Leviticus 10:18, commentary and pictures

The verse lays down the rule for a sin offering whose blood was not carried inside the sanctuary, that its flesh was to be eaten by the priests in the holy place as commanded. Offerings were handled according to their kind, with some blood brought into the sanctuary and other flesh eaten in the holy place, and no flesh left for the priests to eat when the blood was carried within. By eating as commanded the priest bore the iniquity of the congregation in his own person to make atonement, so that confessed sin was transferred in symbol to the sanctuary where it remained until the day of atonement. That ordinance pointed to Christ the sinless Lamb bearing the confessed sins of repentant sinners in his own body by the merits of his body and blood, which the animal sacrifices portrayed but could not actually remove. It stands as an object-lesson on the difference between the holy and the common, for Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire of their own kindling instead of what God prescribed and were devoured before the Lord, showing that no substitute for God's command is acceptable.

The Offering's Handling

The rule is that when the blood of a sin offering was not brought in within the holy place, its flesh was to be eaten by the priests in the holy place, as commanded. This applied to the offering for one of the common people, whose blood was not taken inside, so that the priests should indeed have eaten it there. Eating the offering was the appointed means by which the priests bore the iniquity of the congregation and made atonement for them before the Lord, and by that eating and by the blood the confessed sin was transferred in symbol to the earthly sanctuary. Through this service the sin was still borne into the sanctuary where it figuratively polluted it and remained until the great day of atonement when its final disposition was made. It was the flesh of the offering, not the priests themselves, that was given to bear the congregation's iniquity.

Offerings were handled differently according to kind, so that some flesh or blood was brought into the sanctuary while the flesh of other offerings was eaten in the holy place as commanded. Offerings whose blood was carried into the sanctuary provided no meat for the priests to eat, while they were to eat the portion when its blood had not been brought in. In the offering described the goat's blood was spilled at the altar and its fat was burned there, and its body, though bearing the confessed sin, was not taken into the holy place as blood was but was carried into the first apartment of the sanctuary for the priests to dispose of by eating as commanded. This brought the sinner's sin into the tabernacle to await its final disposition on the day of atonement.

The verse stands in chapters 8 to 10, which are historical portions giving the consecration of the priests and the death of Nadab and Abihu, distinct from the purely legislative priest's code of civil, ceremonial, moral, religious and sanitary laws that makes up most of the book. It belongs to the laws concerning sacrifices and the priests' duties, whose details had meaning. It records Moses reproving Aaron's sons for not eating the sin offering in the holy place when its blood had not been brought inside. Moses judged the situation justly on the facts as he understood them, and after Aaron explained the circumstances Moses recognized that Aaron was justified, showing that a prophet may speak on the information available to him and receive further understanding when more is revealed without having made a mistake. It belongs to the account of Nadab and Abihu, who identified themselves with sin by transgressing God's word and perished with it.

Bearing Sin and Christ

It was the flesh of the offering, not the priests themselves, that was given to bear the iniquity of the congregation. When the blood of a common person's sin offering was not brought within the holy place, the priests were commanded to eat its flesh in the holy place. By that eating as commanded they bore the transgressor's iniquity in their own person and made atonement for the congregation before the Lord. The flesh represented sin, so eating it pictured sin borne in the priest's own person.

Through that eating, and through the blood when it was brought in, confessed sin was transferred in symbol to the earthly sanctuary. This priestly service was part of the ritual by which sin figuratively polluted the sanctuary and by which Israel's sins were borne in connection with the sanctuary. Even when only the body bearing the confessed sin was carried into the first apartment to be disposed of by eating, with the blood spilled at the altar and the fat burned there, the sinner's sin was thereby brought into the tabernacle. There it remained until the great day of atonement, when its final disposition was made.

The sanctuary service was thus connected with the acceptance and cleansing from sin of the priests and the sanctuary. Its details had meaning, and the sacrifices find their fuller meaning in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ. The ordinance of eating pointed to Christ bearing human sins in His own body, prefiguring His bearing of sins into the heavenly sanctuary through the merits of His body and blood. As the sinless Lamb He takes and bears the confessed sin of the repentant sinner. These sacrifices portrayed sin laid upon an innocent substitute, but they could not actually remove sin. The typical sanctuary service represented Christ's priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary, His once-for-all ministry, and the cleansing of the sanctuary as a work of judgment.

Holiness and Obedience Demanded

Leviticus 10:18 belongs to an object-lesson on the difference between the holy and the common. Even priests set apart to officiate in sacred things were not permitted to make common what God had made holy, for holy and common are not interchangeable. God's servants must therefore be clear-headed, temperate men, and God is as particular about obedience now as then. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered strange fire that was not what God had prescribed, thinking it would make no difference whether incense was kindled with common fire or with holy fire. God showed that it did make a difference by devouring them with fire of his own kindling, so that they died before the Lord.

Their minds had become confused by the wine they drank, teaching the necessity of temperance. They were destroyed because they identified themselves with sin and broke God's express commandments. The chapter shows the danger of identifying oneself with sin and entering the Lord's presence, for those so identified are consumed with their sin. This is set against the prior chapter, where God's fire consumed the offering representing the people's sins. A substitute for what God has commanded is not acceptable, and disregarding God's ordinances and doing what he has not commanded because it is custom cannot be accepted unto life. Worship must follow God's specific instructions, not merely what serves the purpose or seems effective, for Nadab and Abihu's fire served the purpose for which it was offered yet was not the kind God had prescribed, and God consumed them before the people for this disobedience.

Their fate is an astonishing warning that applies with greater force now, with the light of ancient Israel's experience, Jewish history to the rejection of the Messiah, fulfilled prophecy, and the warnings against apostasy. Those on whom the ends of the world are come must learn the lesson, take heed lest they fall, and escape imminent danger. Failure to distinguish holy from profane makes disobedience a light thing and hides the eyes from his Sabbaths, while distinguishing holy from profane leads to obeying God and hallowing his Sabbaths. God is still as jealous for his word, so it makes a difference what day is offered to the Lord when he has for wise reason sanctified and claimed the seventh day. The lesson is to cultivate reverence by distinguishing between holy and common things and giving God and holy things their rightful place in worship, in his house, and in prayer, singing, and speaking of God and sacred things, since irreverence toward what God has sanctified brings judgment.