Unholy vs Holy

I've struggled with the harshness of God's response to Nadab and Abihu. It seems to clash with the deep compassion he shows as himself in Jesus. But I knew it had to still mesh somehow. So I began to search.

Nadab and Abihu were the oldest sons of Aaron. They had been delegated the highest honour of ministering before God in the tabernacle on behalf of the Israelite people. They were pretty new at it! The roles had only recently been created.

They were part of a system God had set up so that God could dwell within their camp - the holiness of God within a camp of people who sinned, but with whom God very much wanted relationship.

The system was set up to protect the ones who came before him. He knew his holiness would destroy those within whom sin dwelt, so he provided rules about purification and properly approaching him, so that they would be safe.

Nadab and Abihu stepped out of bounds. Now why they did that, we are not sure - whether it was a feeling of safety that came with being chosen for the role? that brought a sense of familiarity and casualness in his presence? or whether it was, as some people suggest, based on the warning at the end of the story, that they had been drinking and were not thinking clearly.

Whatever it was, instead of using the fire from the altar, that God himself had started with holy fire, these young men decided to grab some fire from a man-made fire and use that to provide incense before him instead!! Why??? Had they been slack about their duties and let the altar fire go out???

We don't know. Any of those possibilities could have occurred. We do know this though - they came before God with foreign fire and little respect for his rules, and they paid with their lives for it!! With that holy fire they had not used!!!

As I read, I realise, there were a number of things that went wrong. But perhaps their greatest problem lay in trying to offer fire sourced from the efforts of man rather than what God had provided. Nothing we can provide ourselves, can ever be perfect enough to enter the presence of God!! Only the perfection of God offered to cover us, in his own Son, can ever do that!

What happened to Nadab and Abihu was a sobering awareness of the cost of approaching a holy God carelessly. The impact of the loss of those two lives would have spoken dire warning into any others who had the potential to take it lightly. But it should also speak to us!!

We are blessed to be covered by Jesus and his purity. The veil has been torn and we can come before God, ourselves. But we need to be aware that coming before God without that cover at the end of time will still cost us our lives. His holiness will still destroy what is unholy. Only the covering of Jesus will save us.

No photo credit