THROUGH THE BIBLE - Leviticu..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So open up, please, your Bible to Leviticus chapter 10. I'm going to be reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible, the whole chapter, each one of the verses.

Let's read them together, carefully paying attention to each one of the words with brethren hearts, as this is the all sufficient, the life given, the soul restoring, consolation given word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Leviticus chapter 10. 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. And fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord has said.

Among those who are near me, I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elsaphan, the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp. So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes lest you die.

And wrath can come upon all the congregation, but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning. that the Lord has kindled. And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die. For the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you, and they did according to the word of Moses. And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, Drink no wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die.

It shall be a statue forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses. Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eliezer and Ithamar, his surviving sons. Take the grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offering and eat it and live beside the altar for it is most holy.

You shall eat it in a holy place because it is your due and your son's due from the Lord's food offering for I am commended. But the breast that is waved at the thigh that is contributed, you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as you do and your sons do from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the people of Israel. The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waived they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wait for a waif offering before the Lord and it shall be yours and your sons with you as a do forever as the Lord has commanded. Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the scene offering and behold, it was burned up. And he was angry with Eliezer and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation to make atonement for them before the Lord?

Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly owed to have eaten it in the sanctuary as I commanded. And Aaron said to Moses, Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. And yet such things as these had happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?

And when Moses heard that, he approved. Amen. This is the word of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, given to us through the prophets and through the apostles. Brothers and sisters, we arrived to a very interesting chapter, chapter 10. Chapter 10 is a very interesting chapter because it belongs to a portion of this book that it is in characteristic of narrative.

You see, the book of Leviticus as a whole is characterized because it is a book that is written in the dynamics of instruction that needs to be followed. It's kind of like the book of the law for the Levitical system. It's instructions that need to be followed. But from chapter 8, 9 and 10, we have entered into a section of the book that is more of narratives of things that took place. You remember that the same dynamics we saw in the book of Exodus, which Moses was in the mountain receiving instructions of things that were supposed to be done.

And then when he came down the mountain, Sinai, then all of those instructions started to be conducted and to be performed or done. This is exactly what we have from chapter 8, 9, and 10. In chapter 8 and 9, as our brother explained in the last couple of weeks, we have seen now the consecration of the priesthood. From chapter 1 through 7, we saw all the instructions that were supposed to be followed as part of that Levitical system. But in chapter 8 and 9, we saw the consecration or the ordination, if you want, of the Levitical priest Aaron and his sons.

And in chapter 9, we even saw the first offerings of Aaron and how the glory of the Lord came. to the people of Israel in acceptance to the first offering. Here we're seeing the priesthood acting and conducting their duties for the first time. This would be the first days of the activities of the priesthood. And as I said in Chapter 9, as her brother explained to us, we saw how the glory of the Lord was manifested to the people of Israel and how fire came out from before the Lord came down and burned the burnt offerings in a sign of acceptance that that which the people of Israel had done through the priest was accepted.

And the response of the people of Israel when they saw the fire that was coming down and burning the burnt offering was that they worship the Lord God Almighty of Israel. They fell on their faces and they shouted and they screamed in joy and in worship to see the glory of the Lord being manifested in the midst of the people. That is the context. That is the stage in which this other narrative that we have here in Chapter 10 is set and is given to us. Just as in chapter 9, fire came from the Lord to burn the burnt offerings, and the response to that was worship of the people of Israel.

In chapter number 10, brothers and sisters, we're going to have this terrifying story of fire coming from the presence of the Lord, not in sign of acceptance, but in sign of rejection. In chapter 9, the people of Israel had seen the acceptance from the Lord in the fire that was burning the burnt offering. Now, here in chapter 10, the priest and Israel, and more specifically Aaron, is going to go through the suffering and the difficulty of seeing the rejection of the Lord God of Israel and the fire that comes from his presence consuming His two eldest sons, their names, Nadab and Abihu, or Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, we're told in verse one, they are going to approach the Lord and they are going to bring an unauthorized fire before the Lord, incense, offer unauthorized fire before the Lord. And because of that, the fire of the Lord came upon them and they died. they ceased to be.

Something very similar to what we studied in Acts chapter 5 with Sapphira and Ananias, how when they came to offer something immediately, this is in the New Testament, they breathed their last because they brought something that was not authorized. Definitely, brothers and sisters, this is one of those very difficult chapters in which we see the judgment of God coming upon His people. And in this case, on the two sons of the high priest Aaron on the first day of their office as priests. Now, we should ask ourselves the question, what was that that happened? What happened with their offering that was not accepted by the Lord?

And so the rejection of the Lord and fire coming from heaven and destroying these two people. Nadab and Abihu. Now, brothers and sisters, many people have speculated about the reason why this was the outcome of Nadab and Abihu. But I want you to just pay close attention to the text because I think that in this chapter we are going to learn the importance of holiness, my dear brothers and sisters, the importance of holiness when approaching God. And precisely in chapter 10, we're going to see the necessity and the importance of holiness in approaching God in the office of a priest.

What I'm saying is that it is required, it is mandatory of the priest, in the case of the Old Covenant, to approach God in holiness, that is, doing things as God has ordained that they should be done. Because if we pay attention to the text, we are given specific information and we are told that the fire that they offer or the offering that they offer was unauthorized, that was strange. That literally means that that is alien, that it is contrary to the words of the Lord, that the Lord had not commandment this offering to be performed. You remember how in the beginning of Leviticus, the sacrifices will come before the presence of the Lord as a fragrant aroma to him. So then this sacrifice that Nadab and Abihu brought to the Lord was rejected by the Lord.

It was not fragrant aroma to the Lord. Now, we do not know if the way that they approached the Lord was the way that was not supposed to be done, or the timing was not the timing in which the sacrifice should have been done, or if this is something that should have been done. by Aaron for being the first time and not by his sons. And many people, as I said in the beginning, have tried to give different answers for what is actually the details of the reason behind the death of Nadab and Abihu when they are offering this sacrifice. But I'm simply going to bring you to the same book of Leviticus.

And I think the author of Leviticus, Moses, is going to give us Specific information that will give us insight in this that I said in the beginning, brothers and sisters, the importance of holiness when the priest, especially in the Old Covenant, is approaching the dwelling place of God, is approaching the place where God is. If you quickly go on your Bibles to Leviticus chapter 16, we're going to be given some additional information in relation to the moment in which Nadab and Abihu died. through the fire that comes down from heaven in judgment because of the strange fire or the unauthorized fire that they have offered. And in Leviticus chapter 16, we're going to be given some important information that will help us understand what is that thing that they did wrong that caused their death. In Leviticus chapter 16, in the first verses, we are told this.

Leviticus chapter 16. The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died. Now, we are not given specific details about the offering that was offered, but rather here We are told that they died when they drew near before the Lord. And it seems that after that Moses, as he's writing this by inspiration of the Spirit, he's going to connect this drawing near to the Lord and the death of Nadab and Abihu in Chapter 10. to how it should be the way that the high priest approaches the holy presence of the Lord.

If you continue reading, it says, And the Lord said to Moses. So after after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, the Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron, your brother, not to come at any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat that is on the ark so that He may not die. Now, I want you to see here the important connections in words that the author has given us with this drawing near of Nadab and Abihu and resulting in death. And as a result of that statement, then Moses is given the instruction to Aaron not to come into the holy place at any time inside the veil before the mercy seat that is on the ark so that he may not die. While we may not have specific details about the offering that Nadab and Abihu were offering in chapter 10, brothers and sisters, we do not know that the approaching of Nadab and Abihu to the presence of the Lord through this offering was the reason why fire came from the presence of the Lord and they died.

This is This is confirmed with the charge that Moses will bring to them in verse 3 in chapter 10. So if you go back to the chapter that we're reading today, chapter 10, if you go back to verse 3, you will see that the drawing near to God in an unauthorized way or in a way that it is not commanded by the Lord, it is in the root of it. The reason why these two men died in verse three says, Then Moses said to Aaron. So then after Nadab and Abihu had died, they came that consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then in verse three, it says, Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord has said.

