit of power, love, and self-control--pray for it non stop. You will be blessed!
I am thankful that I found you all just as we have reached this point in our reading. It is a difficult passage, and it is very encouraging to read and see your comments on this, and to remember that God loves us so much and wants the very best for us as He is allowing us to be in relationship with Him----a pure relationship. Thank you all for your insights and I will be coming back for more!
Blessings to you all this weekend!
Hi Everyone,
This one has to be a mystery. One we as humans cannot comprehend.
Just a thought that is going through this here human-being: Didn't He want Aaron's descendant to be Holy of The Holy.
Today may we thank Jesus for the sacarfices he did for us.
The Crucifixion. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. 34[Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."]
Thanks All.
I find it interesting that these two verses are similarily worded.
Regarding the burnt offering:
Lev 9:24- "Fire blazed from the LORDS's presence and consumed the burnt offering..." and
Regarding the disobedience of Aaron's sons:
Lev 10:2- "So fire blazed forth from the LORD's presence and burned them up..."
The chart you gave us says a burnt offering was atonement for unintentional sin. Hmmmm....I wonder if there is a connection?
And the fact that the sons were given such a prominent position. Their disobedience may have cause for drastic measures. God could have killed them in a variety of ways, but chose consumption by fire.
This bible study format is an answer to prayer. Thank you for all you bless us with!
JoAnn
Ohio
Wow...what a lesson today. Wendy, thank you for the further study guides. I read the Strange Fire and gleaned so many truths from other scripture as well.
Ok, we're honest here. I have to share an "Ah ha" moment with y'all. I decided to read aloud the scripture today--only the dog is here with me!!In Lev 10:17, it says,.."eat the sin offering..." Well, suddenly I recalled a book by Francine Rivers that I read years ago. It's called the Sin Eater. I thought that was the strangest name for a book by one of my favorite authors. Finally, it makes sense! I need to go back and reread it. I had no idea what the reference to the book was and now I do. Just some randomness today!
Anonymous, I will be praying for your situation. You can do all things through Christ (Phil.4), and that includes loving and praying for your husband and marriage even though an addiction is there. God will hold your hand and not leave you alone.
Hugs,
Susan
Doing a quick post to get comments via email. Will respond later.
Happy Friday GIG!
Brandee
One thought that comes to mind when reading today’s reading …Do I always treat God as Holy? How often have I gone to church in my jeans and not put much effort into my appearance to go before God? Or when I rush through my reading of the Word before I rush out the door. Not giving God the honor by taking time with Him and giving Him my full attention? This was a wonderful lesson for me today.
God used Aaron’s sons as an example to the Israelites that disrespect was not allowed. We are to treat Him as Holy and not any other way. He tells us “I will display my holiness through those who come near me” and when we get near Him we see his glory. I want the joy of being close to my holy God.
Linda
Washington state
Hello Everyone,
This is only my second day studying with all of you and I am encouraged by your comments and insights to our reading. When I read this morning's portion I was just struck with the thought HE IS GOD....plain and simple...not all his actions can be fully understood, comprehended by our minds...and the other thought that came to my mind was HE IS HOLY
How serious I need to take these two thoughts into my worship of him.
Look forward to getting to know you!
Robin
Morgen and Lori, such powerful insights- thank you for them.
My thoughts from today's readings with the help of Zondervan's handbook:
on chapter 10: Sin has consequences. God's commands are to be obeyed, not tailored to fit our fancy- God is specific, not general.
on chapter 11: God works in and through the processes he has built into the natural world.
Haven't been able to comment earlier this week, but have stayed up with everything. My mom fell, had to be admitted to the hospital, now is in rehab (sprained her knee that she had replacement surgery on in Dec- she will be 80 next week- lives over an hour away, but I am the one who has the privilege of being "in charge" of things for her) started back to work (PTL) and have a 15 page paper for school due end of week. So.........
Loving even the tougher parts of this studying together. Love you FIGS.
His,
Gaylene
Hi Everybody,
I wanted to share what struck me as I read about Aaron's sons.
This scripture reminded me that even in biblical times, tragedy can strike a family at any time at any place,at any moment for no apparent reason to us. But, God knows!
Aaron was the High Priest doing every thing God asked and yet he still had to suffer this loss.
Today, it seems we all struggle with sudden death (especially the death of our children) and try to make sense of it all. I think that this reading is important to remind us that God is God and we don't always need to understand Him.(Boy,do I struggle with this one!) We are not supposed to understand everything. All we need is Jesus in our hearts and by the grace of God He will carry us in His loving arms.
Live life loving at every moment,because we never know what the next moment may bring!
That my 2 cents today,I hope it makes sense?
