Leviticus 10: 3-7, “Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.”
The Lord instituted His rule of action and consequence and Aaron’s two oldest sons (See Ex 6: 23, “And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.”) were executed for their rebellion against the Lord. Moses wisely told Aaron that his double bereavement was directly from the Lord and he was to accept this as such. It is very easy for us to blame the Lord for the consequences of our own actions but we must mature enough in our faith to understand that the Lord is teaching us more of His love, grace and mercy in every situation. This fact applies even when we experience the direct consequences of our own actions. However, it seems as though the two men offered their unholy fire in the holy places and their bodies had to be cleaned out. Certain men, relatives of the dead men, were called upon to remove the bodies so that the camp would not become unclean by the presence of dead bodies. These men didn’t touch the dead bodies directly but they lifted the bodies by their clothing and removed them from the camp to take the evil away from the holy places. It was customary, at that time, for people to tear their clothes to show grief when a person died. Sometimes they would also cut themselves to show their grief. These things were forbidden for the high priest on any occasion (See Lev 21: 10, “And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;) except for blashemy (See Matt 26: 65, “Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.”). The reason was that the high priest went into the Lord’s presence from time to time as part of of his service (See lev 16: 2-4, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.”) A person tore their clothes as a sign of despair but a person who has been in the Lord’s presence has no reason for despair for that person has an eternal perspective on life. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then you can come directly into the Lord’s presence whenever you want to (compare Heb 4: 15, 16, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”) If we keep reminding ourselves of the wonder of the Lord’s presence then we will never have a real reason for despair.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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