The verse records Moses being satisfied with Aaron's explanation for not eating the sin offering, showing Aaron was justified and Moses' reproof had rested on an incomplete understanding of the circumstances. It closes the account in which Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord for offering strange fire that He had not commanded. A substitute for what God has commanded is not acceptable even when it serves its practical purpose, and human invention in worship cannot take the place of divine ordinances and revealed truth. Even priests set apart for sacred service were not permitted to make common what God had made holy, so reverence for sacred things and a clear distinction between the holy and the common must be cultivated. All these sacrifices were types of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away sin, and the same jealousy for what He has sanctified makes a difference still, as in hallowing the seventh-day Sabbath He claimed.
Setting and Immediate Sense
Moses was satisfied with Aaron's explanation concerning the sin offering after hearing it. That contentment meant Aaron was justified in not eating the sin offering. His earlier reproof had been just on the circumstances as he understood them, and the further information showed he had not seen the whole situation, not that he had made a mistake.
Chapters 8-10 are historical narrative giving the account of the consecration of the priests and the death of Nadab and Abihu, distinct from the legislative contents of the book. The book concerns the tribe of Levi and regulates the priesthood and its offerings. It comes after the instructions about the various offerings that show God's hatred of sin and how sin demanded its penalty as shadows of what is in Jesus Christ, and after the consecration of Aaron and his sons.
Holiness, Disobedience and Judgment
The verse belongs to the account in which Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord which He had not commanded and died for it. No substitute for what God has commanded is acceptable, and those who follow their example cannot hope to live but must learn the lesson the record was written to teach and so escape imminent danger. Although their fire may have served its practical purpose, it was not the kind God had prescribed, and God showed His judgment by consuming them before the people.
Their offering of unauthorized fire shows that God does not accept worship shaped by human invention in place of His commands. The chapter stands as a warning against replacing divine ordinances and revealed truth with human ceremonies, rites, or creeds. Their offering of strange fire is an example of disobedience to God's ordinances.
Nadab and Abihu identified themselves with sin by transgressing God's word and perished with it. Their deaths after they offered fire God had not commanded illustrate that God's wrath is directed against sin and falls on people when they identify themselves with sin. Their use of common fire defied God's instruction, and fire from God consumed them, showing that God's word carries power and that defying it brings judgment. Even the priests set apart to officiate in sacred things were not permitted to make common what God had made holy. Nadab and Abihu thought it would make no difference whether they offered incense with strange fire or with holy fire, but the Lord showed that it did by devouring them with fire of His own kindling, and they died before the Lord, meaning reverence for sacred things must be cultivated in worship of God.
The chapter gives a striking object-lesson on the difference between the holy and the common and on the necessity for God's servants to be clear-headed, temperate men, and its requirement still holds because God is as particular now as then. The verse closes a lesson on the necessity of temperance. Aaron's sons were destroyed because they identified themselves with sin and broke God's express commandments, because their minds had become confused by the wine which they drank.
Types and Present Application
Leviticus 8-10 emphasizes the exceeding sinfulness of sin through mighty object-lessons. It is to be read remembering that the yearly round of priestly service closed on the tenth day of the seventh month on the great Day of Atonement, when sins remembered in the sanctuary day by day were brought out and placed on the head of the scapegoat and sent away to a land of forgetfulness. That day was in that sense a judgment-day typical of the great final judgment-day when every soul not in living connection with God is cut off from His people. All these sacrifices were types of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, which gives life to otherwise dry details of laws and regulations.
Nadab and Abihu were put to death for putting no difference between what God sanctified and what He did not, offering incense kindled with common fire when God had commanded sacred fire. Treating God's sanctified things as common leads to making light of disobeying God and hiding the eyes from His Sabbaths, while making a difference between holy and profane leads to obeying God and hallowing His Sabbaths. God is as jealous for His word now as then, so it makes a difference what day is offered to the Lord, because God for a wise reason sanctified and claimed the seventh day.