Wendy, I, too was taken aback by how God punished Nadab and Abihu. It seemed...harsh. But as I read my commentary, I began to understand. I am going to parapharse Courson: God raised the priesthood to be an example to His people and to provide direction to them. By them lighting up a profane fire (i.e., choosing their own way instead of God's), God dealt severely with them because the y may mislead others.
They were isolated for 7 days in the tabernacle and they had been washed, robed, anointed. They thought it was their time to shine. He also said the two may have been ministering to draw attention to themselves. God does not like it when we do that. Not because he's insecure but He knows anything we worship outside of God: be it our pastor, a spouse, etc. will disappoint us.
He also said that the reason why Aaron & his other sons could not mourn was it would give the implication that God was unfair. He pointed to Ezekiel 24 where Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn for his wife. Oh, and here's a good one: "When you go through a hard time, a setback, a tragedy, it is oh, so easy to suck sympathy from people - but you always do so at the expense of God's reputation. This is why Aaron was not to mourn."
He also mentioned the fact that the two may have been drunk.
What also caught my attention was when Moses got angry when Aaron and his other sons, Ithamar and Eleazar did not eat the sin offering.
Courson compared Ithamar and Eleazar with Nadab and Abihu.
"Nadab and Abihu's sin was wickedness. They lit strange fire; they drew attention to themselves; their judgment was clouded with drink. Ithamar and Eleazar sinned as well, but theirs was a sin of weakness. God was severe with Nadab and Abihu's wickedness and iniquity. He was merciful with Ithamar and Eleazar's weakness and inability."
I am thankful that we serve a God who distinguishes between the two and give His grace accordingly.
_____
Anonymous - praying for your husband to be delivered from the stronghold of alcohol. (((HUGS)))
Welcome to the new posters. We're glad you could join us!
Jeanne, your post last night made me cry. What a blessing that you and your Mom were able to have that exchange. We couldn't talk to my Mom before she died because of the trach in her throat. What I would give to have that same conversation with her...Well, that just has to wait till I meet her again in heaven.
Have a blessed day, everyone!
Hello all,
Although I haven 't posted much this week, my heart has been quietly listening to the Lord as I spent some of my school vacation time on outings with my elderly mother (with whom I have lots of issues), my elderly, failing father, and my wheelchair-bound sister. I felt the Lord with me through all these "testing" encounters and I give this Bible study the credit for that. ("Come near to God and He will come near to you." James 4:8) I heard the Lord whisper to me "Be gentle." I have a tendency to be harsh and judgemental, so the Lord has given me that mantra to help me focus on the area He wants me to try harder on. It brings me joy even in the midst of problems and stress to know that if I stay close to Him, he will stay close to me and guide my ways.
Since we have had another Michelle join us -- Welcome, I will now sign off as
New England Michelle
P.S.Thank you all so much for your insights and efforts to keep this study strong and alive, just like His word (especially you, dear Wendy!)
It seems that Aarons sons were disobedient to God's instruction and gave an incorrect offering. I just thought about Cain and Able and the offering each of them gave God. Cain gave the wrong type of offering and God as not pleased.
I too could use the prayers of the righteous. I am dealing with several struggles right now. One is not being able to sleep.
Thanks everyone for your insights and comments. This section of scripture is a difficult one for everyone, I think. I'll be chewing on all this for awhile.
I too was excited about todays reading, the priests finally getting to practice ALL the things they had been instucted to do, the Tabernacle finally being used by them for it's intended purposes, awesome.
Aaron's sons deaths was kind of a punch in the chest as I read it. I had to reflect on that, but God is compassionate, as he is just. I like the articulation by G&P/Courson of what I was feeling but having trouble putting into words.
Also Lori and Linda (fellow Washingtonian!) thank you for your insight :)
My something old/new:
God gives us instructions fo follow and He is SERIOUS about them! Vs 10:2 shows how much His orders mean to Him and should mean to us. We can't add our own flair or embellish them as we see fit, that is calling Him inadequate and is spitting in his face. What can we possibly know better than God knows? We are his image bearers and have the power to lead people astray if we use that role improperly.
Something new:
The specification of unclean animals. Lots of things that are in our diets today... very interesting. I'd like to dig into the "why" of that sometime.
Nugget(s):
He wants us, His children, to be holy because He is holy. That means inside as well as outside. What we put in our bodies can affect that as much as our actions and what we put on the outside. And sin is sin. We are his holy image bearers and should refelct Him in all ways always. Additionally, (reflecting on Aaron's loss and inability to mourn); FAITH is believing that God loves us enough (beyond human comprehension) to not lead us astray. It is to not second guess Him and His reasoning. Think like a sheep!
Love and hugs from sunny PNW
Poppin' back in as I just finished visiting with my mom and we were discussing our reading today. She had her KJV opened,and I asked her to read it to me, because I was curious how it was translated. When I heard it, I knew I must pop in and share: :)
10:1
"Nadab and Abihu,...took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered 'strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not."
