“You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean, and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has given to them through Moses.” (Leviticus 10:9-11 CSB)
I can’t possibly imagine this scenario.
A pastor showing up for Sunday service completely sloshed.
I’m sure it’s happened throughout church history. People struggle with addictions, and I do not doubt that a minister, somewhere sometime, has conducted a worship service under the influence of alcohol or drugs. While that would lead to disciplinary measures or dismissal today, the consequences for that plastered pastor are nothing compared to what the Lord did to Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, when they crossed the Lord’s line.
He smoked them. Literally. Burned them to a crisp (Leviticus 10:1-2).
Not only does the Lord tell us what they did (offered strange/unauthorized fire, likely not from the sacrificial altar), but He gives us a hint of what caused them to transgress. Leviticus 10:9 seems to say that the two young men were besotted as they fulfilled their priestly duties, which caused them to lose sight of God’s strict line between what was acceptable and what wasn’t. And when it comes to the Lord’s standards, you don’t want to violate them. Case in point? Adam and Eve’s over-the-line unauthorized fruit-tasting escapade brought damnation and death to humanity. Need I say more?
There are three significant points in these short verses.
The first is “Don’t do this.” “You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations” (Leviticus 10:9).
Yes, this literally means don’t be boozed up when you’re performing your ministerial duties, pastor. But there’s a far greater application to this. The Lord has not changed His Older Covenant laws because of the New Covenant. The only thing that’s changed is their location, from being written on stone to being written on our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10, 10:16). The Holy Spirit’s job is to teach how to obey His commands as born-again, Spirit-filled believers. Also, the Lord’s priests are not just of the Levitical line but now also includes all believers (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10). Like the Levitical priesthood, our job as a kingdom of priests is to represent the Lord to the world as we carry out our duties of serving Him.
Therefore, what we read in these verses applies to us, though we may not see it at first. As the Lord’s servants, we’re to refrain from anything that muddles us into crossing the Lord’s clear line of right and wrong. What does muddle mean? “To befog or stupefy, especially with liquor.” More importantly, “to think or act in a confused, aimless way” (Mirriam-Webster.com). When we’re muddled in any way, it messes up our communion with the Lord and muddies our ability to think clearly or act appropriately.
The world is full of intoxicants that interrupt our communion with the Lord, blur our spiritual vision, and cause us to think or act in a confused, aimless way. Intoxicants muddle our reasoning, lower our self-control threshold, and convince our will to chase whatever we want at the moment. When we’re intoxicated, we lower our standards. We stupidly follow our desires into sin rather than obey the Lord’s definite standards and follow His desires, which keep us on track.
Drunks are often unable (or don’t care) to distinguish between what’s proper or improper. Their ability to hold the line between right and wrong grows lax. Believe me. I know of what I speak. Don’t even think I’ve ever been God’s perfect saint.
We know the literal intoxicants of the world – alcohol and drugs. But there’s a worldly bar full of intoxicating enticements to imbibe in – wealth, fame, and sex, also known as the gold, the glitter, and the gals/guys, to name three. Other less spectacular inebriants are just as dangerous to the Lord’s priest. Those often masquerade as distractions.
Multitudes of Christians are under the influence of mindless media entertainment or internet doom-scrolling. I know some Christians who have succumbed to out-of-control gaming, resulting in years of wasted life. Sadly, too many Christians can’t put down their damnable phones even during a worship service or to have a meaningful conversation with someone about eternal matters. Ultimately, when drunk with worldly pursuits, the Lord’s muddled priests easily and quickly dip into sin, which causes them to drift away from the Lord and the standards by which His dedicated priests should live.
James puts it well. “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27, italics added).
Peter also chimes in with admonitions to be sober in our thinking. “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). “The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer” (1 Peter 4:7). “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8 italics added). Why should we refrain from things that muddle our communion with the Lord and clarity of thought? So we can be ready to act, pray, and resist the enemy.
Please understand that I’m not saying we can’t be entertained or be concerned about finances, personal influence, or relationships. We just can’t become so immersed in them that they muddle up our walk with the Lord.
What can sober us up? Simple. We have to admit we have a problem and stop partaking in what’s wrecking our life with the Lord. We must then recommit to those disciplines which invigorate our communion with the Lord. Prayer and fasting are excellent disciplines to clear and reset our minds and hearts. It’s really all about focus. “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2 CSB, italics added). Once we restore our focus on the Lord, we refocus on how He wants us to be and live. That leads us to the next step.
Secondly, “Do this.” “You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean” (Leviticus 10:10, italics added).
The Lord has clear, distinct lines about what is acceptable to Him or not, based on who He is and what He wants. The Lord’s nature determines right “being,” and His will determines right “doing.” Anything that aligns with right being and doing is holy. That which doesn’t is unholy. It’s as simple as that.
