LEVITICUS: The Priests and All in Positions of Leadership Must Take the Commandments of The Lord God Seriously; "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord."

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:1-2) 

The Lord God gave very clear instructions to Moses regarding the altar of incense, which he in turn instructed to Aaron and his four sons, "You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it." (Exodus 30:9) These two sons of Aaron did not take the instructions seriously, therefore the Lord God destroyed them. Because of the very lackadaisical and casual way most people approach God today, we may think this to be a very harsh punishment by God. 

God has not changed, and He still requires, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:16) We're just very fortunate today that because of Christ Jesus, Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. (Lamentations 3:22) And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’” So Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:3)

Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. (Leviticus 10:4-5) 

And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. (Leviticus 10:6-7) 

As was customary back then, the children of Israel would have a period of mourning when a close relative died.  Moses was instructing Aaron and his two remaining sons that they were not to participate in that ritual because their ministry to the Lord God and the Tabernacle could not stop for any reason. Christ Jesus once taught regarding the cost of being one of His disciples, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God. ... No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60, 62)

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.” (Levitcus 10:8-11) 

If anyone accepts the responsibility of leadership in the Lord God's ministry, we must represent holiness.  It doesn't mean that we are perfect, because none of us are as long as we are in the flesh.  But there are certain things that God requires we must not participate in, in order to represent God in a way that distinguishes between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. The Lord God would give the Prophet Ezekiel a commandment regarding the priests, that "No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court." (Ezekiel 44:21) The angel of the Lord told Zacharias regarding his son, John the baptist, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb." (Luke 1:15)

The Apostle Paul instructed a young minister, Timothy, If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (I Timothy 3:1-7)

The Apostle Paul also instructed another young minister, Titus, ...appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. (Titus 1:5-9)

The point for us today is, we also should represent God in a way that distinguishes between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. And one of the many ways we are to do that is to not become or continue to remain substance abusers, but to replace that substance in our lives with the will of God through the power of His Holy Spirit, and wise counsel if needed. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:17-21)

And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: “Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy. You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.” (Leviticus 10:12-15) 

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) 

The Lord God had given Moses the law of the sin offerings, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the Lord. It is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting. Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place. But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water. All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place shall be eaten. It shall be burned in the fire. (Leviticus 6:25-30)

Moses was most concerned with the part of the law that required, All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. But even though Aaron was the high priest, he still lost two of his four sons that day, and he was concerned with the part of the law that stipulated, But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place shall be eaten. It shall be burned in the fire. When we suffer loss, it normal and appropriate to grieve. Therefore he appropriately responded to Moses, And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” So when Moses heard that, he was content.(Leviticus 10:19-20)