Strange Fire
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Intro
Intro
THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TEXT IN THE BIBLE
Backstory
Chapter 9 leading in
Strange Fire
Old Made New: Pt.7 (Lev. 10)
Pastor Tim Brisson
Leviticus 9:22–24 (CSB)
22 Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. He came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering. 23 Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
24 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.
Main text
Main text
Leviticus 10 (CSB)
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
3 Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has spoken:
I will demonstrate my holiness to those who are near me,
and I will reveal my glory before all the people.” And Aaron remained silent.
Shouldn’t Father God at least be as nice as Jesus
Let me turn this question on its head
Why doesn’t it happen MORE
Genesis 2:15–17 (CSB)
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
You will certainly die die
you will die dead
of it’s just spiritual death
maybe
but not only
If God actually carried out the promised punishment of DIE DIE every time we sinned, the room would get empty real quick
when we run on self-will, when we proclaim to know good and evil, and we think ourselves holy, we are eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
and we deserve to die die die dead
but we don’t
why?
Mercy
6 When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God.
Acts 5:1–5 (CSB)
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”
5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.
Uzzah’s tribe was trained from childhood to just tend to the ark, there were provisions to carry it, and he blew it
David’s reign was about to begin
something big was happening
In Acts, The Holy Spirit had just been poured out at Pentecost
And Ananias and Saphira lied to it
Something big was happening
In our text, God had just showed his glory, consecrating Aaron and the priesthood
THEY WERE GETTING READY TO HEAD TO THE PROMISED LAND
Something big was happening
So God showed up
IN A CORRECTIVE WAY
But why not all the time?
Mercy
Back in Exodus
PICTURE THIS SCENE
AARON AND THE ISRAELITES HAD JUST BLOWN IT
THEY MADE THE GOLDEN CALF
MOSES COMES DOWN FROM MT SINAI WITH THE TABLETS OF 10 COMMANDMENTS AND AARON IS LETTING EVERYONE PARTY DOWN AFTER HE MADE THE CALF
AND THEY SAID THIS IS THE GOD THAT TOOK US OUT OF EGYPT
AND GOD WANTS EXACT JUSTICE RIGHT THEN AND THERE, AND MOSES ANGAGES GOD IN A CONVERSATION AND WALKS HIM BACK A BIT
AND THEN MOSES ASKS WHETHER HE CAN SEE GOD’S GLORY
19 The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.
SO GOD HIDES MOSES IN THE CLEFT OF A ROCK, AND LET’S HIM SEE JUST HIS BACKSIDE AS HE PASSES BY
HE HAS COMPASSION ON MOSES, BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO
HE HAS MERCY ON YOU, BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO
AND SOMETIMES HE CHOOSES NOT TO
WHAT IS MERCY
The mercy of God describes his focused disposition of compassionate forgiveness toward his people, especially in light of their distressful and dire circumstances.
God’s mercy is evident whenever he delays punishment, even when his people are lost in sin and not aware of the relational consequences this sin entails (Exod 34:6–7; Ezek 33:10–11)
The mercy of God is one of God’s communicable attributes, an attribute that humans can emulate in their relationships with each other. Throughout the Bible, God’s mercy is pictured not only as God’s disposition but as his action on behalf of an undeserving people. The Bible often pairs other divine attributes with “mercy”: compassion, grace, faithfulness, kindness.
Mercy is a relational expression of God’s character and flows from his attributes of goodness and love. It is a vital aspect of God’s grace-based covenant relationship with his people. . When the circumstances of God’s people are dire—due to impending conflict, physical and spiritual persecution, or other types of suffering—those who fear God appeal precisely to his merciful character.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE PRAY
FOR MERCY
OUR WORKS AINT WORKING ANYMORE
AND SOMETIME WE WAIT FOR MERCY
AND THINGS AROUND US DO NOT GET BETTER RIGHT AWAY
HERE IS A HARD TRUTH
LACK OF MERCY IS NOT THE SAME THING AS AN INJUSTICE
GOD CAN NOT BE BRIBED
Lack of mercy is NOT injustice
God has never punished an undeserving character in the bible
A HOLY GOD CAN NOT EXERCISE INJUSTICE
A RIGHTEOUS GOD CAN NOT BE BRIBED
Let’s talk about Holiness and what we are called to do, or be
In popular parlance, Holy means “pure”
oh, he is holier than thou
there was a holiness movement that focused on outward purity
THAT IS A DEFINITION OF HOLY, BUT IT IS REALLY A SUBSET OF HOLINESS
The broadest definition as used in the Bible means “Other than”, set apart, consecrated for God’s use
Holy = Other than, set apart, consecrated for God’s use
THIS IS EVERYTHING YOU ARE TO BE
YOU ARE SANCTIFIED
A LIFE LONG PROCESS OF BECOMING MORE LIKE JESUS
LITTLE BY LITTLE
THAT IS THE PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION
WE ARE ALL A WORK IN PROGRESS
Holy
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Holy)
HOLY Biblical use of the term “holy” has to do primarily with God’s separating from the world that which He chooses to devote to Himself.
