Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Leviticus 10:1) And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
In the last chapter and post, Aaron, who along with his sons had been previously solemnly consecrated to the priest's office, began the exercise of his priestly office and offered the first offerings of himself and of the people. A fire had come from the Lord indicating His acceptance of the offerings that Aaron had offered just as had been instructed by Moses.
Now Nadab and Abihu, the two oldest sons of Aaron (Exodus 6:23), each took his own censer, a vessel in which coals of fire were put and incense upon them, which the sons indeed put, and they offered "strange fire" before the Lord, which the Lord had not commanded be done. The original word for "strange" was "zoor" and it meant "strange, profane" and "to be estranged, as to commit adultery". At first glance, it might seem that we don't know exactly what Nadab and Abihu did that made their fire profane, but I believe the answer is in the end of the verse that said God "had not commanded them". While everyone else was prostrate in awe and reverence and humility, these two did not wait for the solemn instruction with which everything else had been done up to this point, but of themselves took their censers and put fire and incense and burned it. The rituals that took place in the tabernacle were all for the Lord and per His instruction. Deciding of themselves to offer incense was offering a strange fire not authorized by God, and forbidden, like had been commanded in Exodus 30:9 when it was said that no "strange incense" be burned on the incense altar, "strange" meaning any other incense for any other purpose other than what was commanded. The brothers offered "strange fire" of themselves that had not been commanded by God.
(2) And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
The fire from the Lord that had just sanctified the ministry of Aaron as well pleasing to the Lord, now brought destruction to Aaron's two oldest sons because they performed a self-willed act of worship. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this was consistent with what was said later in the Gospel:
"For we are to God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death leading to death, and to the other the savor of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?" - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16
The very same salvation Gospel of Christ means life to them who accept and are saved by it, and death to those who reject it. This fire that came from the Lord devoured Nadab and Abihu, meaning devoured their lives, and they died right there before the Lord. They were not completely devoured to non-existence as a later verse will show.
(3) Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'I will be sanctified in those who come near Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.
Moses spoke immediately to Aaron repeating the words of the Lord. Although this exact quote of the Lord is not found in scripture, there is a hint of it in Exodus 19:22 when the Lord said that the priests who came near to Him must be sanctified "lest the LORD break forth upon them". The Lord is a holy God who must be approached with reverence and seriousness and His presence is not to be entered into vainly or lightly. Aaron held his peace meaning he acknowledged and submitted to God's righteous justice and did not murmur against His Lord.
(4) And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.”
Here is where we see that the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were not totally devoured to nothingness because Moses called upon Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, who was the uncle of Aaron, to carry Nadab and Abihu out of the camp.
(5) So they went near and carried them in their coats out of the camp as Moses had said.
They did as Moses said and carried the bodies in their coats out of the camp. It's interesting to note that although fire came out and killed them, perhaps as if by a flash of lightning, neither their bodies nor their clothes were burned up.
(6) And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not
uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come
upon all the people; but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled."
Moses told Aaron and Aaron's two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, that they were not to uncover their heads or rent their clothes, which were signs of grief and mourning. As a matter of fact, they were strictly forbidden to do it or else they would die and God's wrath would come upon all the people. Lamenting so demonstrably for them would have sent the message that even though their family members' actions were so heinous and provoking to God, and so deserving of the punishment He inflicted on them, their mourning might be seen as justifying the crimes and accusing God of unjust severity. In addition, they were not to be diverted from or disturbed in their present service to their Lord. Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it this way, "By this they must make it to appear that they had a greater value and affection for their God and their work than for the best friend they had in the world." However, as a whole, they and the whole house of Israel, should bemoan the incident, not so much for the death of their brethren, but for the irreverence to the Lord that had occurred, and in respect and recognition of the Lord's sovereign and powerful judgment, and for His wrath that could just as easily consume all of them as they were sinners, as well.
(7) "And you shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
Additionally, Moses told Aaron and his sons that they were not to go outside the door of the tabernacle as they were consecrated with oil to the priest's office, the oil being the symbol of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit of Life; and they were to be completely attentive to their priestly affairs dedicated to their Lord preferring service to Him over any mourning or funeral customs. They did just as Moses told them to do.
(8) And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, (9) “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations,"
The Lord now spoke directly to Aaron, rather than through Moses. He told him that neither he nor his sons were to drink wine or any strong drink when they went into the tabernacle. It is believed by many Bible commentators that the reason for this prohibition at this time might be because Nadab and Abihu were drunk when they offered strange fire. That is certainly possible. They had feasted that day and probably drank freely in celebration of their first day into their priesthood. Service in the priest's office called for clear heads and clean hearts in the administration of sacred things. Even if the brothers had not been drunk, God was pointing out to Aaron that this was a most sacred service they were undertaking and it was to be administered with reverence and respect and wine and strong drink were prohibited under the penalty of death, and as a statute forever. Note the prohibition seems to just apply to when they were going into the tabernacle; they were permitted to drink wine at other times.