There it is plain as day: He commanded them not! NO command was given to Nadab & Abihu (that's a mouthful!) to do this, and they took it upon themselves to go ahead and do it!
Grace & Peace hope you're feelin' better from yesterday and THANK YOU for you post today!!!!!! It HELPED me so much!
Wish I could respond to many of you as you just bless me so, and I'm giving special prayer's for those of you who requested them.
Hugs, Lori
PS Jennifer Renee, my mom has had sleep issues as well...Prayer has been her only hope and keeping a small spiral-index w/ verses from the Bible dealing with this...she takes them w/ her everywhere and has been reading them at every chance she gets. Pretty much memorizing them from clinging to them over prayer...God loved on her this week. Cling to Him sweet sister, and pull some verses that deal with 'His rest, sleep, healing ---over this struggle. Ask a couple of Godly women to pray for you. There is power in prayer.
Thank you everyone for all the great comments and insights today! I don't really have much to add to what everyone has already said.
Anonymous, prayers are coming your way for your family and husband. I grew up in the home of an alcoholic so I know some of what you are going through. If you want more prayers you can go to the P31 website and submit a prayer request and it will go out to the prayer warrior team. We have seen major restorations and answers to prayer! We are all here for you as your sisters in Christ.
Will seems to be on the mend here in TN with his flu. Mommy is exhausted though. Sick babies are hard :( Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us. We appreciate it alot.
Love,
Brandee, TN
Thanks, everyone, for all of your research! It's very helpful. I must be out of the loop, though - I didn't spend much time with Aaron's sons today. It certainly is a tragedy that it had to happen, but it's not what ultimately caught my attention.
2. Lev. 9:8-24 The people must have spent all day hanging out in front of the altar, watching Aaron and his sons perform the sacrifices. With the laying on of hands, death, blood sprinkling, arranging, draining, cutting, fire tending, burning, etc., this must have been a VERY lengthy task. While God is now willing to forgive us whenever we ask, sometimes it takes a long time before we're ready to do that. We have to go through lots of steps it takes time until we really see our sin for what it is and are ready to be forgiven and to let it go completely.
3. Lev. 11 It seems as if God was expecting the Israelites to be very nit-picky about following His laws and so he gave very precise directions. He doesn't just give the law, like with scales and fins, but then He spells out each exact thing that they can and cannot eat. How often are we like that? How often do we push the envelope if we see the borders as just a bit blurry? How easy is it to do a 'slow fade' into sin because we never took a hard stance about something and said, 'NO!' God knows how we can weave about with each change of the wind and took the time to make His expectations clear! I need to make sure that I know keep my boundaries well in sight - from the proper side of the fence.
Have a great weekend! Can't wait to find out what this surprise is, Wendy - you have me quite curious!
The comments today help to understand everything in this reading.
Jennifer I pray that you can be at peace tonight with no concerns and sleep well, in Jesus Name
Blessings of this Friday to Everyone!!
It is so great to see so many new people logging on and joining in ~ if there are others of you out there justthisclose to hitting the keyboard I exhort you to come on in! God has something to say through YOU!
My notes for today are short. :)
"these are the instructions" and "by these instructions you will know" Lev 12:46-47
The Bible is our daily bread. Each day we are given new new eyes and connected heart and soul not just with God and each other, but with those who lived before us; who, despite different circumstances, fell prey to the same faults and longings as we do today and whose lessons become ours, and whose hurts become as our own.
He is the LORD our God, and I am so blessed to be journeying with so many others who lean on him and digest his word as part of their daily diet.
You are all precious in his sight - may you enjoy the richness of his love this weekend.
Liz
Alaska
Lori ~ thanks for asking about me. Let's just say I'm keeping Kleenex in business for now.
Liz ~ What you wrote about our connection with the people of old was beautiful.
As to the dietary and other requirements, I read that God did that to protect the Israelites from the diseases that decimated the pagan cultures around them.
Jon Courson quotes this on page 390: "When the Bubonic Plague killed one out of four Europeans, the Jewish community was remarkably immune. Because they followed the sanitary regulations of the Old Testament, not knowing the reason for them but simply being obedient to them, the Jews were protected to a remarkable degree." Also I am reminded of what Pastor Chuck Smith said on one of the Pastor's Perspective call in re this subject. Someone called re the pork prohibition and he said it's for health reasons because we now know that there are some parasites that stem from improperly cooked pork (really gross stuff).
As a parent, we tell our kids not to do certain things because we know it's not good for them. They don't see it as such because they're young and do not have the same life experiences we do. Same with God, we obey because we trust, no, we know that He knows much more than we do and He has our best interest at heart. What a loving Father we have!
Post a Comment
Home