This is the result of their death. This is what he said. Among those who are near me or those who are close to me, I will be sanctified or I will be holy. And before all the people, I will be glorified. Of course, those in the old covenant that will come near or that will come close to the Lord These are the priests.

They are the ones that, by virtue of the election of the Lord, they have the privilege of going not only into the tabernacle, but into the Tent of Meeting, and the high priest will be able to go into the Holy of Holies. So, of course, we see here that Nadab and Abihu not only brought to the Lord an unauthorized offering that was a strange fire to the Lord, and the anger and the wrath of the Lord was kindled, and they died. But also that the root of it is that they approach the Lord God Almighty of Israel in a way that was not ordained by Him. They approach Him in a way that was worthy of the wrath of God. Because those who enter into the presence of God, They exposed themselves to the holiness of God.

So if God is going to allow them to enter into His presence, they are supposed to do it through the ways that God has ordained and the ways that God has authorized. This is the importance of the holiness in everything that the priest was under the Old Covenant and everything that the priest did in approaching God, in doing service to God on behalf of Israel. Everything that they did and everything that they were ministering to in the tabernacle was meant to be done according to the stipulations and according to the requirements that God had given through Moses. This is so important, brothers and sisters, that then we are told that the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were to be taken outside the camp. And we know from the rest of Leviticus that, of course, the high priest was not supposed to not even come near to dead bodies.

Otherwise, there was going to be defilement. But the sons of the high priest, they could have come and taken the body of those relatives who were dead and taken outside of the camp. However, it's very, it's very interesting that in this chapter, Moses is going to commend not the other two sons of the other two brothers of Nadab and Abihu, but rather he is going to give this commission to Mishael and Elzaphant in verse 4, who were the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron, that is the relatives of this family, to carry the bodies outside the camp. Now, Eliezer and Ithamar, who are the two other brothers of Nadab and Abihu, they could have done it theoretically, but Moses is going to instruct these two, Mishael and Elishaphant. And this is because the death that had taken place, the reason why these two bodies were dead, it was not because of something that naturally happened, but rather the wrath of God came upon them.

And these two other boys, or these two other men, Ithamar and Eleazar, they were going to be the replacement of Nadab and Abihu, and therefore they were not supposed to come not even close to these dead bodies. So these bodies were supposed to be put outside of the camp. What I want you to see, my dear brothers and sisters, as I'm just going through this, is the importance of the holiness and not to be defiled, not only for the high priest, but also for the sons of the high priest, to the point that these high priests, they needed, and especially the high priest, he needed to come to an agreement that the thing that God had done, that the wrath that had been kindled from God towards his own sons, that it was so just and so perfect, that there was not need of mourning or lamenting. This is going to be the instruction that Moses is going to give to Aaron, to Eliezer, and to Ithamar, father and brothers of the two people who have just died. They love these two men who have just died.

And of course, there were real emotions of sadness and mourning and lamenting. But Moses is going to come to them and say, You are not supposed to go through the customary way of mourning or lamenting over the death. We read in verse 3 that Aaron, actually, when Aaron heard the statement of the charge of Moses, that he held his peace. Now these priests, high priests and the sons, so then they were requested, they were required to leave the mourning and the lamentation of the death of Nadab and Abihu to the people of Israel. You are not to lament.

You are to be in agreement with the just and perfect judgment of God, that by your lamenting or by your mourning, people might not believe that there was any type of injustice or any type of something that should not have been done by God with the death of Nadab and Abihu, but rather that what they did was completely worthy of the judgment that came upon them. To that point, we're also going to see here the mercy of God who is going to spoke to Aaron after this very difficult thing that he has just seen his sons died. The Lord is going to speak to Aaron in verse eight in a very in a very non traditional way because the Lord will speak to Aaron usually through Moses. but he's gonna come and in a sense he's going to confirm that his priesthood will continue and that his other two sons will also continue and that he's not going to remove that from them. We see in in verse 8 and through verse 11 that basically the Lord is going to give an instruction of not drinking wine or a strong drink and the connection that the Lord is going to give of this instruction to the high priest and of course then to the priest is that this is going to be, first of all, the commandment that is going to go throughout generations.

