Aaron’s Sons Drop Dead
It takes seven days, but Aaron and his sons are set apart for the priesthood.
And then something amazing happens, when Aaron has offered the sacrifices and Moses and Aaron have gone into the tabernacle:
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. [Leviticus 9:22-24]
IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS ALL GOING TO BE OKAY!
It’s like Eden is being recreated in the desert—the people have drawn near to the life of God, and everything is good. The sacrifices have served their purpose.
And then, just like in Eden, disaster strikes:
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. [Leviticus 10:1-2]
The problem continues:
The Lord brings people near so as to share his eternal life with them;
But the people rebel by doing what is right in their own eyes;
The consequence is exile from God’s presence, which means death.
So, what is God going to do?
Gotta read on, dear reader.
P.S. What the Lord says to Aaron gives us a clue to what’s going to happen next in Leviticus:
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.” [Leviticus 10:8-11]
Aaron and his sons need to be sharp and sober so that they can teach the difference between right and wrong, etc. The following chapters will give examples of what that means.
Today’s Old Testament reading from the One Year Bible: Leviticus 9:7-10:20.
