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.