February 19
Leviticus 9:1-11:47
God’s commands are clear. His directions, not suggestions, for our lives are spread over 66 books which together we call the Bible. Though God is all-loving, He is also immutable or unchanging. His commands are just as relevant now as when they were first written. When we accept Jesus’ Great Commission, we must never forget the second part of this directive in Matthew 28:19-20, “ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;…”. So, the issues of the day, such as LGBTQ, abortion, pre-marital sex, living together before marriage, violence against innocent people and property owners in the name of social justice, schools superseding parental rights, etc. have all been clearly discussed in His Word. Consider the original sin in the Garden of Eden, from the father of lies, Satan, who initiated the process in Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Though God’s command was clear in 2:16-17, Satan shed doubt, essentially saying, “Did God really say or mean that?”. Satan then goes on to continue the lie by telling her she will be freed and empowered if she simply disobeys, 3:5, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan’s tactics never change. Our biblically illiterate society has willingly and brazenly handed their lives over to him in the name of supposed freedom.
We see a phrase which has been repeated over and over in these pages of Leviticus, as exemplified in Leviticus 9:7, “… Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.”. Moses did not waver from God’s commands. In fact God’s presence was so strong that we see the response of the people in 9:24, “and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” So, keep this in mind as we approach 10:1-3, “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ”. So Aaron held his peace.“. Perhaps they were intoxicated with alcohol, due to God’s instructions directly to Aaron in 10:8-9. But perhaps they simply listened to the whisper from Satan telling them that God didn’t mean exactly what He said. This was the beginning of the Levitical priesthood and God was letting them know that He means what He commanded.
When we read an account such as this rather than pointing our fingers at Nadab and Abihu, we should realize that we have been guilty of the same and worse frequently, throughout our lives. Only because of God’s mercy and grace are any of us breathing today, rather than incinerated like those two priests. But we should never take God’s mercy and grace, or His patience for granted. His love does not make His specific commands null and void. Though we are not under the ceremonial commands specific to the nation of Israel, His moral commands have never changed. We have not evolved as a people, as the world likes to state. They were sinners then, and we are sinners now. God’s commands were relevant then and they are just as relevant now. Listen to Him only. Anyone who leads you down an opposing path and justifies it is wrong, even if that man or woman cloaks it with religious jargon and even if they are a leader of a religious group. As strong as this may sound, anyone who justifies a stance that opposes God’s perfect standard is serving as messenger of Satan, not God. Lastly, if you are not in His word you are defenseless and have no way of knowing what is right or wrong.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: