Leviticus 10:1-20 (NLT)
1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the LORD by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded.
2 So fire blazed forth from the LORD’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the LORD.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when he said, ‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people.’” And Aaron was silent.
4 Then Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan, Aaron’s cousins, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel. He said to them, “Come forward and carry away the bodies of your relatives from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”
5 So they came forward and picked them up by their garments and carried them out of the camp, just as Moses had commanded.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not show grief by leaving your hair uncombed or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the LORD’s anger will strike the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn because of the LORD’s fiery destruction of Nadab and Abihu.
7 But you must not leave the entrance of the Tabernacle or you will die, for you have been anointed with the LORD’s anointing oil.” So they did as Moses commanded.
8 Then the LORD said to Aaron,
9 “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
10 You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
11 And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the LORD has given them through Moses.”
12 Then Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take what is left of the grain offering after a portion has been presented as a special gift to the LORD, and eat it beside the altar. Make sure it contains no yeast, for it is most holy.
13 You must eat it in a sacred place, for it has been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD. These are the commands I have been given.
14 But the breast and thigh that were lifted up as a special offering may be eaten in any place that is ceremonially clean. These parts have been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the peace offerings presented by the people of Israel.
15 You must lift up the thigh and breast as a special offering to the LORD, along with the fat of the special gifts. These parts will belong to you and your descendants as your permanent right, just as the LORD has commanded.”
16 Moses then asked them what had happened to the goat of the sin offering. When he discovered it had been burned up, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons.
17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sacred area?” he demanded. “It is a holy offering! The LORD has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to purify the people, making them right with the LORD.
18 Since the animal’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the meat in the sacred area as I ordered you.”
19 Then Aaron answered Moses, “Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the LORD. And yet this tragedy has happened to me. If I had eaten the people’s sin offering on such a tragic day as this, would the LORD have been pleased?”
20 And when Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
In the service of the sacrifice for the cleansing of sins, there was a high demand for adherence to the exact procedures God gave through Moses. Surely the burning of fire wasn’t that offensive from a casual observance of it, but when it directly violated the way God had prescribed it wasn’t something that could be allowed. To violate, even in the least, would lead to further dishonor and potential danger. The sons of Aaron, surely loved and cared for, tragically discovered this reality. Their horrible punishment, though, would be a dramatic warning to the rest of those in the priesthood. Moses and Aaron couldn’t even mourn this loss, which resulted from disobedience. Other guidelines, such as consuming alcohol before serving, were surely given greater weight and adherence as a result of this warning. For Moses, this conformity to the details of the sacrifice was a very serious undertaking, and he even reprimanded Aaron for not eating it as he was told.
Though living in the day of Grace, in the blessing of the Sacrifice made once and for all, there is yet a gravity for those who would present this Way that cares for our sins. The casual inclusion of diverse preferences into the lifestyles and practices of those who would represent the Gospel is not acceptable to the same God of Moses. How we present our bodies and how we operate in the presence of the Lamb of God is critical to the effectiveness of our encounter there and its impact on those who need ministry there. Though there may not be a burning consequence like Aaron’s sons, there is yet a need for extreme reverence and honor for the place we’ve accessed by the Blood of the Lamb, not introducing worldly contamination to that which is holy. Though there may not be an immediate bursting of flame, there is yet a perilous consequence for treating the Treasured Gift from the Father as any other worldly thing.