As God’s redemptive plan unfolded through the OT, the “holy” became associated with the character of God’s separated people conforming to His revealed law. When the time became ripe for the saving work of Jesus Christ, His redeemed people came to be known as saints (literally, “holy ones”).
The cross made this possible by inaugurating the fulfillment of the preparatory OT teachings on the holy, opening the way for God’s Holy Spirit to indwell His people.
BUT IT IS MORE THAN JUST OUR CHARACTER
Those things that God separates to Himself become holy, too. These objects of the Lord’s choosing are set apart from the world. For instance, the holy place in the tabernacle and the temple is hidden from the eyes of the people, and the most holy place (“holy of holies”) is only entered yearly by the high priest with the blood of atonement and a cloud of incense lest he die (Lev. 16).
MEMORIALS ARE SET UP AT PLACES WHERE GOD MEETS HIS PEOPLE, WHERE GOD MOVED IN OUT OF OUR TIMELINE
DAYS ARE SET APART AS BEING HOLY - HOLIDAYS
FOR PRIESTS AND PASTORS
The privilege of being “a holy people to the Lord your God” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2, 21; 28:9) is thus seen to carry weighty responsibility. THIS IS WHERE THE SONS OF AARON BLEW IT
But God’s perfect holiness—the complete perfection of His attributes such as power and goodness—is a humbling and even terrifying thing when revealed to weak and sinful men (e.g., Isa. 6:5; Luke 5:8; Rev. 1:17).
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!”
HAVE YOU EVER MET SOMEONE WHO JUST FELT HOLY
IN A GOOD WAY, BUT IT WAS A BIT INTIMIDATING
THERE IS TERROR AND AWE AT THE SAME TIME
THEY CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU
Chaplain holiness experience
WE ARE BEING WATCHED
OUR ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
SO HOW ARE WE TO ACT?
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Holy)
The Ethical Mandate of God’s Holiness God’s chosen people, in separation from the world, are called to an ethical life in conformity to His revealed word.
WHO IS THE WORD - JESUS
Thus His resurrection AND ASCENSION signifies the accomplishment of salvation and the inauguration of the age of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:4) in which the followers of Jesus are baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).
This enduring promise for believers in every generation (Acts 2:38–39) is the empowerment to make them holy: the Holy Spirit makes them so (Rom. 15:16).
BUT WE ARE TO BE HOLY
PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:
Leviticus 11:44–45 (CSB)
44 For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. … 45 For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.
BUT SOMETIME WE NEED CORRECTION, LIKE A PARENT
10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.
TO DO WHAT?
SHARE IN GOD’S HOLINESS IN SEPARATION BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?
NO
27 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.
Orphans and widows are bereaved and lack comfort, family, and community
They are the “least of these”
So we “look after” them - we literally go and see, we visit them in the place of their affliction
And we do it while remaining undefiled, unstained, we remain holy, consecrated, set apart, other than
Other than what? The world.
THE WORLD WANTS TO SHOW YOU HOW GOOD THEY ARE BY THEIR STUFF, THEIR STATS, I DID IT MY WAY
THAT IS THE TRAP THE PHARISEES FELL INTO
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.
THE PHARISEES TRIED TO MAKE THEMSELVES HOLY BY OBEYING MINUTE DETAILS OF THE LAW
AND THEY MISSED THE PART ABOUT MERCY
WE CAN NOT MAKE OURSELVES HOLY
THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES US HOLY
THE BAPTISM AND INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRT IS WHAT MAKES US OTHER THAN, SET APART, CONSECRATED FOR GOD’S PURPOSES AND USE
THAT IS THE EASTER NARRATIVE
SO WE SERVE OTHERS IN THEIR DISTRESS, WE DO NOT NEGLECT THE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS, ALL WHILE REMAINING OTHER THAN
WE CAN SERVE GOD
Revelation 4:8–11 (CSB)
8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
11 Our Lord and God,
you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power,
because you have created all things,
and by your will
they exist and were created.
YOU WERE CREATED AND CALLED AND SET APART
BY GOD’S WILL
THE ATONEMENT OF THE CROSS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST ABOUT SIN
HIS BLOOD PURIFIED YOU AND SANCTIFIED YOU
SET YOU APART
BECAUSE HE WILLED YOU AND BROUGHT YOU INTO CREATION
AND HE IS PLEASED
SO THAT WE CAN MINISTER TO OTHERS IN THIER DISTRESS
AS A COMMUNITY
WILL YOU BE PART OF THIS COMMUNITY