We’re born totally messed up, completely out of sync with God. Our characters don’t reflect Him, and our decisions run counter to His will regularly. But when we’re born again, the Holy Spirit takes our life and begins to shape our character and way of living to reflect Jesus more and more. “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29, italics added). “We…are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge (learning to live the Lord’s will) according to the image of your Creator (developing the Lord’s character)” (Colossians 3:9-10, italics added).
Part of that “shaping us into God’s image” process is the Holy Spirit teaching us the difference between what is “holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean.”
“What do these mean?” you ask. It’s time for a simplified Hebrew lesson.
“Holy” (kodesh) carries the sense of being “set apart” to the Lord, meaning a thing belongs to Him. Other words for holy are “dedicated” and “consecrated.” The opposite of holy is “unholy” (chol), which has the sense of being “common” because a thing is not solely for God. Other words for unholy are “profane, impure, and defiled.” For example, an Israelite could use fire that was kindled from any source for daily life. However, the only fire that was allowed to be used to burn the animal sacrifice on the bronze altar or burn incense and light the menorah in the Holy Place had to come from the fire the Lord Himself ignited. When the Tabernacle was set up for the first time, “Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown” (Leviticus 9:24). Cool, huh? Now, hold that thought.
“Clean” and “unclean” are similar to “holy” and “unholy/common.” “Clean” (tahor) means that something is pure, flawless, or free from impurity; it is the moral or ceremonial purity of an object being free from defect or filth. “Unclean” (tamei) means a thing is defiled, contaminated, or polluted. This uncleanness can be literal contamination or figurative, referring to ceremonial impurity or active immorality.
Long story short, something that is clean may be brought near to a holy God because it is undefiled, uncontaminated, or morally pure, just like God is. However, something that is unclean must never brought near to God because it violates His standard of moral purity and holiness. The fire that Aaron’s sons brought was not the holy fire from God’s presence. It was strange (one of a different kind; unauthorized, illegitimate) fire.
Important lesson: When you violate the Lord’s standards, you’ll get burned.
Let me put this another way. Let’s say you’re a kid who is playing in the woods behind your house. You encounter a skunk and get the aromatic skunk spray. According to your mom’s standard of cleanliness, you are unclean and no longer fit to draw near to her because you stink to high heaven. What must be done? The skunk perfume that defiles you and offends your mom’s senses must be kept out of the house. So, she tells you to strip off your clothes and run for the shower. Once cleansed of your uncleanness and clothed in clean garments, you may draw near to your mom’s loving embrace.
Our job as the Lord’s priests is to not only learn the difference between what is holy and common, clean and unclean, but also to live it.
When we slurp down the world’s intoxicants, we become befogged and stupified, thinking or acting in a confused, aimless way. We fail to represent God’s holy standard and cease to act like we’re set apart to Him for His holy service.
Can we wallow in putrid waters all week long and expect God to meet us in our worship service? “Why, O why, don’t we sense the Lord’s presence in our worship times?” Let’s bring it closer to home. “Why, O why, don’t I sense Jesus’ presence in my life? Where is that awareness of His approval, acceptance, and intimacy that I used to have?”
I’ll tell ya why. You stink to high heaven, and the Lord’s holiness is offended. But there’s hope. Jesus is in the laundry business. First, He tells us to strip off that which is defiled in our lives, the stuff that separates us from His presence. He washes us and cleans us up (1 John 1:9), and then we’re told to wear the holy garments He’s given us (Ephesians 4:20-24).
We were made to serve the Lord in the purity of holiness so that we can approach Him with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-5). So, let’s identify and avoid the world’s intoxicants and learn the difference between the holy and common, the clean and the unclean. After all, we have a mission to accomplish. That brings us to the last part of the message.
Thirdly, So you can do this: “and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has given to them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:11).
Our job as the Lord’s holy priesthood is to teach people, reborn or not, by our example. The only way to lead people to the Lord is to represent Him accurately to them. We’re to reveal His character and how He wants people to live. When we’re smashed on the things of this world, we’re a bunch of sloppy spiritual drunks who stumble around in the dark, trying to turn on the light. No go.
In this verse, the Lord’s concern for Aaron is that he and his sons stay sober, learn the Lord’s ways, and teach them so people can also become holy and clean and be able to approach a holy God.
We can’t teach what we haven’t learned. We can’t give what we don’t have. The disciple you are is the disciple you will produce. As the father goes, so goes the family. As the pastor goes, so goes the congregation/those who follow him.
For this reason, we’re not to get caught up in the world and its ways. Instead, we’re to learn who the Lord is and how we are to live. In the process, we’ll be increasingly more effective at influencing the world around us for Jesus and teaching His people to follow our example.
“And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Sources:
Key Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible (Hebrew Keys)
New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (NAS Hebrew)
Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament (KM Hebrew Dictionary)
Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts