Leviticus 10: 3 "Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace."
Out of all the nations that God created he chose the nation of Israel. Out of all the tribes in the house of Israel he chose the tribe of Levi. Out of all the houses in the tribe of Levi he chose the house of Aaron. God chose them to offer the sacrifices he provided, on the altar he provided, in the manner he provided, dressed in the ephod (with the Urim and Thummim) he provided, to glorify the salvation he provided in the Son he provided.
Nevertheless, Nadab and Abihu took the vessels God gave them and filled them with the ingredients of their own choosing, which when set afire would make an aroma that was to their pleasing. When we reject the only way that God has set forth whereby man may approach unto him, that is Christ, then we do exactly what Nadab and Abihu did.
When the word of the Lord came to Aaron through the Lord's messenger Moses, this was the message: I will be holy in them that approach me, and before all the people I will be glorified. The Lord has said it. Let it be known. All that come close to me, before me, rest in me, are comforted by me, worship me, are saved by me…all that come nigh me will come before me, will rest in me, will be comforted by me, will be saved by me, knowing that I am, first and foremost, Holy.
I will be holy in them. In the inner most being, with the spirit, the believer rejoices that God is holy. Their father Aaron, no doubt, mourned his sons by so great and sudden a death as being consumed in an instant by fire. But when Aaron heard the word of the Lord delivered by Moses, scripture says He held his peace. He did not clamor about in defiance of God's holy decree—he bowed. Much like Mary when the shepherds saw the babe in Bethlehem and glorified God concerning all the things they had heard and seen—scripture says while many wondered at these things Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Furthermore, the message to Aaron spoken by the Lord is this: I will be glorified before all the people. Not only will I be holy in them that approach me but I will be glorified because I am the one who made the people holy. I chose this people, saved this people out of bondage, revealed my will to this people, gave this people a heart to approach and to continue to approach. In the day when God brings all men before him in judgment—every knee will bow and confess Christ to be Lord. Thus let it be assuredly known, every person will either bow before Christ in honor and worship while living in this flesh, giving God all the glory or they will give him all the glory when they bow before him in judgment. Either way, God will be glorified before all the people.
God is holy therefore he demands all who approach him to reverence him. All who approach must be as holy as he. The only way we can approach God, regarding him as holy and also being made holy is if the Lord has made us thus, performed it for us, done it in us, made us unblameable and unreprovable before the presence of the only Holy God—God is just and God is the justifier of all who believe, thus he is holy and will be glorified before all the people.
|
|