Shemini
Eighth
“True Shock and Awe”
Leviticus 9:1-11:47
2 Samuel 6:1-7:17 (A); 6:1-19 (S)
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I
The title of our Torah portion for this week, Shemini or “Eighth,” points one to the chronological context of the “eighth day,” which begins this section of Leviticus. A glance at the concluding statements from Tzav last week, notes how the seven days of consecration which God required of Aaron and his sons had just been completed. Aaron and his sons had been very busy anointing and consecrating the Tabernacle, various implements for sacrifice, different accoutrements for the Tent of Meeting, and even themselves:
“‘You shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night seven days, and keep the LORD’s command, that you don’t die: for so I am commanded.’ Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD commanded by Moses” (Leviticus 8:35-36, WMB).
Our selection in Shemini begins with, “On the eighth day, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel” (Leviticus 9:1, WMB). Now that the seven days of consecration were completed, the glory of God was ready to manifest itself before the Ancient Israelites. The Tabernacle’s system of offerings and sacrifices was ready to begin its designated function:
“Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people; and the LORD’s glory appeared to all the people. Fire came out from before the LORD, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:22-24, WMB).
This was a very dramatic and exciting section of Scripture to contemplate and imagine in one’s mind’s eye. Now that the anointing and consecration of the Tabernacle had been completed, and all of the required sacrifices had been offered, the glory of the Lord, kavod-ADONAI, appeared.
Aaron first lifted up his hands, and then Moses blessed the people. Then, God’s glory fell upon the Tent of Meeting. In a powerful way, a fire came down and consumed the burnt offering and portions of fat on the altar. The appearance of the all-consuming fire was so overwhelming that the people shouted for joy that their offerings were acceptable and fell on their faces in awe.[1]
Aaron’s Sons Consumed
Following Leviticus ch. 9, there is a distinct break as the scene of the Tabernacle changes from readers seeing the glory of God manifested—to a very tragic incident involving the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. For some unstated reason in the text, the two eldest sons of Aaron decided to offer up some “strange fire” (Heb. eish zarah) which was unauthorized by the Holy One of Israel. They soon discovered how unsanctioned activities at this sacred place—based on their own volitional choices—would have terminal consequences:
“Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. Fire came out from before the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:1-2, WMB).
The death of these two men was a stunning and unexpected tragedy. It was a clear display of God’s apparent displeasure with the actions of Nadab and Abihu. Moments before in the text, a holy fire consumed sacrificial offerings. But then, for offering up “unholy fire” (RSV) or “unauthorized fire” (NIV), the heirs-apparent of Aaron were consumed. As the Hebrew verb akal describes it, they were “eat[en], devour[ed], consume[d]” (AMG).[2] This is the same verb used previously for the consumption of the offering (Leviticus 9:24). The same God who demonstrated His pleasure with the presentation of offerings before Him in Leviticus 9, was now displeased with the presentation of inappropriate fire before Him in Leviticus 10.
Aaron was in total shock after seeing his two sons die by the force of God. Because of the severity of the Levitical service, Moses communicated these direct commands to Aaron, which he had received from the Lord:
“Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD spoke of, saying, “I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.”’ Aaron held his peace” (Leviticus 10:3, WMB).
Certainly, these words from God spoken by Moses, struck a chord with Aaron. Could it have been possible that Aaron thought back to the admonition uttered just before the Decalogue was received at Mount Sinai? Here the instruction was, “Let the priests also, who come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break out on them” (Exodus 19:22, WMB).
At this juncture, Moses was warning not just the Levites, but by extension all of the Ancient Israelites, to not be presumptuous about approaching their Creator. The priests needed to be reminded about the necessity of personal consecration, lest they be punished for presenting something unholy or inappropriate before the Lord.
Leviticus 10:3 is clear how “Aaron remained silent” (NIV), as Moses delivered instruction following the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. Can you imagine what was going through his mind? He was responsible for the golden calf incident in Exodus 32, and yet here he was still standing, in spite of three thousand Israelites slaughtered. For what could seem to be a far lesser offense than committing idolatry against the Holy One, he had to look at the charred remains of his sons. Aaron understood, in a very visible way, that in order to be in the presence of the Lord, one must be sanctified unto Him.
What can we learn from this today, in the era of New Covenant, when Yeshua’s sacrifice has offered permanent forgiveness from sins? The Lord still requires His people to be holy in order for them to access to His presence. He demands that He be glorified and properly honored by His creatures. It is quite possible that Aaron was terrified into thinking that he could be the next victim of the consuming fire of God. While Believers today might have the sacrifice of Yeshua covering their transgressions, even the Apostolic Scriptures admonish, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12, WMB).
Pleasing the Holy One
There is speculation by the Jewish Rabbis that Nadab and Abihu were perhaps under the influence of alcohol when they made the bad decision to offer up strange fire on the altar.[3] This is a possibility, as they could have been intoxicated so as to not properly follow the procedures which the Lord required of them as consecrated priests. The mention of this prohibition, several verses later in Leviticus 10, is a good textual clue how they could have indeed been drunk:
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by Moses” (Leviticus 10:9-11, WMB).
A problem with alcohol may provide some explanation, but we need not overlook some of the verses which appear between the description of Nadab and Abihu’s death (Leviticus 10:1-3), and then the description of how priests were not to drink while on duty (Leviticus 10:9-11). Some intriguing statements are made in Leviticus 10:6-7, succinctly describing how holy God has considered the priestly office to be:
“Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, ‘Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the LORD is on you.’ They did according to the word of Moses” (Leviticus 10:6-7, WMB).
