Fire Alarms
Life of Moses: The Great Oppression • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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MOSES: THE FRIEND OF GOD
Fire Alarms
INTRODUCTION
We have been studying the Life of Moses and you must deal with LEV…it is as tough book to read…lots of rules and rituals for OT priests…the word HOLY is used more in LEV than any other book in the Bible
There is only 1 story in LEV and it has been misused for centuries by countless churches (LEV. 10)
(ILL) we have all been in situations where there has been a false fire alarm…smoke detector goes off…fire drills…family with 2 girls in college and one little surprise…5 year old little boy with his family and his older sister visiting his grandmother in a nursing home…he just started to really reading…he got bored so he saw this little red box on the wall and decided to giver it a pull…the alarm went off…things got very interesting at that NH…fire trucks and walkers and nurses…he was scolded very bad on the ride home, up one side and down the other…he sat in total silence with a scowl on his face…after awhile, he turned to his sister and said…well, it said pull
We all need to be careful on how we handle fire alarms…there are certain times in Scripture when God acts swiftly
Sometimes it is so quick and harsh that it raises our eyebrows and we need to handle it very carefully
Nadab and Abihu is our story…it has been abused and ignored
Most books on the life of Moses skips over this story…hard story
Context = after the Golden Calf…10 Commandments…The Law…instructions on setting up The Tabernacle…that was the end of Exodus and now
LEV = tells the priests what they should do inside the Tabernacle…first 9 chapters
1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command.
2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “ ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ ” Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”
5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire.
7 Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
Almost every sermon I have ever heard on this story has not been faithful to the text
You may have never heard a sermon on this but if you have then you know what I am talking about
#1 THIS STORY IS NOT ABOUT RESPECTING THE SILENCE OF THE SCRIPTURE
This text is used by PPL to teach that if Scripture does not specifically authorize something then we cannot do it
This is called = respecting the silence of the Scriptures
For centuries we have debated if silence is permissive or prohibitive…if the Bible does not address something, are we free to do it or should we not do it…both sides have created elaborate cases based solely on the reasoning of men
Does the silence of SCRIP permit or forbid?
I am going to say this = silence is silence…by itself it is not able to forbid or permit anything in Scripture
I do not believe if Scripture doesn’t talk about then it is ok…there is nothing in here about cloning or abortion but we can study the context of the Bible and know that life is a gift from God
I do not believe if Scripture doesn’t talk about then it is forbidden…we have split churches b/c of this…orphanages…Sunday School…located full-time paid preachers…I happen to be for all of those things, especially the last one
This method of interpretation has caused way too many divisions and too much drama in the church b/c we cannot decide when and where to apply it
When we use stories like this to prove a point then we get in trouble
1 = it produces a judgmental spirit - we begin to see churches down the road that are different and we say “if they had any sense then they would not be doing what they are doing”…harsh and critical based on human reasoning
2 = it produces hypocrisy - we are never consistent in the application…what I think it permits you don’t and what I think it prohibits you don’t
Jesus did not believe that just b/c the Bible doesn’t authorize something then that makes it wrong…nothing in the Bible authorizes SYN worship but He went…Festival of Lights is not authorized but He went to it…Jesus did not live with the principle that the Bible must authorize it in order for you to do it
The Bible is silent about handshakes and hugs but it is clear about Holy Kisses but we don’t do that…the Bible even gives specific instruction on how to pick Elders, the Evangelist does it but we don’t do that…we have created a lot of potential for hypocrisy…our application of Scripture is as clear as mud
We have been criticized b/c we have praise teams…contemporary songs…instruments…women involvement
3 = it reads the Bible wrong - we take texts and rip it out of the context and use it to defend a position
I am sure of this…it is wrong to ever suggest that someone’s eternal relationship with God is affected by their ability to infer what they are supposed to do about something that God has never talked about
If it is going to affect my eternal salvation then God is going to make it very clear…black and white…easy to get it…and I can read it and not wonder what He wants me to do and we will not split a church or judge a brother over something that God has never talked about…that is not what this story is about…I have been wanting to say that for 30 years
#2 THIS STORY IS NOT ABOUT GOD NOT LIKING GRACE
At the time of Jesus there was a man named Martian and he read the OT and NT and decided that there were 2 different gods…one was mean and vindictive and the other was gracious and loving
The church came together and condemned what he taught
I do not know of any CHR that believed that there are 2 different gods but we do have a lot of PPL that believe that God acted very differently in the 2 covenants in the Bible
Some PPL act like God in the OT wasn’t a CHR yet
Some of these stories in the OT like Nadab and Abihu or Achan or Uzziah do these mean that the OT God had a really short temper and flew off the handle…quicker to judge and harsher in judgment before Jesus was born We need to handle these fire alarm stories very carefully
WHO WERE THESE GUYS?
