Strange Fire

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:1-2 says: "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 YHWH, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from YHWH, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH." Does this seem harsh to you? Nadab and Abihu have a place of prominence. They are sons of Aaron and they are part of the ministry. They have been receiving instruction and now they on their own bring incense to worship YHWH and they are struck dead. This is not just a story; this is a truth that the modern "church" has neglected. YHWH dictates when we may come to Him and how we may come to Him. There does not appear to be a "sliding scale" or "grading on a curve." YHWH has instructed us in the Torah how we are to worship Him. Remember the entire book of Leviticus takes place at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Hebrews have been set free from the bondage of Egypt and YHWH is instructing them how to worship Him. The lesson from Nadab and Abihu is that we are not free to make our own rituals. We are to follow YHWH's clear instructions.

Consider the church today. How much of what takes place follows the patterns set forth in the Torah? Now the Temple has been destroyed so that eliminates many of the 613 laws. However, there remains many that serve to demonstrate ritual purity neglected by the church today. Dietary laws set apart eating as an act of worship to YHWH. Celebrating the Biblical feasts as commanded result in our worshipping YHWH how He wants. What has the church substituted? The church has given us the teaching that love is a fulfillment of the 613 commands. It has given us Easter and Christmas in place of Passover and Hanukkah. Now Hanukkah is not a Biblical feast, but Yeshua (Jesus) would have attended the celebrations. The law tells us to: "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am YHWH." Yet, the church tells us how we can get ahead and be prosperous for ourselves. We are to prosper, but we are to do it YHWH's way.

Offering strange fire can kill you. Strange fire is worshipping YHWH in a method of your choosing as opposed to His. We need to examine our methods of worship to see if they line up with His Torah. It is only by grace that most of us have not ended up like the sons of Aaron. However, it is now time to reconnect with our Hebraic roots and be a part of the Commonwealth of Israel as Sha'ul (Paul) wrote. It is time that our lives are governed by His Word and not our own.