I’ve been studying in the book of Leviticus lately, and spent some time thinking about the story of Nadab and Abihu. If you don’t know this story, they were two sons of Aaron, who was the first High Priest under the Law of Moses. In Leviticus chapter 10, shortly after being consecrated as priests, Nadab and Abihu offer a sacrifice to God using fire that He had not authorized. Because of this, the bible tells us that, “…fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” -Leviticus 10:2

We live in a culture that increasingly pressures us to become tolerant of sinful behavior. Maybe we even become desensitized to the point that we begin to give in to this pressure. It has reached the point in this nation that standing in the truth of God’s word regarding sinful behavior has become tantamount to burning a cross in someone’s front yard.

We serve a loving and compassionate God, but He is the same God that destroyed Nadab and Abihu thousands of years ago. After this incident, God’s message to Aaron was this:

“By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.” -Leviticus 10:3

God’s message to us is clear. We can either do it the easy way, or the hard way. But He WILL be regarded as holy, and He WILL be glorified. The details matter. The punishment for sin may not be immediate in this day, as it was for Nadab and Abihu, but that is only because:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” – II Peter 3:9

When we start to ignore the truth of God’s word, and assume that He will overlook sinful behavior, we become like Nadab and Abihu and are just playing with fire.