Scripture Notes – A Bad Mistake (Leviticus 10)

Nadab and Abihu, sons of Moses’ brother Aaron, have just been consecrated as priests along with their father (the high priest) and brothers. They are set aside for God’s work, to be holy, to enter into God’s presence, to obey God’s will, and to teach the people of Israel about God and His plan for them. God, through Moses, has given the priests detailed instructions for proper worship and sacrifice. He has told them exactly what He wants from them now that He is dwelling among His people in the Tabernacle.

So what do Nadab and Abihu do first thing? They decide to innovate. They take unholy fire with incense before God. They disregard God’s instructions and do their own thing. Apparently, they think that they know better than God, that their ways are better than what He has laid out for them.  And this badly mistaken attitude gets Nadab and Abihu killed. Instead of God’s fire consuming the incense, it consumes them. They die instantly before God.     

We might shudder at this a bit, thinking God is being harsh. But what He is really doing is showing the extreme gravity of disobedience. Nadab and Abihu’s bad mistake was much more than a mistake. It was a deliberate sin, an act of free will that chose to disregard what God had specifically commanded. Nadab and Abihu deserved punishment, and their father and brothers had to learn a hard lesson from it.

We must remember, too, that God does not give us commands and regulations simply because He is arbitrary. What He commands us to do or not do is for our own good. It is closely intertwined with our nature, who we are as human beings. God created us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So when He gives us an order, it is because we truly need it to be in a right relationship with Him and to fulfill the purpose He has for us. Therefore, we must obey and follow God’s ways rather than our own.