Not long after the Tabernacle was erected, and the priests had begun the daily services ordered by Mo'ses, two sons of Aa'ron committed a great sin against the laws of worship. The LORD had directed that the fragrant gum used for incense be lighted from the fire which He had kindled on the Great Altar. Instead of following these instructions, however, two priests named Na'dab and A'bi'hu took coals of fire from some other place to set the incense in flames.
This act of the two young men who had so recently been consecrated as priests was unforgivable. It profaned their sacred office, disobeyed the clear command of God, and showed inexcusable carelessness. The fire from the Great Altar was to be used because it had been lighted by the LORD, because it had been consecrated by the blood of atoning sacrifices, and because it had been especially blessed by the LORD.
It appears that the sinful act of the two young priests was the result of their own sinful indulgence. In the recklessness and the folly of youth, they had taken too much wine, and then had tried to take their part in Divine Worship with their minds beclouded by the evil drink.
For this act of sacrilege the two young men were suddenly smitten with death. As they stood beside the holy altar of incense the fire of God struck them, and they dropped dead by the altar. Their clothing was unharmed, there was no scorch of fire, but they were dead.
Their punishment was both sudden and severe, but was fully justified by the terrible sin which they had committed. Na'dab and A-bi'hu had dared to offer fire which was forbidden by the LORD, and so they were punished by a fire which took their lives. They had burnt their own fire in preference to that which God had commanded to be used in Divine Worship, And were justly consumed by the fire which they had failed to use.
When Mo'ses was told of their act, and of the sudden punishment inflicted, he declared, "This is the token of the holiness of God's House; His worship must be Holy." He refused to allow Aa'ron or his two other sons to touch the dead bodies, but called for two distant relatives to remove them. The usual mourning for the dead was also forbidden, for the two unworthy priests had been slain for sin against the LORD.
Surely this striking episode, which took place at the very beginning of the new system of worship, and within the doors of the place which had been appointed for it, was a stern lesson in the need for sobriety, thoughtfulness, and strict obedience to every detail in the code of worship which God had given. Carelessness in the worship of God has within it an explosive fire which is sure to fall upon all who are guilty of it. The Divine Command which should be written in letters of fire before every worshiper of God is, "Be not rash with thy mouth, for God is in Heaven and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few."
Our worship should always be filled with deep emotion and outpourings of the spirit, but care must be taken to preserve true reverence; there is no place in true religion for presumptuous, undignified acts of our own. Whatever services we render unto God must be performed in the way and in the spirit prescribed by God.
"No sacred lore, howe'er profound,
Nor all the long and varied round
Of sacred rites, can bliss procure
For worthless man, in heart impure.
Altho' a man with zeal and skill
Should all external rites fulfill,
He reaps no fruit of all his toil
If sin his inner man should soil.
E'en he his all in alms who spends,
With heart defiled, secures no meed;
The disposition, not the deed,
Has value-on it all depends."
