Word for Wednesday
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. Leviticus 10:1
Someone has well said that the national anthem of hell is ‘I did it my way’. Like Cain who offered the bloodless fruit of his own labour, most people are taking their own route to what they think is eternal life, and are perishing because their way is not God’s way. Jesus’ declaration of Himself as the Way is ignored or rejected with eternal tragic consequences. That is why we need to be urgent and earnest when we preach the Gospel. We need to convince people to stop offering strange fire that God cannot accept. But as Christians, we also need to be alert that we don’t venture into the dangerous realm of offering strange fire before the Lord.
Nadab and Abihu were in a position of wonderful privilege. As Aaron’s sons, they were in line to be leaders in Israel, and they were involved in the training that was provided to their father. So they had no excuse for not knowing what the procedures were to be for entering God’s presence. They had no excuse for stepping out of line. But they had their own ideas. They thought that their way of doing things would be an improvement on what Uncle Moses had spelled out. Perhaps their approach would be a little more interesting, get more people involved, or who knows what their reasons were… it was their idea, not God’s. Sounds much like some of the people in religious organizations around us today, with all their new ideas and programs for enhancing so-called worship.
It’s not hard to find fault with the so-called evangelical groups that have bands and special music and other high-octane methods to attract ‘worshipers’ to their services. This strange fire does nothing but entertain the people and attract those who are looking only for entertainment and a bit of emotion. God cannot be pleased with such demonstrations that appeal only to the flesh and the emotions, in the name of worshiping God. But is there any strange fire around the worship in God’s Assemblies?
Some time ago, because of circumstances, I was at a place where a so-called worship service was being held. The singing was nice, the message wasn’t bad, but I quickly became lonesome for the pattern that we follow in our Assembly meetings. I missed the reverence of the lovely hymns from the BHB, the worship of each brother rising to thank God for His Son, the preciousness of the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s presence, the atmosphere of awe and reverence. Little things like lack of preparation, inappropriate comments, songs or prayers, and distractions can mar that reverent atmosphere. We need to be careful.
God appreciates worship according to His plan, not ours. And we will too. – Jim MacIntosh