Schoolmaster to Christ
LEVITICUS CHAPTER 10

Introduction to Chapter 10: Sadly, from first to last the pages of human history have always been blotted – a record of failure. Amid all the delights of Eden, man hearkened to the tempter's lie (Gen. 3). When preserved from judgment by the hand of love and introduced into a restored earth, he was guilty of the sin of intemperance (Gen. 9). When conducted by Jehovah's outstretched arm into the land of Canaan, he "forsook; the Lord, and served Baal and Ashteroth" (Judges 2:13). When placed at the summit of earthly power and glory, with untold wealth at his feet, and all the resources of the world at his command, he gave his heart to the uncircumcised stranger (1 Kings 11). No sooner had the blessings of the Gospel been promulgated than it became needful for the Holy Spirit to prophesy concerning "grievous wolves," "apostasy," and all manner of failure.¹

Thus, man spoils everything. Place him in a position of highest dignity and he will degrade himself. Endow him with the ample privileges and he will abuse them. Scatter rich blessings around him and he will prove ungrateful. Place him in the midst of the most impressive institutions and he will corrupt them. Such is man; such is human nature in its fairest forms and under the most favorable circumstances.

Scripture Reading: Leviticus 10 (KJV)

Therefore, we should be prepared for the opening words of this chapter. "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, 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."

What a contrast to the scene at the close of the last chapter. There, all was done "as the Lord commanded," and the result was manifested glory. Here something is done which the Lord "commanded them not," and the result is judgment. Hardly had the echo of the shout of victory died away then the elements of a spurious worship were prepared. Hardly had the divine position been assured than it was deliberately abandoned because of neglecting God's commandment. No sooner were these priests inaugurated than they grievously failed in the discharge of their priestly functions.

In what did their failure consist? Were they spurious priests? Were they mere pretenders? No; they were genuine sons of Aaron; true members of the priestly family – duly appointed priests. Their vessels of ministry and priestly garments seemed correct. What was their sin? Did they stain the curtains of the Tabernacle² with human blood, or pollute the sacred precincts with some crime? No; "They offered strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not." This was their sin. In worship, they departed from the plain Word of Jehovah – He had fully and plainly instructed them regarding their mode of worship. We have already alluded to the divine fullness and sufficiency of the Word of the Lord regarding every priestly service. There was no room left for man to introduce what he might deem desirable or expedient. "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded" was sufficient – it was plain and simple. Nothing was needed from man except a spirit of obedience to God's command. But, in this they failed. Man has always been unwilling to walk in the narrow path of strict adherence to the plain Word of God. The enemy's language is "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" (Prov. 9:17). However, the lowly and obedient heart knows that the path of subjection to the Word of God is the only one leading to "waters" that are "sweet," or to "bread" that is "pleasant." Nadab and Abihu might have deemed one kind of "fire" as good as another; but it was not their place to make that decision. They should have acted according to the Word of the Lord; but instead they took their own way and reaped awful fruits – "He knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell."

"And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them; and they died before the Lord." How deeply solemn – Jehovah dwelled in the midst of His people to govern, judge, and act according to the claims of His nature. At the close of Leviticus 9 we read, "And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat." This was Jehovah's acceptance of a true sacrifice. But, in this chapter, it is His judgment on erring priests. It is a double action of the same fire. The burnt offering went up as a sweet odor; the "strange fire" was rejected as an abomination. The Lord was glorified in the former; but it would have been a dishonor to accept the latter. Divine grace accepted and delighted in that which was a type of Christ's precious sacrifice; God's holiness rejected that which was the fruit of man's corrupt will – a will never more hideous and abominable than when active in the things of God.

"Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified." The dignity and glory of the entire economy depended on the strict maintenance of Jehovah's righteous claims. If trifled with, all was forfeited. Man could not be permitted to defile the sanctuary of God's presence by "strange fire." Only the pure fire, kindled from off the altar of God and fed by the "pure incense beaten small," could be permitted to ascend from the priestly censer – a beauteous type of true saintly worship, of which the Father is the object, Christ the material, and the Holy Spirit the power.³ Man must not be allowed to introduce his devices into the worship of God. All his efforts can only issue in the presentation of "strange fire" – unhallowed incense – false worship. Our best attempts are an absolute abomination in the sight of God.

