Leviticus 10: 1, 2, “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. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
This is a terrifying episode in Israel’s history where we discover that Aaron’s two sons did something wrong and they lost their lives immediately. This was the first time, since the Tabernacle was built and the ceremonial system established that someone sinned against the Lord and the Lord intervened in a quick and decisive way to show what He thought of the sin. There are three times in Bible history where people are immediately killed for their sin. In each case it is the first instance of sin in a new system that has been established by the Lord. This is the first case where Aaron’s two sons decided that they would violate the sacred principles set down by the Lord and they were judged and lost their lives. The second episode occurred when Israel attacked and defeated their first objective in the Promised Land. Achan, a member of the tribe of Judah, stole booty from the city of Jericho even though the Lord told Israel not to. He was stoned to death for this sin as well (see Joshua 7). The third occasion is when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Lord in the early days of the church and they both died for their sin(See Acts 5: 1-11). It is not proper for us to judge the Lord for the harsh way in which He dealt with these sins. He was setting an example as a warning for everyone who came after in the system that had newly been established. It is better for us to amazed at the Lord’s grace in not dealing in the same way with the rest of us, we who are sinners. These examples were all given to allow people time to reflect when they sin and to fall to their knees before the Lord with confession and repentance.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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