His two sons (Nadab and Abihu) had just died. Killed for disobeying the Lord! Blatantly rebelling, looks like! (Yesterday’s Lesson)

So … how is their Father (Aaron the High Priest of Israel) to respond, to react?

“And Aaron HELD HIS PEACE. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them (distant relatives), Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.” Leviticus 10:4-5, for burial.

“And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, UNCOVER NOT YOUR HEADS, NEITHER REND YOUR CLOTHES (signs of mourning); lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die.” Leviticus 10:6-7, parts of both verses.

Maybe because this sin was so public? That they (Aaron and his two remaining sons) were not allowed to mourn? Thus putting God’s Word, God’s Honor ABOVE even that of one’s own family?

Jesus in Luke 14:26, speaking relatively I’m sure … “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

I say speaking relatively because elsewhere Scripture commands us to … “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12

Yet this too, Ezekiel (even when his WIFE died) was commanded “not to mourn!” Both Aaron and Ezekiel (the Priest and the Prophet) were public figures. What responsibility that brings! “Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes (his Wife) with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.” Ezekiel 24:16-18, as a warning to Israel that she was about to lose her Temple … “the desire of her eyes” … and would not be allowed time to mourn, being immediately hauled off into captivity!

Wow!

Yet in balance, when Moses died … mourning was allowed. “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel WEPT FOR MOSES in the plains of Moab THIRTY DAYS: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.” Deuteronomy 34:7-8

Still, I am not fully satisfied. WHY NO MOURNING, is there another reason? Well, seems to me God provides a reason! In our Text, where else could one look?

“And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for THE ANOINTING OIL of the LORD is upon you.” Leviticus 10:7, in today’s lesson.

Holy Anointing Oil … a symbol of the Holy Spirit!

The Spirit of Joy and Peace!

Then Third Person of the Godhead Who is … “Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance (Self-Control)” personified!

No mourning when sin is involved! Not for the High Priest or his potential Successors! They are, after all, Spirit Controlled, Endowed!

Such disloyalty to God would have been a matter of pain, grief, sorrow to the Holy Spirit indeed.

Today western Christianity has just about lost this “seriousness, reverence, holy awe” that should be associated with serving God! Our priorities are so skewed nowadays.

Well … did Aaron and his sons obey this injunction from the Lord? Did they refrain from mourning? Yes … “And they did according to the word of Moses.” Verse 7 again.

They freshly obeyed the first Commandment … “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

In retrospect, should I have even written this Lesson? Is it too somber for American sensibilities? Will people misunderstand? Have I handled this theme as well as I could have?

Yet I do know this. In our age, day, dispensation … we Christians are allowed to mourn the deaths of loved ones, at least to a measure! Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Believers, some of whose loved ones had just died … “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13, where sorrow is not totally forbidden, just abject (hopeless) sorrow as seen among the unsaved, the lost, who really have no hope.

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Again in today’s Text, what God has called “good,” man has soiled with his disobedience or presumption or some other form of sin! This also happened at Eden, if you remember. And the ante-diluvian civilization acted no better! And so forth … throughout world history.

I am speaking of the momentous event that occurred the beginning of Leviticus chapter 10…

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Leviticus 10:1-2, just the first two verses.

Aaron just lost two of his four sons!

It is not as if they had not been warned, either. Exodus 19:22 … “And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.”

Wow!

Oh, again we see the seriousness of not reverencing God’s “Call” to His Holy Service/Ministry!

“Nadab, ” the name means “generous.” And “Abihu” translates “He is my Father.” Both were born into positions of great honor, being sons of Israel’s first High Priest. Both had seen the Glory of God on the Mountain, Exodus 24:1 seems to indicate.

Yet … somehow … they sinned against the Lord, egregiously.

Perhaps they took “their own” censers (pans that can hold fire, hot coals) and approached the Lord … instead of the properly anointed censers God has recently ordained.

Perhaps they took their “fire” from the wrong source, not from the “Holy Fire” God had just miraculously sent to the brazen altar! (Leviticus 9:24 … “And there came a fire out from BEFORE THE LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat.”)

Perhaps they went too far into the Holy Place, maybe even into the very Holy of Holies! “Before the Lord,” Moses recorded. Crass presumption at least!

Perhaps they just got “ahead” of God, rushing the Day of Atonement Rituals, stepping into their Father’s (the High Priest’s) shoes. Even after all God’s prior Warnings/Instructions!

Then again, based on a line or two from verse 9 of Leviticus 10, maybe these two men were intoxicated! Read this: “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die:.” God commanding Aaron!

Or maybe their transgression included some of each of the foregoing mistakes!

Anyway … “There went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Verse 2, FIRE to kill disobedient priests, emanating from the MERCY SEAT Itself!

Wow!

A whole Batch/Series of Sermons could be preached from this singular (astounding) Event!

God killed Achan as a warning against theft!

God killed Uzzah as a warning against irreverence!

God killed Ananias and Sapphira as a warning against lying to the Holy Spirit!

And clearly, God killed Nadab and Abihu for their intrusion (when unqualified) into the August Presence of the Almighty!

God’s Holiness … a Serious Matter!

More tomorrow, the Lord willing.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Yes, often the Old Testament priests were the vehicle (mouthpiece anyway) for conveying God’s blessing(s) upon His people. Numbers 6:23 is specific, that whole paragraph in fact. “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall BLESS the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD BLESS thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I WILL BLESS them.”

Wow!

But in our Text today, Leviticus chapter 9, at its very end (once the priests have been initially dedicated, cleansed, consecrated … along with the Tabernacle itself) Aaron (and Moses) were described as follows:

“And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and BLESSED them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and BLESSED the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” Verses 22-24, after blood sacrifice (in several forms) had been offered to God, obtaining His Pleasure, His Satisfaction.

Note that I have capitalized the verb “BLESSED” twice in the foregoing Text! Two times these men “blessed” God’s people, Israel, at God’s behest (better yet, at God’s command) in fact!

A double blessing, and too … a pair of acts that hold tremendous prophetic significance for the serious Bible student.

Let me show you …

Aaron (here at type of Christ) blesses the Jews after the shedding of Blood … then disappears into the Tabernacle! (Verse 22 and verse 23 … “And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation.”)

This is a picture of Jesus (our Great High Priest) after shedding His Own Blood (Calvary) BLESSING His Disciples … then rising into the Heavens, into that glorious Heavenly Tabernacle!

Luke’s account of that Event, of Jesus Ascension: “And he (Jesus) led them (the Disciples) out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and BLESSED them. 51 And it came to pass, while he BLESSED them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” Luke 24:50-51, priestly work, such blessing!

Wow!

Then immediately let’s go back to that second blessing mentioned in Leviticus 9, after Aaron came out of the Tabernacle. “And Moses and Aaron WENT INTO the tabernacle of the congregation, and (after a somewhat undetermined amount of time) CAME OUT, and BLESSED the people (again): and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” Amazing!

A double blessing!

The second one being more glorious than even the first one!

The second one (clearly typical of Jesus’ Second Coming to His people, His Second Advent) … it also being accompanied God’s manifest Presence!

And Oh, how Jesus will bless His people (even to the point of saving Israel, that little Remnant) when He comes again, at the end of the Tribulation to set up His Millennial Kingdom!)

Wow!

Maybe that is why a lot of Bible Prophecy is Biblically called “blessed,” as in the “Blessed Hope!”

Praise the Lord!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Double Blessing!

Is not the Word of God amazing?

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It will be “granted” in today’s Lesson that “oil” in the Bible is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God.

Thus, when Aaron the High Priest of Israel was “ordained, dedicated” as the holder of that high and holy office … “Moses (directly obeying God) poured of the anointing OIL upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.” Leviticus 8:12

Psalm 133:1 recounts this scenario as well. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious OINTMENT (OIL) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.”

First … the priest was washed in the “water” of the Word.

Next … he was soaked in the “oil” of the Holy Ghost!

Recently I saw a Book, the content of which centered on this very “coupling” … the Word of God and the Holy Spirit working together in a synergetic manner … empowering those who live for Jesus, and those who preach the Scriptures!

Jesus (“Christ” in fact means “The Anointed One”) was certainly so endowed! (In fact, our great High Priest, even at His Baptism, was filled with the Holy Spirit, visibly demonstrated as a Dove, descending from Heaven!)

John 3:34 says of Jesus and the Spirit: “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” Unto Jesus, an immeasurable Anointing!

Other important things were done on that great Day of Consecration, to both Aaron and his sons. Detailed (but meaningful) ritual emphasizing the seriousness of their priestly service. I have here in today’s Lesson mentioned the two that have stood out in my mind.

The Word and the Spirit … when armed with Both, let us go forth to serve the Lord, let’s go preach the Greatest Book ever written!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

This is “olive oil” we have been discussing, not crude oil from the ground. Obtained by crushing the fruit of the olive tree. (Only when Jesus was “crushed” on Calvary did the Oil of the Holy Spirit fully flow, Pentecost!) John 7:39 … “The Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”)

This is olive oil … that when applied “makes one’s face shine!” According to Psalm 104:15. The pleasant (almost visible) “glow” of the Spirit of God in one’s life.

This is olive oil … that provides “light” on those dark nights in ancient Israel, via little clay lamps!

This is olive oil that aids cooking, providing “food” for the hungry! And “taste” for the palate (the roof of the mouth) too.

This is olive oil that is used in “healing” (an antiseptic) wounds, sores! See Luke 10:34, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in OIL and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

Wow, there’s more!

But all of the foregoing uses typify the Holy Spirit in His marvelous Ministry with us yet today!

Ponder these two necessities … God’s WORD and God the HOLY SPIRIT … as you faithfully serve our Saviour!

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As both Aaron (the High Priest) and his sons (4 of them at the time of the writing of Leviticus 8) were ordained, consecrated, dedicated to serve the Lord, installed as priests of Israel … several actions were to be performed upon/unto them.

One (the first) of which was recorded as follows: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and WASHED THEM WITH WATER.” Leviticus 8:1-6, note the capitalized (and underlined) clause.

We do not know the precise detail this “washing” involved, but their bodies were cleansed, nonetheless. But why? That is the question. Could they not have bathed at home, in their tents, prior to coming to the Tabernacle? (And maybe they did, even.)

This “washing” must teach some spiritual lesson, principle. More than simple (though important) physical hygiene.

And it does!

Any servant of God (be he Old Testament Priest or New Testament Pastor) must (essentially) be “washed“ in the water “of the Word of God!” Prior to his beginning his ministry! As an initial step!

Totally involved in the Word!

Cleansed by the Word!

Read Paul here in Ephesisns5:25-26 … “Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the WASHING OF WATER by the WORD.”

Wow!

Psalm 119:9, a pertinent question asked and answered! “Wherewithal shall a young man CLEANSE his way? by taking heed thereto according to THY WORD.”

Now Jesus in John 15:3 … “Now ye are CLEAN THROUGH THE WORD which I have spoken unto you.”

The Word of God, typified by the Laver in the Old Testament Tabernacle, cleanses us from defilement. (Though only the Blood of Jesus washes away sin, mind you.)

And this is why, I strongly believe, these Priests (first of all) were publicly bathed (the “whole congregation” gathered around the door of the Tabernacle) … as a symbol of the purity God’s Word offers to bring to our lives.

The first necessity of any ministry … get “in” the Word of God! Maybe better said, get the Word of God “in” you!

The very Ark of the Covenant (also in the Tabernacle) housed three items, one of which was the “Tablets of Stone,” the written Word of God! And this Ark is (undoubtedly) a Picture of Jesus … God’s Son and our Saviour … Who had “in His very Being, His very Heart” … the Tablets of the good Word of God!

As I said … “in” the Word!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Preachers, this Lesson should be a real challenge to us all! To love God’s Word, and “meditate therein day and night!” To, as did the Bereans of old, “search the Scriptures daily.”

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