But if you see, he's going to connect this commandment of not drinking wine or strong drink with two very important things that are given to us in verse 10 and 11. And that is that the priest is to be able to distinguish between that which is holy and common and that which is unclean and clean. That it is that you are not to be with any type of substance in you that might prevent you from performing the role that you are supposed to perform. In this case, first, distinguishing that between that which is holy and common and that which is clean and unclean. And second, verse 11, that you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken by Moses.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to see the importance of the role and the office of the priest under the Old Covenant. They were to be in and of themselves, so to keep their duties and the things that they did, their actions and their whole ministry in holiness, away from defilements. Why? Because they were vessels that they were used for the service of the people of God. And not only that, they have entrance and access to the sacred and holy place where the presence of God was.

Moses is going to confirm this confirmation of God that is given through this commandment of not to drink wine or any strong drink. Then he's going to give it from verse 12 through verse 15, in which basically after he has spoken about all the details of the peace offerings and the grain offering, he's going to confirm. to Aaron and to his sons, the surviving sons, that you are going to keep and remain with the priesthood. Not only that, but the priesthood and the system and all the offerings are going to continue the same. They are going to continue, even though these things have taken place, that two of the priests, on the first day after the consecration, the ordination of the priests, and after the glory of the Lord has been manifested to the people of Israel, Two of them have died because they have done something that goes against the Word of the Lord, even though the priesthood through Aaron, but now through the two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, is going to continue.

Then we have the final story given to us of the final narrative in verse 16, brothers and sisters. in which now Moses, after he had seen that the first thing that the sons of Aaron did was in a way that was not authorized by God, now he's concerned if there's going to be any other type of carelessness in the sons of Aaron, in Ithamar, in Eliezer. So now he very diligently inquired about the goat of the scene offering. We are told in verse 16 now he's concerned and he just want to check and make sure that the sons of Aaron now, Eliezer and Ithamar are doing the things according to the way of the Lord. But however, when he comes, he's completely shocked because when he's going to see the goat offering that they were supposed to offer on behalf of the congregation and then they were supposed to eat the meat of that that offering he goes and see we have in verse 16 behold it was burnt up that is that the whole offering had been burnt up and therefore of course they had not eaten the portion that they were allowed and that they were supposed to eat as part of the ritual this was a seen offering on behalf of the congregation so that's why moses in verse 17 is going to ask them, why have you not eaten the sin offering, the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy?

He says, you were supposed to eat it. You had the right to eat it. That thing was a thing most holy and has given to you that you may bear the inequity of the congregation to make atonement for them, that is for Israel, before the Lord. Now, here we have now that The other two sons, the surviving sons of Aaron, Eliezer and Ithamar, now they have done something that was not expected. And for that reason, now Moses is filled with anger.

He's angry that he's now seeing that there is still carelessness, that they are not following the commandments. However, in this case, we do not see the wrath of the Lord coming in fire and consuming. Eleazar and Ithamar. We can learn something very interesting from the answer that Aaron is going to give to Moses in verse 19. And Aaron said to Moses, Behold, today they, my sons, have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord.

And yet such things as these had happened to me. That is, they have offered their sacrifices, they have exercised their ministry or their service as priests. And yet I have seen two of my sons death. They were doing the ministry that they thought that they had to do, yet I'm seeing them, and these things had happened to me. Wrath has come from the fire of the Lord, and they have died before the Lord.

Two of my sons, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved? Brothers and sisters, here we see something very interesting. First of all, there was genuine fear in Aaron, and of course, his sons when it came to the fact if they were supposed to eat or not the part of the offering, which Moses has just called that it was a must holy thing. They were so filled with fear and uncertainty that they offered the sacrifice on behalf of the people, but because of their uncertainty, they chose not to eat, not to touch that which is most holy, because they were filled with fear that fire will come upon them in a similar manner and then will consume them. He asked, Would God have approved that I, the high priest, would come and touch and eat of the most holy thing?

Moses seeing the genuine fear in Aaron, then he approves. The approval of Aaron is equivalent to the approval of God. There was genuine fear in approaching the Lord. And for that reason, there was a manifestation of mercy that was manifested, given to Aaron and to his sons through Moses. Brothers and sisters, This chapter shows us the necessity and the importance of holiness, and that holiness being represented in following each one of the instructions that God gives to His people in approaching Him.