(10) "And that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, (11) And that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
The Lord continued speaking to Aaron giving him the reason for the prohibition, that the priests' minds be clear and their understanding and judgment correct, that they be able to distinguish between holy and unholy (which obviously Nadab and Abihu were not able to do), and clean and unclean, and that they be able to properly teach the children of Israel all the statutes that God had passed to Moses to pass to them.
(12) And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, “Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the LORD, and eat it without leaven beside the altar, for it is most holy. (13) And you shall eat it in the holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the LORD; for so I have been commanded."
Moses now spoke to Aaron and his remaining two sons, and told them to take the grain offering that remained of the offerings made by fire to the Lord (all but the handful that was burnt), and instructed them to eat it without leaven beside the altar, here called the holy place, because that part of the grain offering that remained for the priests was most holy. Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, pointed out that this was not the previously designated "holy place" next to the "holiest of holies" within the tabernacle, but was a so-called holy place within the court of the tabernacle next to the altar at the door of the tabernacle. This part of the grain offering was for Aaron and his sons only, not for any other family, etc., and was to be eaten nowhere else but in the tabernacle. Moses lets Aaron and his sons know that this was the will of God as He had commanded him.
(14) "And the wave breast and heave shoulder you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel."
Moses continued speaking to Aaron and his sons, telling them that the breast that was waved and the shoulder that was heaved was provided to them and their families and was to be eaten in a clean place, but not necessarily a holy place.
(15) "The heave shoulder and the wave breast they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the LORD has commanded.”
Moses continued speaking to Aaron and his sons, continuing the thought from the previous verse that these items were given from the sacrifices of peace offerings brought by the children of Israel with the offerings of fat, and the breast and the shoulder were to be Aaron's and his sons' portion by an everlasting statute commanded by the Lord.
(16) And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt; and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, (17) “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?"
Leviticus 9:15 told of Aaron taking the goat, the sin offering for the people, killing it, and offering it for sin. Verse 16 stated he then brought the burnt offering. These were two different offerings as stated in Leviticus 9:3--a kid of the goats for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering. Moses now looked for the goat of the sin offering and saw that it was burnt, and he was angry with Aaron's sons, Eleazar and Ithamar. The flesh of this goat was not to be burnt, but to be eaten by the priests in the holy place, according to Leviticus 6:25-26: “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting.'" Moses demanded to know why the sons had not eaten the sin offering in a holy place; it was most holy and to be eaten by the priests to bear the iniquity of the people. In this way, they bore the sins of the people as their own, and then made atonement for them. In this, they were symbolic types of Christ, who took the people's sins upon Him and bore them in His own body on the cross, and made full satisfaction and atonement for them. Seeing that the eating of the sin offering of the people was of so great importance, the neglect of it by the priests angered Moses. You would think that just after witnessing what happened to their brothers, they would have been more carefully attentive to the laws of God.
(18) "Behold, the blood of it was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.”
Moses referred back to the instructions given in Leviticus 6:30, which were that if any blood of the sin offering had been brought into the tabernacle, then the sin offering was not to be eaten, but was to be burnt in the fire. However, in this case, he said that no blood of the sin offering was brought inside the holy place, therefore they were to have eaten it in a holy place, as he had previously told them.
(19) And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and such things have befallen me; and if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?”
Moses had directed his anger toward Eleazar and Ithamar, but it was Aaron who answered. Perhaps what they did was by Aaron's direction, and therefore he apologized for it. In essence what he said was that on this very day when they had sacrificed sin and burnt offerings to the Lord, this great calamity had befallen him; and would it have been pleasing to the Lord that those so humbled and distressed by the sin of their family members and God's divine judgment, would have chosen to feast on the most holy flesh of the sin offering?
(20) And when Moses heard that, he was content.
Moses was content with Aaron's answer. God judges the heart of man rather than his actions. In verse 3 above, Aaron had held his peace and not openly and audibly mourned for his sons. In his excuse to Moses, he did not say that it was in an act of mourning (choosing to mourn for his sons over the law of God) that he chose not to feast on the sin offering, but rather wondered aloud if it would have been acceptable to the Lord to be done in his present sorrowful spirit. Indeed, God had provided in other places that what could not be eaten was to be burnt. Aaron's unfitness for duty, natural and not sinful, was given a great allowance and God had mercy on him and his remaining sons. It appeared that Aaron did aim to be acceptable to the Lord, and this was most surely a case of the spirit being willing, but the flesh was weak. God judged Aaron's heart, and we being unable to see within a person's heart, should learn to be careful not to judge every little action of another person. We must learn to forgive and show mercy just as we are forgiven and shown mercy by our Lord.
