SUMMARY
Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer “unholy fire” at the tabernacleThe tabernacle, a word meaning "tent," was a portable worship place for the Hebrew people after they left Egypt. It was said to contain the ark of the covenant. The plans for the tabernacle are dictated by God in Exodus 26. More, and a fire from the Lord consumes them.
ANALYSIS
This passage relates the puzzling story of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, who have just been ordained with him into the priesthood in the previous chapters. They offer “unholy fire” in their censers “before the LORD, such as he had not commanded them” (10:1). Then “fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD” (10:2). Aaron and his remaining sons are forbidden to mourn, as they are still serving as priests in the tabernacle, but the congregation of Israel is permitted to mourn.
It is unclear what is meant by “unholy fire” and why the two priests are killed. Is it because the Lord did not command them to offer the fire? Is it because they are offering it at the wrong time or in the wrong way? Is it that they are drunk, as some interpreters have inferred from 10:9, which prohibits priests from drinking alcohol while serving in the sanctuaryA sanctuary is the consecrated area around the altar of a church or temple. It also means a place of safety where one can flee for protection. In the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, God is referred to as a sanctuary, a refuge from... More?
There is no clear answer to these questions, but two things can be said. First, the priests have a dangerous job, approaching the Lord in the sanctuary. God’s holiness is so absolute and so powerful that one must approach it only after much preparation, following God’s instructions exactly. Like a strong electrical current, God’s holiness will destroy anyone who approaches it carelessly. Secondly, whatever Nadab’s and Abihu’s error, it mirrors other biblical accounts of creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More and sin. Nadab and Abihu are ordained in a seven-day ritual, and on the eighth day they sin and are destroyed. In Genesis 1-3, the world is created “very good” in seven days, and on the eighth day (or later), Adam and Eve sin and are banished from the garden. At Mount Sinai, God establishes a covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. More with the people of Israel and begins to give them instructions for the tabernacle (Exodus 19-31), and they immediately sin by making and worshiping the golden calf (Exodus 32). In each instance, God creates, human beings immediately sin, and then God re-creates and reestablishes relationship with the people. The story of Nadab and Abihu, in spite of the unanswered questions it raises, fits into this pattern.