2 oldest sons of Aaron (brother of MOS)…they were important men
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up
They met with God personally…they were there when the Covenant was established
They were chosen by God to continue the line of OT priests…they were trusted by God to be priests
LEV. 8 = they were anointed by holy oil…lived in the TAB for 7 days…set apart to serve God
LEV. 9 = they started doing the sacrifices for the PPL
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.
23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
24 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
God accepted the sacrifices and the service of the priests…it was an exciting day In the same hour, the fire that consumed the sacrifices will consume the ones who made the sacrifices
This story is mentioned 3 more times…twice in Numbers and once in I CHRON (100’s years later)
WHAT DID THEY DO?
Lots of options…best answer = we do not know
Could be adding incense to the fire…could be the HP was the only one that could do that…but there were censers there that needed fire maybe they used the wrong fire…the HP on the Day of Atonement would use holy fire to fill the TAB but that wasn’t talked about until LEV. 16
There is nothing in LEV up to chapter 10 that talks about authorized fire
Maybe it wasn’t what they brought to God but how they brought it to God
1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.
Evidently something happened when they approached God
WHY WAS GOD SO ANGRY?
Did God get angry over an accident and kill 2 people?
3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “ ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ ” Aaron remained silent.
Whatever they did it dishonored God in the sight of the PPL and it wasn’t a wrong coal or something with a censer It was something that all the PPL could see…God acted so the PPL would know to take Him seriously
MOS = told Aaron and the rest of his boys to not mourn…do not act in a way that would show that God was unjust
The whole nation needed to know that whatever they did God was not taking it lightly
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron,
9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
10 so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,
11 and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”
The only time God spoke straight to Aaron
Maybe God was telling Aaron what had happened…maybe the boys had been drinking too much
The PPL saw the priests go into the presence of God in a dishonorable and disrespectful way
The Jewish tradition has always said that the boys were drunk when they approached God and God was not going to let the PPL see His priests treat Him so profanely
WHEN DID THIS TAKE PLACE?
This was at the inauguration of the Levitical system MOS would not let their brothers carry out the dead bodies or they would become unclean…they had to stay and continue the sacrifices God was very clear…no dishonor in the priesthood God always sends the PPL a strong message when the PPL are transitioning God is very serious about His people honoring Him…I will be honored! The problem was not that they messed up…the problem was they approached God disrespectfully
WHERE IS THE GRACE IN THE STORY?
We must finish the story…it does not stop at verse 7
MOS tells the other sons to continue the job…there was a sin offering…the priests were supposed to eat the sacrifice…this was the same day of Nadab and Abihu
16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,
17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord.
18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
19 Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?”
20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
MOS had some kind of day…he has already lost 2 priests and now the other ones did not eat the sacrifice…he was going to lose more priests…I am not gonna have anyone left before the day is over
They did not disobey an inference from silence but they disobeyed a direct command clearly recorded in The Law
Aaron explained why they did not eat…this day has been hard…”God would not have been pleased if we obeyed the Law”…that is a lot to say They did not obey the Law but God would have been displeased if they did
The boys were allowed to go beyond what was written God refuses to be boxed in by our logic and reasoning
#1 GOD WILL NOT TOLERATE IRREVERANCE
He is holy and approached on His terms…He is a consuming fire
That is the God of the OT…don’t forget Ananias and Sapphira…church was starting…and these people were lying God did not kill every liar but only them…He was setting up an example
God demands serious reverence
The Cross really mattered…the death of Jesus is a serious thing…we must take sin seriously
We must approach God and show that we honor Him
#2 GOD WILL NOT ELEVATE RULES BASED OBEDIENCE OVER HEART BASED COMMITMENT
It is important that we obey God as much as we can but God has always dealt with man on the basis of His heart
God is greater than rules….He wants to show mercy to PPL who’s heart is better than their behavior God will not take a man who follows rules strictly over a man who’s heart is right
Do not use these stories to judge how PPL should follow your conclusions but use it to judge how well your heart honors God