Leviticus 10:4-114And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. 5So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. 6And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. 7And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. 8And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, 9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 11And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. (Leviticus 10:4‑11)
"AND MOSES called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp.”
Nadab and Abihu, the guilty priests, had died for their sin, and God commands that their near of kin should carry them forth without the camp. The relatives must not shrink from their task, for they too must learn the cost of faithfulness to God. How often we find families stand together in disobedience, instead of taking part in the discipline according to the Word of God. How solemn this is and we feel our own weakness at times. We need to utter daily the prayer of the dependent one in Psalms: “Preserve me, O God; for in Thee do I put my trust.” Psalm 16:11<<Michtam of David.>> Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. (Psalm 16:1).
But Moses has further commands from the Lord for Aaron and his sons. “Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people.” The priests of the Lord were subject to all the ordinary sorrows of mankind, but in their nearness to the Lord it did not become them to yield themselves up to natural grief as others. Had Aaron and his sons given themselves up to mourning, they would have had to give up their priestly service, and God would not allow that.
However, Moses did say, “but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.” Christian sorrow is right and proper in its place, and well for us if we did feel deeply any case of sin among God’s people. Still it is wrong for us to allow this to hinder our worship or service to the Lord. How beautifully God keeps everything in its proper balance, keeping us from going too far one way or the other.
“And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle... lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” They were not their own but His, even as we Christians are now. That anointing oil points to the Spirit of God, that unction which is put upon each child of God, and which will enable one to be completely absorbed in His will and glory. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor 6:2020For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Furthermore, Aaron and his sons were warned against taking wine or strong drink. These things excite nature and this was not allowed in priestly service. This, in a figurative way, has a broad meaning for the Christian. “Wine and strong drink” cover a wide circle of things that stimulate fleshly excitement—fleshly pleasures, earthly satisfaction, the indulgence of human desires. Fine buildings, beautiful music, eluent speakers — how much there is here which appeals to nature in the religious activity of the day, but not according to God. The sons of Aaron were to avoid “wine and strong drink” in order that they might put a “difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” As Christians we ought to avoid all that hinders our spirit discernment, so that we might have a single eye for Christ and His glory.
ML-12/05/1971