The verse records Moses being satisfied with Aaron's explanation for not eating the sin offering, showing Aaron was justified and Moses' reproof had rested on an incomplete understanding of the circumstances. It closes the account in which Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord for offering strange fire that He had not commanded. A substitute for what God has commanded is not acceptable even when it serves its practical purpose, and human invention in worship cannot take the place of divine ordinances and revealed truth. Even priests set apart for sacred service were not permitted to make common what God had made holy, so reverence for sacred things and a clear distinction between the holy and the common must be cultivated. All these sacrifices were types of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away sin, and the same jealousy for what He has sanctified makes a difference still, as in hallowing the seventh-day Sabbath He claimed.
Setting and Immediate Sense
Moses was satisfied with Aaron's explanation concerning the sin offering after hearing it. That contentment meant Aaron was justified in not eating the sin offering. His earlier reproof had been just on the circumstances as he understood them, and the further information showed he had not seen the whole situation, not that he had made a mistake.
Chapters 8-10 are historical narrative giving the account of the consecration of the priests and the death of Nadab and Abihu, distinct from the legislative contents of the book. The book concerns the tribe of Levi and regulates the priesthood and its offerings. It comes after the instructions about the various offerings that show God's hatred of sin and how sin demanded its penalty as shadows of what is in Jesus Christ, and after the consecration of Aaron and his sons.
Holiness, Disobedience and Judgment
The verse belongs to the account in which Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord which He had not commanded and died for it. No substitute for what God has commanded is acceptable, and those who follow their example cannot hope to live but must learn the lesson the record was written to teach and so escape imminent danger. Although their fire may have served its practical purpose, it was not the kind God had prescribed, and God showed His judgment by consuming them before the people.
Their offering of unauthorized fire shows that God does not accept worship shaped by human invention in place of His commands. The chapter stands as a warning against replacing divine ordinances and revealed truth with human ceremonies, rites, or creeds. Their offering of strange fire is an example of disobedience to God's ordinances.
Nadab and Abihu identified themselves with sin by transgressing God's word and perished with it. Their deaths after they offered fire God had not commanded illustrate that God's wrath is directed against sin and falls on people when they identify themselves with sin. Their use of common fire defied God's instruction, and fire from God consumed them, showing that God's word carries power and that defying it brings judgment. Even the priests set apart to officiate in sacred things were not permitted to make common what God had made holy. Nadab and Abihu thought it would make no difference whether they offered incense with strange fire or with holy fire, but the Lord showed that it did by devouring them with fire of His own kindling, and they died before the Lord, meaning reverence for sacred things must be cultivated in worship of God.
The chapter gives a striking object-lesson on the difference between the holy and the common and on the necessity for God's servants to be clear-headed, temperate men, and its requirement still holds because God is as particular now as then. The verse closes a lesson on the necessity of temperance. Aaron's sons were destroyed because they identified themselves with sin and broke God's express commandments, because their minds had become confused by the wine which they drank.
Types and Present Application
Leviticus 8-10 emphasizes the exceeding sinfulness of sin through mighty object-lessons. It is to be read remembering that the yearly round of priestly service closed on the tenth day of the seventh month on the great Day of Atonement, when sins remembered in the sanctuary day by day were brought out and placed on the head of the scapegoat and sent away to a land of forgetfulness. That day was in that sense a judgment-day typical of the great final judgment-day when every soul not in living connection with God is cut off from His people. All these sacrifices were types of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, which gives life to otherwise dry details of laws and regulations.
Nadab and Abihu were put to death for putting no difference between what God sanctified and what He did not, offering incense kindled with common fire when God had commanded sacred fire. Treating God's sanctified things as common leads to making light of disobeying God and hiding the eyes from His Sabbaths, while making a difference between holy and profane leads to obeying God and hallowing His Sabbaths. God is as jealous for His word now as then, so it makes a difference what day is offered to the Lord, because God for a wise reason sanctified and claimed the seventh day.