Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 10:1-2

1 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.

2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

We have gone for a while without hearing of any rebellion from the Israelites, but sadly that streak comes to an end. Nadab and Abihu offer “strange fire” to the Lord, which clearly seems to mean some sort of idolatrous ritual.

I should note that not all commentators agree on that point. Some suppose that “strange fire” merely means the fire didn’t come from the correct place (the outer altar) or was offered at a wrong time in a ritual. However I see two pieces of evidence that make idolatry more likely. First is that the word used for “strange” is זָרָ֔ה (zarah), the same that is used when referencing “strange gods.” Secondly, is that later in this chapter we will see an actual minor error in ritual observation, and it does not incur any penalty. The severity of God’s punishment suggests a more serious infraction.

And that punishment certainly was severe! It is one thing to be slain by the Lord, to collapse dead in a moment, but Nadab and Abihu were consumed by miraculous fire! This was obviously an unforgettable lesson to the Israelites of the seriousness of their offense. Clearly God was not merely displeased, He was furious, and the dramatic execution calls to mind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But that is not all. The verses that immediately preceded these described divine fire of the Lord consuming the meat offering, accepting it in miraculous fashion. Well now Nadab and Abihu were the ones being consumed by divine fire, this time out of rejection. It is two sides of the same coin. It is something we have seen a few times already in the books of Moses: God’s glory purifies and God’s glory destroys. God’s judgment exalts the righteous and God’s judgment decimates the wicked. God’s words empower the campaign of the truthful, and God’s words breaks the schemes of the liar. God is great and God is terrible. All of our works, all of our offerings, all of ourselves are offerings to the Most High, consumed in His fire either to joy or to fearful destruction.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:1-3

1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.

2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

These first three verses are a continuation of God’s laws being extended anew to Israel. God had repeated the sabbath day commandment to Moses in the mountain, and now Moses repeated it to the people.

Interestingly, this description of the commandment contains a detail that we haven’t seen before: that the Israelites are not to light a fire on the sabbath day. Other scholars have noted that while this requirement was not explicit in our previous records, it was implied by Exodus 16:23’s instruction that the people cook their double-portion of manna on the day prior and use the extra for the sabbath.

We have already discussed how the sabbath day commandments prohibit the performance of “work” in terms of pursuing one’s livelihood, but this extra restriction seems to suggest that even household labor, such as cooking, was meant to be avoided. One has to wonder just how far this expectation extended. Would a person really be expected to go through the day without performing a single household chore? Not even to pick something up off the floor and put it away? Or was this restriction only meant to apply to more strenuous activity, since lighting a fire was much more difficult then than today’s turning a knob on today’s appliances?

Suffice it to say that there are opinions and interpretations up and down the spectrum on this matter. The fact is, it seems doubtful that we have anywhere in the Old Testament the full transcript of the Lord’s commands, nor the commentary of the day that would explain whether these were eternal laws or contextual ones only. Moses was in the mountain for a full forty days, so there is definitely room for him to have received much more exhaustive detail than what we have today. Today we must depend on our own conscience, good intentions, and any divine whisperings to decide what specifications still apply to us in our age.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 9:27-28

27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

28 Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.

Pharaoh had been more obstinate during the second phase of God’s curses, holding out through more and more of the afflictions, but finally he sounds repentant, more so than at any point thus far. Pharaoh was not merely capitulating to the Lord’s power, he even called himself wicked and admitted that he knew he had sinned.

Of course, Pharaoh will still recant on this repentance, he will break his word yet again. This raises the question whether he was genuine during these verses or not. Did he feel guiltless, and was lying in every word? Or did he truly know that he and the Egyptians were morally in the wrong, and was sincere in his admission of guilt, but wasn’t actually willing to commit to doing what was right?

We aren’t given a clear answer, but in tomorrow’s verses we will see that Moses and the Lord saw straight through Pharaoh’s words and knew that he would ultimately prove faithless.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 9:23-26

23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

It was not only hail that afflicted the Egyptians, but fire as well! The nature of this fire is rather mysterious. It was not mentioned in God’s foretelling of the curse, and we never have explained to us exactly what connection it had to the hail. They are a most strange combination, as they would seem likely to extinguish and melt one other!

Of course, we are not told that the fire was raining down from heaven. The passage says it “ran along upon the ground” and “mingled with the hail.” Perhaps the hail knocked something over which spilled embers or hot coals and spread a fire over the land. Or, the fire might have been lightning which accompanied the same storm that brought the hail. Maybe there was lightning, but it started an actual fire on the ground. Some readers have even posited that the tongues of flame might have literally burst out from the hail in some way!

In any case, and in whatever manner, it seems clear that there was both a severe pummeling of hail and an intense heat as well. A truly devastating wonder this was, and such a terrible fate must have befallen those who still stood out in the fields!

How does this curse represent the ill effects of sin? One way that stands out to me is that this curse was focused on destroying all that was vulnerable and exposed. It is always the weak and defenseless who are first victimized to satisfy the selfish sins of others. Eventually the mighty will fall, too, but they land upon the broken bodies of the small and innocent that went before.