Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.” (Leviticus 10:16-18)
Eleazar And Ithamar
Aaron, Moses’ brother and Israel’s first High Priest, had four children. His sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. God called Nadab and Abihu to come with Moses to Mt. Sinai, along with the seventy elders of Israel. The seventy-four men saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. All four of the sons of Aaron were set apart in the priesthood to minister before the Lord. God directed Moses to include in the Law the priests’ garments, including linen trousers to hide the nakedness of their thighs when serving before the Lord. The penalty of disobedience was death.
Nadab and Abihu understood the penalties of dishonoring God in worship. One day, the brothers took their censers, lit the fire, and put incense on it. The fire they used was profane and unauthorized by God. God acted swiftly and powerfully. Fire came out from the Lord and devoured the two priests, sons of Aaron, and they died before the Lord. There was no time to change or repent. Nadab and Abihu were killed instantly.
Moses told Aaron that he could say nothing about the deaths of his sons. What Nadab and Abihu did was treat God’s sacrifice as unholy, and they did not glorify God. The result was immediate death. Aaron held his peace. Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar were told not to grieve the death of Nadab and Abihu. God threatened them with death if they refused. They were not permitted to go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest they die. The men obeyed the word of the Lord.
Immediately after Nadab and Abihu died, God told Aaron to instruct the priests not to drink wine or intoxicating drink. This law applied to Aaron and his sons when they entered the tabernacle of meeting, lest they die. It became a statute forever throughout all generations. The danger of alcohol was the corruption of the worship of God. Contextually from the story, it seems clear this was part of the reason God struck Nadab and Abihu dead. They had failed to give honor to God in their drunken state and died for offering profane fire. God knew their hearts. He saw their rebellion and struck them dead.
God did not strike all sinners down, but He did bring judgment upon cities and individuals. The world was destroyed in the days of Noah with a flood. God rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. Uzzah was killed when he reached out to catch the ark from falling. Ananias and Sapphira both died before the Lord in the early days of the church. Herod Agrippa was struck by an angel of the Lord and died of worms. Abraham was not struck down for lying about Sarah. Moses did not give God the glory and was banished from going into the promised land. David and Bathsheba were spared the sentence of stoning for adultery. Peter did not die for denying the Lord three times.
After Nadab and Abihu died, Aaron’s other two sons continued in priestly duties. They sinned when they did not offer the goat’s blood into the tabernacle. Instead of eating the meat, they burned it. Nadab and Abihu were killed; Eleazar and Ithamar were not. God brought judgment upon Nadab and Abihu because He knew their hearts and how rebellious they were. He also knew the hearts of Eleazar and Ithamar, and they did not have rebellious hearts. They sinned, but they had hearts to seek repentance. David was a man after God’s own heart. Peter was a devoted servant of the Lord. When Simon the Sorcerer tried to buy the Holy Spirit with money, Peter severely rebuked him because his heart was not right in the sight of God. Simon was not killed like Ananias and Sapphira. Simon begged Peter to pray for him.
God sees the heart, and He knows if a man truly repents. All men are sinners. The Lord does not strike down a man because he sins, or no one would ever live on earth. Jesus died to save all men from sin and to bring the grace of God. What men see on the outside is not important to God. God sees the inner man, which no man can understand. He saw the heart of Nadab and Abihu and killed them. He saw the hearts of Eleazar and Ithamar and gave them grace. God’s judgment is right, just, holy, and merciful. All men will stand before a righteous judge, and all men will be judged according to the holiness of the Lord God.
