Not following instructions is always a recipe for disaster. Take the case of the devise created by the FAA for testing windshields on airplanes. They point this thing at the windshield of the aircraft and shoot a dead chicken at about the speed the aircraft normally flies at it. If the windshield doesn't break, it's likely to survive a real collision with a bird during flight. The British had recently built a new locomotive that could pull a train faster than any before it. They were not sure that its windshield was strong enough so they borrowed the testing device from the FAA, reset it to approximate the maximum speed of the locomotive, loaded in the dead chicken, and fired. The bird went through the windshield, broke the engineer's chair, and made a major dent in the back wall of the engine cab. They were quite surprised with this result, so they asked the FAA to check the test to see if everything was done correctly. The FAA analyzed everything and suggested that they follow the instructions more carefully next time. They should repeat the test, but use a thawed chicken. Following instructions is something we admonish others to do, but, let’s face it, something we rarely do. We all know a better way, have a clearer sense of what will work. This may have humorous results as when one propels a frozen fowl at Plexiglas in excess of 150mph or it can be a matter of life and death, as was the case on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The numerous violations which resulted in that deadly catastrophe melted down into simply not following orders. One report concluded: "The staff was insufficiently familiar with the special features of the technological processes in a nuclear reactor... They had also lost any feeling for the hazards involved" They did not realize how dangerous it could be. The released radiation, which killed about 8,000 workers, was roughly equivalent to the explosion of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. The accident may yet cause more deaths than that of WWII. [NYTimes, 4/23/91, The Economist, 4/27/91] We may be aware of how dangerous it is to ignore the warnings from a machine, we may consider how hazardous it is to disregard instructions when trying to harness the laws of creation, but how much more deadly is it when we neglect or discount God’s commands to us regarding how we are to approach Him? What could be more life-threatening than to approach improperly the God who made heaven and earth ? This point is perhaps not more clear than in our passage this morning. We’ve been looking at the Old Testament sacrificial system described in Leviticus complete with the various offerings which were types of the death Christ died for us. The sacrifices were not gifts given by a people wanting God’s attention, nor were they an effort to quench the fiery wrath of an infuriated deity. Rather, they reminded the people of the horror of their own sin and separation from God, but that it was God who would provide the only possible sacrifice for their sins. The solution to their problem was provided for them by God. In order to carry out these sacrifices there was established an order of priests who were to oversee the sacrifices each and every day. Those from the tribe of Levi were chosen by God to direct the people in worship. Last week we saw how those priests and especially Aaron as the High Priest were pointers to Christ as our High Priest. As we come to this section we begin to sense the culmination of all that the people had been waiting for. The various sacrifices were outlined, the priests were consecrated and the great drama of redemption was now being played out. On this the first day of their work various sacrifices were made for Aaron as well as for the people. The blood was drained and spread on the appropriate places in the tabernacle. That first day must have been a tremendous time for Aaron as he at last assumed his place as High Priest. But we move immediately from that scene of triumph into a scene of tragedy. On the very day that this tremendous breakthrough occurred in the camp of Israel tragedy strikes and a sudden and shocking manifestation of judgment occurs. 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. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "`Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent. Leviticus 10:1-3 You can imagine Aaron, watching with pride as his two boys carry out their priestly duties. They fill their censers with glowing coals, put incense upon them and go before the presence of the Lord as God had commanded. But then to Aaron's amazement a jet of fire reaches out from within the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the covenant is located, and in a flash the boys are gone. The very same Shekinah which had consumed the sacrifice now flashes out again to destroy these two priests as they minister. He sees their singed, burned, charred bodies lying there on the floor. Now, what is your reaction to that? I would surmise that probably more than half of you have a sense of uneasiness about this episode and, if you were to probe deeply enough, a sense of resentment - even anger - against God for this kind of treatment. You feel that God is unfair. Why should He take the lives of these two men for such a trivial thing? I am sure that this was the reaction that Aaron and his sons felt, too, as they saw their brothers killed in this way. To this Moses speaks decisively to Aaron at the moment of the tragedy. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: `Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent. (verse 3) When we approach God, His holiness is what is apparent, His honor is what is seen. This verse summarizes in many ways the theme of Leviticus, the central notion of the Old Testament. Coming before God changes us, for we can not stand before His presence without confronting our own sin. If we come on our own basis, we will be consumed. No matter what else, we can not leave God’s presence unaffected. The closer we come to God, the more we realize how far we really are from Him. Aaron can do nothing but remain silent. That profound reaction clearly spells the frightening aspect of what a relationship with God does entail. We love to paint the picture a chummy God who loves us just the way we are, who is delighted that we come no matter what, that we ignore what He demands, but that has never been the case. The author of Hebrews reminds us that we are “to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”(Hebrews 12:28-29) What did Nadab and Abihu do? The passage is not very clear. Adding incense to the censor and placing coals from the altar was part of the prescribed worship. At first it appears they are doing it right and a capricious God wipes them out. But the reason for God’s reaction is that they flagrantly violated his prescribed mode of worship. "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps... Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. (Exodus 30:7,9) If you recall the altar of incense was a picture of how our prayers are made acceptable to God because of the work of Christ on our behalf. The incense used was specific and the fire that burned that incense was to be from the altar where the burnt offering was made, where the blood of the sacrifices dripped on the coals. What Nadab and Abihu did was to make their own fire, take their own coals and place their own incense in their own censers. Notice too that they both went in. Rather than pointing to the singular nature of God’s redemption, they both had their own agenda to add. God’s anger is directed against them because their worship, instead of pointing to His grace, celebrates their own accomplishments. GOD GUARDS US FROM WORSHIPPING OURSELVES God responds as He does to Nadab and Abihu because their worship distorted God’s revelation of Himself. Their focus was on their contribution to God rather than God’s gift of grace to them. What they proclaimed to God is that what they had to offer was sufficient. Their unauthorized fire is little different than when I imagine that God hears my prayers because I am basically a nice kind of guy; God loves to hear my voice as much as I do and He is just made to like me. What’s there not to like? Whether it be their incense or our insistence on our own innate goodness which God just has to accept, in either case - watch out for the lightening bolt. Their sin is what the old Puritans used to call “will-worship.” We call it the cult of self-esteem. What appears to be a minor infraction is in fact a denial of their own sin, since they thought their gift was acceptable and a denial of God’s grace since they determined that they could intercede for the people on their own, apart from Christ’s work on our behalf. The trouble is, will-worship seems so good at times. We do it reflexively, without thinking. In Luke 18:11-12 we see a great example of will worship on the lips of the Pharisee whom, we are told, prayed about himself, saying “God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." The sacrifice he makes appears so holy, but it is one which is wholly his own. It has nothing to do with God. The tax-collector, on the other hand, was far more honest in his appraisal of himself when he looks to God alone for mercy. Since our hearts are, as Calvin said, “idol factories,” since we are so good at worshipping anything but God, God instructs us to always be asking, "Whom are we worshipping?" The first step in proper worship is knowing that we need to guard against improper worship, that we will run after anything other than God. Let’s face it, the god we most often worship is the god of our own comfort. We imagine that what pleases God the most is our own comfort and happiness, rather than making God our supreme source of comfort. The problem of idolatry strikes each of us in so many ways. After a worship service, do you critique what you like and don’t like? On what basis? How can you determine what pleases God? The numbers attracted to the service? The technique of the performers? The length or brevity of the sermon? Was worship good because you came away feeling a certain way? What is the criteria used to determine if you’ve worshipped God? Your own incense - or God’s prescribed agenda of worship directed toward the triune God who has given us salvation in Christ? GOD GUIDES US IN WORSHIPPING HIM God proclaims how He is to be worshipped. This is what we call the Regulative Principle. Simply put: Not only are we to avoid that which God condemns, but we are to do only that which He prescribes. That acceptable worship is that which God’s Word proclaims is right. If God guards us from worshipping ourselves in telling us who to worship (Him and not us), He also guides us in how to worship. The first and foremost issue in determining how we are to worship is not a question of what is the proper order or the style of the music. It is not so much the items of worship, but what is communicated by that particular form. The issue here is not contemporary vs. traditional, it is not whether one uses praise songs or hymns. The unauthorized fire we burn may be the demand for music or styles that are closer to a late night talk show than a holy God. On the same hand, the unauthorized fire may be the demand for the service with which we are so familiar, for it satisfies an internal longing for the accustomed, domesticated God we so love. It is not so much a matter of style but of the content communicated by that style. How does God proclaim He is to be worshipped in our passage? Verse 3: Does our worship promote the holiness of God? Worship is not a fabricated event designed to give you a pleasant feeling of personal satisfaction. You may have a sense of transcendence and awe because of the building, the grandeur of the music, the power of the preaching, but still you have not necessarily encountered a holy God. Holiness is an understanding that God is completely different than you, that He demands a perfection you can not return. Holiness is the internal realization that what is necessary to stand before His throne, you do not now nor will you ever possess. Holiness will cause you to despair of yourself. Nadab and Abihu despised God’s holiness, for they thought their incense was sufficient. We despise God’s holiness when we think it a trifling matter that we are sinners in need of grace. Does our worship promote the honor of God? This is parallel to holiness, but also focuses on the response to that separation between us and God. Honor understands that not only do I despair of my own ability to save myself, but that God will do that for me. The word “honor” here is kabod - glorified, which has a focus on God’s covenantal presence. Proper worship seeks to glorify God, points to His work on our behalf, not our good intentions for Him. God’s honor, His glory is at stake in worship as His promises made to us, His people, must be realized each and every day. Our sin separates us from a God who promised to be our God and we His people. For that reason and that reason alone, God makes it possible for us to come to Him through Christ and Christ alone. Do we promote God’s holiness and honor in our worship that we are sinners and He is gracious or do we promote our own holiness and honor by telling how much we love and honor Him? The distinction is important. The desire to add to God’s worship, to add even that which appears to be so helpful, is damnable. The desire to pump up God’s proclamation of grace with anything of human effort and self-praise, is intolerable. But God directs us in His Word not only who is to be worshipped (God and God alone) but how He is to be worshipped: not contrary to His commands. God must always be the focus, Christ must always be the Mediator, the Spirit must always be the means. Are we cautious of God’s holiness and honor when we approach Him in worship? Does our worship conform to the standards set in His Word? Does our worship place God or us on the throne? Do we leave worship more clearly understanding what God has done or do we leave with a sense of what we must do? Is it Christ’s work on our behalf we promote or is it our own? The instructions given are clear. If we follow them the benefits are legion, but to deny them is only to offer an unauthorized fire, to give up incense of our own making. Following the destruction of southern Florida after Hurricane Andrew, a TV news report scanned the flattened neighborhood in one city. In one scene, amid the devastation and debris stood one house on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when a reporter approached him. "'Sir, why is your house the only one still standing?' the reporter asked. "How did you manage to escape the severe damage of the hurricane?" "I built this house myself," the man replied. "I built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for 2x6 roof trusses, I used 2x6 roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did and it did! I suppose no one else around here followed the code." When the sun is shining and the skies are blue, building our lives on something other than the guidelines in God's Word can be tempting, but there's a hurricane coming - for everyone. When it comes to approaching our God, let us do so by the standards He has set for us in His Word. |