Specifically in the Old Covenant, this instruction is given to the priest, to the high priest and to his son, on how they were supposed to come near to the Lord, how they were supposed not to be defiled, how they were supposed to be holy and remain holy for the service of the people and how they were supposed to do that in a reverential, genuine fear in their heart following the commandments of the Lord. These were simple men, and they were going to fail, and many times they failed. And then as we go through not only Leviticus, but primarily the history of Israel, we will see how the high priest will fail many times to the things that they were supposed to do, and how many times the dwelling place of the Lord is going to be defiled by the sin of men. This type of intermediary work of this priest was not sufficient. And for that reason, many people will die in light or in the presence of the perfect holiness of God.

One would think, brothers and sisters, that under the New Testament, one would think that under the New Covenant, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, things will be different. And they are indeed different, brothers and sisters. But under the New Covenant, we are called to approach our God. according to the way that He has instructed us, and also according to the holiness of the Lord. And this is an instruction that continues to be under the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6, moving into chapter 7, he says, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does the believer share with the unbeliever?

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God has said. I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. And then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

Since we have these promises, therefore, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and the spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord. New covenant members. people that are in Jesus Christ. We are also to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord, so that we can come before the Lord. But brothers and sisters, this exhortation and this warning will not be complete if we do not understand that the reason why the believer can bring holiness to completion or can bring holiness to perfection, it is because we have union with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our high priest and who is the holiness of God himself.

You see, when we believe the righteousness of Christ is given and imputed to us by faith, But the righteousness, the practical righteousness of Christ, it is progressively, ongoingly, divinely, unstoppably given to us until the day that we are taken up in glory so that we can say that we are in the presence of the Lord. Just as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 that Jews and Gentiles have been made one and by in this new man they have entered into the presence of God and that we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul will say it in Romans chapter 5, and therefore we stand and have access to that particular grace. This is the glory of the already, not yet, that through Christ, brothers and sisters, we are indeed made holy to enter with boldness the holy of holies, not with fear that we need to follow the regulations and the written law, to perfection, otherwise fire will come down from heaven and consume us, but rather that we can come through and in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ with certainty that the sacrifice of the Lord it is full and complete, and that there is no lack or no need of any other type of sacrifice, and that sets us apart to enter with boldness. You see, under the New Testament, yes, we are called to put away all defilements of the flesh, and we're to put away all defilements of the spirit, growing and bringing holiness into completion. But we can do it because it is Jesus Christ who is living in us.

And as we progress and move towards glory, our experiential union with the Savior through the Spirit increases and our fellowship with the Savior experimentally and experientially increases so that we become more and more like the person of Jesus Christ until the point in which we are captured completely by the divine power and we are given access once for all to the immediate and manifested presence of the Triune God in the person of Jesus Christ and we commune with Him for eternity and then are relationship to Him. It is not by a faith that has not seen, but rather it is by an experiential union, being partakers of the divine nature with the person of Jesus Christ. And this is the most mind-blowing thing about the Gospel. That yes, we are justified by faith and we are not guilty anymore. And then everything has been accepted.

But more than that, brothers and sisters, it is that we can enter into the presence of God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we can have certainty that by approaching God, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not going to be consumed by fire that comes from the presence of God because we are not following the things of the law as they should be, but rather that we are moving progressively in the person of Jesus Christ, and we have this hope, unfading hope, living hope, that it is yet to come, that are abiding with Him. It is going to be eternal, unchangeable and enjoying the presence of God eternally, seeing him face to face and receiving his words face to face and serving the saints and rejoicing in the presence of God for all the eternity that it is to come. May the Lord bless us as a congregation as we grow in faith, brothers and sisters, as we grow in unity, knowing that in the new covenant, we have the power in Christ to indeed approach him with certainty, with boldness. with love and with grace. And at the same time, we can have in the spirit the power to put to death all the defilements of the body and of the spirit, not because we have to, but rather because we have been made new creatures in Christ.

Amen.