As I stated in my previous posting, the picture of God I see in Leviticus 10 is difficult for me to reconcile to my understanding of my gracious and loving Father. But I think a helpful thing is for me to remember that there truly is only ONE WAY to God. On this side of the cross it is through Jesus, but in the legalistic era of Leviticus the way to God was through rituals and commands handed down by God, himself, to Moses.
At the opening of Leviticus 10, two of Aaron's sons offer an unauthorized fire before the LORD and "So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD." v. 2 According to the following verses, this was a representation to the people of the holiness of God.
Then there are these intriguing words at the end of verse 3. "Aaron remained silent." How strange? Two of his sons were just killed and he remains quiet.
The strangeness continues. Moses actually commands Aaron and his two remaining sons not to mourn in the traditional way, but instructs them to continue in their priestly duties. He states that the rest of the nation will mourn them, but Aaron and the brothers of the deceased are not to mourn.
Then interestingly enough, a new command is issued for the priests (which are Aaron and his sons) that there is to be no imbibing of fermented drink before performing priestly duties in the Tent of Meeting. Curious? Why was this command required at this time?
As you read through the rest of the chapter you find that Aaron's two remaining sons were also neglectful in their priestly duties. They did not eat the required portion of the sin offering that would bring atonement for the nation. Moses challenged Aaron on this, but this time Aaron is not silent. He defends his sons actions by basically saying, "they offered the offerings but then saw their two brothers burn, so should I have eaten the portion or what? How did they know what to do next?" This answer satisfies Moses and it's the end of the chapter.
Isn't that intriguing? Four sons. All four do not follow the priestly duties to the letter of the law. All four, on the surface are guilty of the same sin. Yet, two sons are killed in judgement and two are spared. Why? What's the difference?
This is where I need to apply what I believe to be true about God. He is just. He is holy. And I can stand on the outside of this story and judge the actions of these men, but God has a different view. He can see into their hearts.
I believe the command by Moses about not imbibing in alcohol while performing priestly duties is no coincidence to the story. I think the first two sons were completely careless in what they were doing and likely drunk. This carelessness translated into an unbelief. They not only wavered in their duties, but their neglect indicated their lack of faith in who God is. The fact that Aaron did not come to their defense, also indicates to me that their neglect was intentional in some manner. They were guilty of treating the holy as common.
The final two sons also neglected their duties, but God's judgement did not fall on them. In listening to Aaron's defense of his sons, it is clear these young men were filled with a holy fear. They didn't know what to do for fear of their very lives. God saw into their hearts and could see their intentions were not to consider the holy as common, but just the opposite was true they were filled with a holy fear of the Lord.
The more I read Leviticus, the more I am captured by the holiness of God. There are true to life consequences in living outside of his plan. I've always thought that stories like these were examples of "the wrath of God" and now I'm not so sure I would label it this way. If you break it down to the simplest of spiritual laws I'd say that "life outside of God's plan always leads to destruction." I don't think it is in anyway a picture of God who is vengeful just waiting to zap people that get out of line. Instead I believe that just as God created this universe that must follow physical laws (like gravity, physics etc.) the universe must also operate on the spiritual laws He set forth.
The laws I've discovered so far in Leviticus:
1. God is holy and cannot have sin in his presence.
2. God is just and judges men by their hearts.
3. God's plan leads to life and not following his plan leads to death.
Chapter 11 is next. Whew! Which my Bible labels as "Instructions For The People". I wonder what that will be. :-)
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