Learn from the mistakes of the two sons of Aaron who offered strange fire. Let us come before the Lord with a holy reverence.
Fallen man without God has the tendency to spoil everything. Place him in the highest position and he will degrade himself. Give him the highest privilege and he will abuse it. Bestow on him the highest blessing and he will prove to be ungrateful.
That was the case with two of the sons of Aaron, the high priest. The two eldest boys of Aaron was Nadab and Abihu. Names in the Old Testament reveal alot about a person's character.
Nadab, which literally means "liberal," was lawless before God. Abihu, which literally means "he is my father," would presumptuously abuse his position and demand obeisance from the worshipers in the temple.
They were leaders with priestly garments on. They were ordained as priests and they functioned in the priesthood. They looked on the other priest as being narrow-minded and too rigid in their interpretation of God's commandments. Claiming special privilege to their father Aaron, Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire before the Lord.
This profane or "strange" fire was not the same fire in its smell, intensity, heat and glory. It was fire other than what God had required. All worship that is not kindled by the Holy Spirit, but is conjured up by the flesh, is profane fire
before the Lord.
When we try to work up something in the flesh or by our own cleverness, we may get fire, but it will not be true fire of the Holy Spirit. There is a great difference between emotions and the anointing. When we are upright before God and allow Him to work through us, we will have the genuine manifestation of the true anointing and the fire of God.
But God does not tolerate false worship. Usually God is gracious and longsuffering, but when it comes to the holy things of His house, His judgement can get very severe. We see this in the instances involving Korah and company (Numbers 16), Achan and family (Joshua 7) and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5).
Nadab and Abihu were not survived by any children. They lived unproductive and unfruitful lives. The same holy fire that came from the presence of God to consume the offerings smote two of them in judgement.
Yet although we see the failure of the priesthood in these two men, we can also perceive God's mercy in maintaining the priesthood of Aaron's family through his two younger sons. Eleazar, which means "God is my helper," and Ithamar, which means "an island of palm trees," a symbol of righteousness.
Friends, let us come before God in spirit and in truth, ask Him to take away our falsehood. Approach Him in reverence and a true heart that hungers for His presence and let His glory fall upon you right now.