The impious workings of human will in connection with the service and worship of God must inevitably call down the solemn judgment of a righteous God who cannot and will not allow trifling on His commands. "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified." Men will be dealt with according to their profession. If men are honestly seeking, they will find; but, when men approach as worshippers, they are no longer regarded as seekers, but as those who profess to have found; and then, if their priestly censer smokes with unhallowed fire, if they offer to God elements of a spurious worship, if they enter His courts unwashed, unsanctified, and unsubdued; if they place on His altar the workings of their own corrupt will, then God's judgment must be the result. Yes, sooner or later judgment must come. It may linger; but it will come. It could not, it cannot, be otherwise. And not only must judgment come; but, in every case, Heaven rejects all worship that does not have the Father for its object, Christ for its material, and the Holy Spirit for its power. God's holiness is as quick to reject all "strange fire," as His grace is ready to accept the faintest, feeblest breathings of a true heart. He must pour out His righteous judgment on all false worship, though He will never "quench the smoking flax nor break the bruised reed." This is a thought is solemnizing, especially when one considers the thousands of censers smoking with strange fire throughout the wide domain of Christendom. May the Lord add to the number of true worshippers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4). It is much happier to think of true worship ascending, from honest hearts to the throne of God, than to contemplate spurious worship on which God's judgment must eventually be poured out. Every one who has experienced forgiveness of sins through the atoning⁴ blood of Jesus can worship the Father in spirit and in truth. A true believer knows the proper ground, the proper object, the proper title, the proper capacity of worship. These things can only be known in a divine way. They do not belong to human nature or to earth, but are spiritual and heavenly. Sadly, much in our age that is considered worship of God is "strange fire" – neither pure fire nor pure incense. Therefore, Heaven does not accept it. The reason God's judgment does not fall on those who present such worship today as it fell on Nadab and Abihu of old, is only because "God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." In other words, it is not because God has accepted such worship, but because He is gracious. However, the time is rapidly approaching when the strange fire will forever be quenched; when the throne of God will no longer be insulted by clouds of impure incense ascending from unpurged worshippers; when all that is spurious will be abolished and the whole universe will be as one vast and magnificent temple, in which the one true God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – shall be worshipped throughout the everlasting ages.

Grateful incense this, ascending
Ever to the Father's throne;
Every knee to Jesus bending,
All the mind in heaven is one.
All the Father's counsels claiming
Equal honors to the Son,
All the Son's effulgence beaming,
Makes the Father's glory known.
By the Spirit all pervading,
Hosts unnumbered round the Lamb,
Crowned with light and joy unfading
Hail Him as the great "I AM."

The redeemed are waiting for this; and soon all their longing desires will forever be met in such a fashion as to elicit the touching confession of Sheba's queen: "the half was not told me."

We now return to Leviticus 10, endeavoring to gather up some of its salutary teaching so needful in an age when so much "strange fire" abounds.

There is something unusually arresting and impressive in the way Aaron received God's judgment. "Aaron held his peace." It was a solemn scene. His two sons struck dead, smitten down by the fire of God's judgment.⁵ Aaron had just seen them clothed in their garments of glory and beauty – washed, robed, and anointed. Before the Lord they had stood with him to be inaugurated into the priestly office. In company with him they had offered the appointed sacrifices. They had seen the beams of divine glory darting from the shekinah, they had seen the fire of Jehovah fall upon the sacrifice and consume it. They had heard the shout of triumph issuing from an assembly of adoring worshippers. All this had recently passed before Aaron; and now his two sons lie at his side in the grasp of death. The fire of the Lord which so recently fed on an acceptable sacrifice, now fell in judgment on them, and what could he say? Nothing. "Aaron held his peace." "I was dumb and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." It was the hand of God; and though in the judgment of flesh and blood it might seem to be a heavy hand, yet Aaron could only bow his head in silent awe and reverent acquiescence. "I was dumb . . . because thou didst it." This was the suitable attitude in the presence of Divine visitation. No doubt, the pillars of Aaron's house were shaken by the thunder of God's judgment; yet he could only stand in silent amazement in the midst of the soul subduing scene. A father bereaved for his two sons in such a manner, and under such circumstances, was no ordinary case. It furnishes an impressive commentary on the words of the Psalmist: "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints; and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him" (Ps. 89). "Who would not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?" May we learn to walk softly in God’s presence – to tread Jehovah's courts with unshod foot and reverent spirit. May our priestly censer always bear the one material, the beaten incense of Christ's manifold perfections; may the power of the Spirit kindle the hallowed flame. All else is not only worthless, but vile. Everything springing from man's energy, everything produced by actions of the human will, the most fragrant incense of man's devising, the most intense ardor of our devotion, will all issue in "strange fire" and evoke the solemn judgment of the Lord God Almighty. We continually pray for a truthful heart and worshipping spirit in the presence of our God and Father.

But, an upright, though timid, heart should not be discouraged or alarmed. Often, those who really should be alarmed take no heed; while those for whom the Spirit of grace would only offer a word of comfort and encouragement, apply to themselves the startling warnings of Holy Scripture. No doubt, the meek and contrite Christian heart that trembles at the Word of the Lord is in a safe condition; but then we should remember that a father warns his child, not because he does not regard him as his child, but because he does, and one of the happiest proofs of the relationship is the disposition to receive and profit by the warning. Even though its tone may be solemn admonition, the parental voice will reach the child's heart, without raising a relationship question. In other words, it would be a poor affair indeed, if a son questioned sonship every time his father offered a warning. The judgment that here fell on Aaron's house did not make him doubt his priesthood. But it certainly had the effect of teaching him how to conduct himself in that high and holy position.

"And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people; but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses."

Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar, were to remain unmoved in their elevated place – their holy dignity – their position of priestly sanctity. Neither the failure, nor the judgment, was to interfere with those who wore the priestly robes and were anointed with "the oil of the Lord." That holy oil had placed them in a sacred enclosure where the influences of sin, death, and judgment could not reach them. Those who were outside, who were at a distance from the sanctuary, who were not in the position of priests might "bewail the burning;" but as for Aaron and his sons, they were to go on in the discharge of their hallowed functions as though nothing had happened. Priests in the sanctuary were to worship, not bewail. They were not to weep as in the presence of death, but to bow their anointed heads in presence of God's visitation. "The fire of the Lord" might act, and do its solemn work of judgment; but, it mattered not what that "fire" had come to do – whether to express God's approval by consuming a sacrifice, or His displeasure by consuming the offerers of "strange fire," a true priest is to worship. That "fire" was a well-known manifestation of God's presence in Israel of old, and whether it acted in "mercy or in judgement," the business of all true priests was to worship. "I will sing of mercy and of judgement; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing."

There is a deep and holy lesson every soul must understand. Those who are brought close to God in the power of the blood and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit⁶ must move in a sphere beyond the range of human nature's influences. Priestly nearness to God gives the soul an insight into all His ways, a sense of the rightness of all His dispensations – so much so that one is enabled to worship in His presence, even though the stroke of His hand may remove the object of tender affection. It may be asked, "Are we to be stoics?" Were Aaron and his sons stoics? No; they were priests. Did they have feelings as men? Yes; but they worshipped as priests. This is profound, opening up a region of thought, feeling, and experience, in which human nature can never move – a region which, with all its boasted refinement and sentimentality, our nature knows absolutely nothing. In order to enter into the depth, meaning, and power of such holy mysteries, we must tread the sanctuary of God in true priestly energy.

In his duty, the prophet Ezekiel was called to learn this difficult lesson. "Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men . . . And I did in the morning as I was commanded" (Ezek. 24:16-18).

It may be said that all this was as "a sign" to Israel. True; but it proves that in prophetic testimony, as well as in priestly worship, we must rise up and be superior to all the claims and influences of our earthly nature. Aaron's sons and Ezekiel's wife were cut down with a stroke; and, yet, neither the priest nor the prophet was to uncover his head or shed a tear.

How far have we progressed in this profound lesson? No doubt, most of us have to make the same humiliating confession – we "walk as men" and "eat the bread of men." Too often we are robbed of high priestly privileges by the workings of our nature and earthly influences. Nothing short of realized priestly nearness to God can preserve the heart from the power of evil, or maintain its spiritual tone. All true believers are priests unto God, and as such, nothing can possibly deprive them of their position. But though they cannot lose their position, they may fail in the discharge of their functions. These things are not sufficiently distinguished. Some, while looking at the precious truth of the Christian's security, forget the possibility of failing in the discharge of priestly functions. On the contrary, others who look at failure call into question their security.

We should stay clear of both errors. As children of God, we should be fully established in God's teaching of the family relationship⁷ of every member of the true priestly house; but we should also bear in mind the possibility of failure and the constant need of watchfulness and prayer. May all who have been brought to know the hallowed elevation of priests unto God be preserved by His heavenly grace from every species of failure, whether it be personal defilement or the presentation of the varied forms of "strange fire" abounding in organized religious organizations today.

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses" (vv. 8-11).

The effect of wine is to excite our nature, and all natural excitement hinders that calm, well-balanced condition of soul that is so essential to the proper discharge of the priestly office. So, we should treat the use any means to excite our nature as a thing having no existence. Only in this way will we be in a moral condition to serve in the sanctuary, to form a dispassionate judgment between clean and unclean, and to expound and communicate the mind of God. Each of us must judge for ourselves what, in our special case, would act as "wine or strong drink."⁸ The things exciting mere human nature are manifold – wealth, ambition, politics, and varied objects of emulation around us in the world. All these things act with exciting power on our nature, and make us unfit for every department of priestly service. If the heart is swollen with feelings of pride, covetousness, or emulation, it is utterly impossible that the pure air of the sanctuary can be enjoyed or the sacred functions of priestly ministry discharged. Men speak of the versatility of genius; of a capacity to quickly turn from one thing to another. But the most versatile genius ever possessed can not enable a person to pass from an unhallowed arena of literary, commercial, or political competition, into holy retirement in the sanctuary of God’s presence; nor can it adjust the eye that has become dimmed by the influence of such scenes, so that it can discern with priestly accuracy the difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. No; God's priests must keep themselves from being influenced by "wine and strong drink." Theirs is a path of holy separation and abstraction. They are to be raised far above the influence of earthly joy or earthly sorrow. Their use of "strong wine" is for pouring unto the Lord for a drink offering in the holy place (Num. 28:7). In other words, the joy of God's priests is not the joy of earth, but the joy of heaven – the joy of the sanctuary. "The joy of the Lord is their strength."

All of us need to ponder this holy instruction more deeply – we all stand in need of it. If our priestly responsibilities are not duly attended to, then they will be deranged. When we contemplate the camp of Israel, we observe three circles – the innermost having its center in the sanctuary. There was first the circle of men of war (Num. 1, 2). Then the circle of Levites round the Tabernacle (Num. 3, 4). And lastly the innermost circle of priests, ministering in the holy place. Let us never forget that a true believer⁹ is called to move in all those circles. He enters into conflict, as a man of war.¹⁰ He serves, as a Levite, in the midst of his brethren, according to his measure and sphere.¹¹ Finally, he sacrifices and worships, as a priest, in the holy place.¹² The last of these will endure forever. Thus, everything that incapacitates us for our priestly functions; everything that draws us away from the center of that innermost circle in which it is our privilege to move – in short, everything that tends to derange our priestly relation or dim our priestly vision, will certainly make us unfit for the service we are called to render, and for the warfare we are called to wage.

These are weighty considerations. Let us dwell on them. The heart must be kept right; the conscience pure; the eye single; and the spiritual vision undimmed. The soul's business in the holy place must be faithfully and diligently attended to; or else we will go wrong. Private communion with God must be kept up; or else we will be fruitless as servants, and defeated as men of war. It is vain to bustle about, running here and there, in what we call service, or indulging in vapid words about Christian amour and Christian warfare. If we are not keeping our priestly garments unspotted; if we are not keeping ourselves free from that which excites our nature, then we will certainly break down. The priest must keep his heart with all diligence, or else the Levite will fail and the warrior will be defeated.

It is the business and responsibility of each child of God to be fully aware of what to him is "wine and strong drink" – what produces excitement; what blunts spiritual perception or dims priestly vision. It may be a movie, shopping maul, nightclub, etc. It may be a mere trifle. But no matter what it is, if it tends to excite it will disqualify us for priestly ministry; and if we are disqualified as priests we are unfit for everything, because our success in every department and in every sphere must always depend on cultivating a spirit of worship.

Let us exercise a spirit of self-judgment – a spirit of watchfulness over our habits, our ways, and our associations; and when, by grace, we discover anything that in the smallest degree tends to unfit us for the elevated exercises of the sanctuary, let us put it away, no matter the cost. Let us not allow ourselves to be the slaves of habit. Communion with God should be dearer to our hearts than anything else; and in proportion as we prize that communion, will we watch and pray against anything that would rob us of it – everything that would excite, ruffle, or unhinge.¹³

"And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy: and ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire; for so I am commanded" (vv. 12, 13).