Aaron’s other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, would take the place of Nadab and Abihu as priests. They were all instructed not to mourn for the untimely deaths of their brothers. Then they were told to not even leave the Tent of Meeting, because “the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you” (RSV).
The God of Israel was very serious about His chosen priests honoring the office in which they were to serve. In some respects, you can ascertain that from the shock of the consuming deaths of Nadab and Abihu, a genuine awe and reverence of the Lord had settled in the hearts of Aaron and his other sons. Obedience to these directives was adhered to without question. As this section of Leviticus closes, Moses asked Aaron and his sons why they had not followed the instructions to partake of the “holy” offerings which were clear instructions from the Most High:
“‘Why haven’t you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is most holy, and he has given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.’ Aaron spoke to Moses, ‘Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things as these have happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in the LORD’s sight?’ When Moses heard that, it was pleasing in his sight” (Leviticus 10:17-20, WMB).
Aaron responded to this rebuke with a very heartfelt reply, which indicated how the circumstances of his sons’ deaths, in his mind, prohibited them from eating the sin offering. Having seen his two sons die in a very tragic way, and having heard the admonitions about mourning and leaving the presence of the Lord while under the anointing, Aaron’s heart seemed to finally be in the right place.
Even with the potential for immediate Divine retribution, Aaron’s contrite response was, “would the Lord have approved?” (NJPS). Apparently, this was what the Lord was looking for from His high priest and his sons, and Moses was satisfied with the response (Leviticus 10:20). Since Aaron was not consumed for disregarding the requirements for the sin offering, the Lord was pleased with his service as high priest of Israel.
In Shemini, God makes it clear, through a very dramatic episode, what He required of the Levitical priesthood. As exemplified in Aaron and his sons, He desired a set-apart people who understood the call upon their lives, and who put His interests as Creator ahead of their own as mortals. Aaron learned from the shocking deaths of Nadab and Abihu, that being presumptuous with how someone approached God could bring significant consequences. Aaron was a changed man. Is it possible that he went through some kind of a mental checklist, asking the question of whether or not God would approve, before every priestly action he took? These initial scenes had to be preparatory for the great responsibility which being the high priest of Israel would entail.
Conforming to His Image
Today, as representatives of the God of Israel in the Earth, we need to approach our service unto Him with the same kind of sobriety which Aaron developed. We need to understand His ways, a very important part of which involves personal Torah study. So much knowledge and understanding about God’s holiness can be imparted to us by a review of the weekly parashah, as we contemplate not only the continuing trajectory of God’s Word, but also His mission and calling for our individual lives.
In Leviticus 11, a part of our Torah portion for this week, we encounter the first major instruction detailing the kosher dietary laws. Many Believers today will casually dismiss these directions given by God, because they think they were only for a previous time or age. But at the same time, several prominent evangelical Christians today—because of the poor health of many in our society—have spoken in favor of the health benefits which can be derived from not eating certain meats. Are God’s people to be regulated by Him in simple matters like their diet? Can you learn anything about God’s holiness by what you eat?
As we search our own hearts in these days of “shock and awe,”[4] perhaps we should ask the Lord to give us hearts which are reminiscent of Aaron’s heart—hopefully without having to witness the same kind of dramatic encounters which he saw! Learning from Shemini, before we take actions, we should learn to ask the simple question of whether or not God would approve. By training our hearts and minds to such a pattern of behavior, those called into His service can demonstrate how they are being conformed to the image of Yeshua:
“For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30, WMB).
Let us be reminded how Yeshua only did what the Father instructed Him to do:
“Yeshua therefore said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things’” (John 8:28, WMB).
By His grace, may we also be reminded how we, as obedient servants, should be doing only that which the Lord has instructed us. By being sensitive to His will, not only will He be glorified—but we might find ourselves truly in awe of His work through us. If we choose otherwise, we may be in for an unexpected shock!
NOTES
[1] As an aside, it is interesting to note two things from this account. First, witnessing supernatural actions in person can generate enough fear to buckle the stiffest of knees. Second, the witnesses to God’s glory falling and the fire consuming the offerings caused the Ancient Israelites to fall on their faces. This incident, and others throughout the Scriptures (i.e., Genesis 17:3; Numbers 16:4; Joshua 5:14; Daniel 8:17; Matthew 17:6), indicate how people generally respond to the genuine presence of God.
Back in the early to mid-1990s, a phenomenon was moving through various charismatic circles, known by a variety of names, such as the “Toronto blessing” or “holy laughter.” As people claimed to have been blessed by various speakers, etc., many were falling down under the supposed power of the Holy Spirit. In many cases, as they were being prayed for, the typical response was to see people fall on their backs as they were being touched—rather than fall forward on their faces, as is typical from the Scriptural examples.
Things like this should make one pause and ask just what kind of a “spirit” was being served. If more of the participants had been conscious of the Biblical examples where people fell on their faces before God, there could have been a recognition how these actions needed to be viewed with a more critical eye. Thankfully today, as more and more Believers become better acquainted with the basic principles of God’s Torah, He will equip us to more properly question the origins of the various spiritual phenomenon we encounter.
[2] Warren Baker and Eugene Carpenter, eds., Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003), 49.
[3] J.H. Hertz, ed., Pentateuch & Haftorahs (London: Soncino Press, 1960), 445.
[4] The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2002-2003).
