‘And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” And when Moses heard that, he approved’ (Leviticus 10:20 ESV).
At the very first worship service in the newly ordained Tabernacle, the Lord was so pleased that He caused His glory to appear, and sent fire that consumed the offering that Aaron had placed on the altar. The people let out a great shout at this display and fell on their faces in worship before the Lord.
However, it was at this time that two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, drew attention to themselves, by offering their own fiery display. Not only was their activity “unauthorized,” it was distracting from God’s glory. Their motive for this wrong worship was not named, but the Lord’s response was revealing. For the same fire that went out from the Lord to consume the offering on the altar, now went out and “consumed” Nadab and Abihu.
Moses had the bodies of Aaron’s two sons removed from the Tabernacle. But Aaron and his other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, were told not to leave the sanctuary. For they had been anointed and clothed for the worship of the Lord and had to remain to finish. If they left, they too would die.
After a time, Moses inquired of the sin offering that Aaron and his sons were to have eaten in the holy place. When he saw that it was burned up and had not been eaten, he was angry and rebuked Aaron’s sons. But Aaron stepped in and defended them. For he questioned whether the Lord would really have wanted them to eat on the day that the deaths of his two sons had befallen him.
Moses approved his answer. And clearly, the Lord did too, for He did not act against Aaron and his remaining two sons. The Scripture does not explain why the Lord disciplined Aaron’s two older sons so severely for ad-libbing their own worship, while not responding at all to his two younger sons for failing to do that which was prescribed. Perhaps it was because the older sons were motivated by a desire to share in God’s glory, whereas the younger sons were distracted and overcome with grief.
We must be careful in our worship not to draw attention to ourselves and steal the Lord’s glory. For as the prophet Isaiah heard the Lord say, “I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another” (Isa.42:8).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we want to worship You wholeheartedly. Yet, our hearts must be purified by Your Spirit. Help us to offer our worship for Your approval alone, and not to be seen or appreciated by others. You know our motives even better than we do. For You look on the heart. Cleanse our hearts, so that we may worship You fully. In Jesus’ names, amen.