There are few things in which we are more prone to fail than the maintenance of God's standard. Like David, when the Lord made a breach upon Uzza, because of his failure in putting his hand to the ark, "He was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?" (1 Chr. 13:12). It is exceedingly difficult to bow to Divine judgment, and at the same time to hold fast Divine ground. The temptation is to lower the standard, to come down from the lofty elevation, to take human ground. We must carefully guard against this evil that is all the more dangerous when wearing the garb of modesty, self-distrust, and humility. Aaron and his sons, notwithstanding all that had occurred, were to eat the meat offering in the holy place. They were to do so, not because all had gone on in perfect order, but "because it is thy due," and "so I am commanded." Though there had been failure, yet their place was in the Tabernacle; and those who were there had certain "dues" founded on Divine commandment. Though man had failed many times, the Word of the Lord could not fail; and that Word¹⁴ had secured certain privileges for all true priests, which it was their place to enjoy. Were God's priests to have nothing to eat, no priestly food, because failure had set in? Were those left to be allowed to starve, because Nadab and Abihu had offered "strange fire?" No; God is faithful, and He can never allow anyone to be empty in His presence. The prodigal may wander and squander, and come to poverty; but it must ever hold true that "in my Father's house is bread enough and to spare."

"And the wave breast and the heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel . . . by a statute for ever; as the Lord hath commanded" (vv. 14, 15).

What strength and stability is here presented. All the members of the priestly family, "daughters" as well as “sons” – all, whatever be the measure of energy or capacity, are to feed on "the breast" and "the shoulder," the affections and the strength of the true Peace Offering, raised from the dead and presented in resurrection before God. This precious privilege is theirs as, "given, by a statute for ever, as the Lord hath commanded." This makes all "sure and steadfast," come what may. Men may fail and come short; strange fire may be offered, but God's priestly family must never be deprived of the rich and gracious portion that His love has provided, and His faithfulness secured, "by a statute for ever."

However, we must distinguish between those privileges belonging to all the members of Aaron's family, "daughters" as well as "sons," and those that could only be enjoyed by male members of the family. This point has already been referred to, in thoughts on the offerings. There are certain blessings that are the common portion of all true believers; and there are those that demand a higher measure of spiritual attainment and priestly energy to apprehend and enjoy. It is worse than vain – it is impious for one to set up for the enjoyment of this higher measure when it has not been attained. In other words, it is one thing to hold fast the privileges that are "given" of God, and quite another to assume a measure of spiritual capacity to which we have never attained. No doubt, we should earnestly desire the highest measure of priestly communion, the most elevated order of priestly privilege. But, desiring a thing and assuming to have it are very different.

This thought will throw light on the closing paragraph of this chapter. "And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me; and if I had eaten the sin offering today, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord And when Moses heard that, he was content."

The "daughters" of Aaron were not permitted to eat of "the sin offering." This high privilege belonged only to the "sons," and it was a type of the most elevated form of priestly service. To eat of the sin offering was the expression of full identification with the offerer, and this demanded an amount of priestly capacity and energy that found its type in "the sons of Aaron." However, on the occasion before us it is evident that Aaron and his sons were not in a condition to rise to this high and holy ground. They should have been, but they were not. "Such things have befallen me," said Aaron. No doubt, this was to be deplored; but yet, "when Moses heard it, he was content." It is far better to be real in the confession of our failure and shortcoming, than to put forth pretensions to spiritual power that are without foundation.

Thus, Leviticus 10 opens with positive sin and closes with negative failure. Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire;" and Eleazar and Ithamar were unable to eat the sin offering. The former was met by Divine judgment; the latter, by Divine forbearance. There could be no allowance for "strange fire." It positively flew in the face of God's plain commandment. Obviously, there is a wide difference between deliberate rejection of a plain command, and mere inability to rise to the height of a divine privilege. The former is open dishonor done to God; the latter is a forfeiture of one's own blessing. There should be neither, but the difference between the two is easily traced.

May the Lord, in His infinite grace, keep us abiding in the secret retirement of His holy presence, abiding in His love, and feeding on His truth. Thus will we be preserved from "strange fire" and "strong drink" – from false worship of every kind, and fleshly excitement in all its forms. May we be enabled to carry ourselves rightly in every department of priestly ministration, so that we may enjoy all the privileges of a priestly position. The communion of a Christian is like a sensitive plant. It is easily hurt by the rude influences of an evil world. It will expand beneath the genial action of the air of heaven; but must firmly shut itself up from the chilling breath of time and sense. Let us remember these things, and ever seek to stay close within the sacred precincts of God's presence. There, all is pure, safe, and happy.

Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in.

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