Torah Portion-Reading 26–Shemini-Eighth–Irresistible Holiness

 

Today we’re going to briefly examine this week’s Torah Portion/Reading—#26—which is entitled: “Sh’mini—Eighth.” I went ahead and added a tag to this title: “Irresistible Holiness.”

The text is taken from Leviticus 9:1-11:47, with a Haftarah reading taken from 2 Samuel 6:1-7:17.

 

Shemini Broken Into Three Event Categories

This week’s Torah Reading can be broken into three specific event categories:

1. The inauguration of Aharon and his sons into the service of the Levitical Priesthood (Leviticus 9).

2. The Nadab and Abihu Tragedy (Leviticus 10).

3. A delineation of what constitutes clean and unclean foods (Leviticus 11).

I could certainly go on for hours just expounding on each of these three-event categories, but I won’t.

Focus on Nadab and Abihu Tragedy

Today I want to focus only on the second event: that of The Nadab and Abihu Tragedy which is contained in the 10th chapter of Leviticus. And of that event, I specifically want to drill down to the underlying principle that drove this tragedy (what I call a tragedy), which is found in Leviticus 10:3. But before we examine this verse in some detail, allow me, if you would, to summarize the event.

Inauguration of Aaron and Sons To Service of the Priesthood

The Nadab and Abihu tragedy follow on the heels of the grand inauguration of Aaron and his son (ie., Leviticus 9). As part of the inauguration event, Father ordered that precise sacrifices and offerings be made unto him and that Aaron and his sons undergo a consecration ceremony and a seven-day period of consecration within the confines of the Tabernacle.

And, oh, by the way? YHVH was coming to visit! So preparations were made to get the men and the people to not only receive into service their new priesthood, but to also receive the presence of YHVH. This was to be a really big deal for the nation. It was historic and it was to rank right up there with some of the other great moments in the nation’s post-exodus history.

So all the preparations and provisions were completed. In the presence and witness of the nation, all the sacrifices and offerings were made precisely as Father prescribed. The ceremony was completed with Aaron blessing the people (Lev. 9:23).

The Irresistible Presence of God’s Holy Presence

And then the irresistible presence of YHVH (described as the glory of YHVH) descends upon the camp and fire comes forth from His presence and consumes the remains of the sacrifices and offerings on the Altar of Burnt Offerings (Lev. 9:24).

The sight was so indescribable and terrible that all the people could do in response was shout and fall prostrate upon the ground beneath them.

Nadab and Abihu’s Deadly Knee-Jerk Act

Then, for whatever reason, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, decided to grab their censers (or fire pans that held burning incense; made of brass (2 Chr. 16:39), placed fire in incense in them, and then offered unauthorized fire before YHVH, which was something that Father had not instructed them to do (Lev. 10:1).

And we don’t really know how many seconds or minutes elapsed during this felonious act, but Father’s response was quick and terribly fatal as Leviticus 10:2 records:

“…and fire came forth from YHVH and devoured them, and they died before YHVH” (LXX, adjusted).

Needless to say, Nadab and Abihu’s actions completely destroyed the solemnity of this historic event. But, their actions also underscored an undeniable spiritual principle that cannot be overstated by any would be child of the Most High. And we’ll get into the particulars of this principle in just a moment. For now, let’s finish the story and examine what could have happened.

Aftermath of the Death of Nadab and Abihu

Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazer and Ithamar were forbidden to respond in grief nor were they allowed to mourn. In order not to further enrage YHVH, Moses permitted only the people of the nation to mourn for Nadab and Abihu. Furthermore, Aaron and sons were restricted from leaving the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as they were still in a state of consecration for their priestly service.

As it relates to Father’s prohibition against Aaron and sons mourning, Moses relayed to Aaron what I see as a major element of the spiritual principle I just mentioned. It is recorded in verse 3 of this same chapter:

“I will be sanctified through those who come near to me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (QBE)to the Tent of Meeting.

What in the world does that mean you might ask. Well, we’ll look at that when we discuss further this spiritual principle that is underscored in this amazing, but tragic story.

Well, the charred remains of Nadab and Abihu were removed from the camp by their cousins.

And after all this, Father delivers directly to Aaron the following command:

“Do not drink any wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, that you might not die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that you may make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; and that you might teach the children of Israel all the statutes which YHVH has spoken to them by Moses” (Lev. 10:9-11; QBE; adjusted).

I believe that this commandment that was given to Aaron is a follow-up to what Nadab and Abihu did that ended up getting them executed by YHVH.

So what was it exactly that Nadab and Abihu did to warrant them being summarily executed by the Almighty?

The Crime?

Scholars and Bible teachers and preachers are heavily divided on the question of what exactly Nadab and Abihu did to warrant their execution; or what constituted in the eyes of YHVH, the offering of “unauthorized” or “strange” fire before YHVH.

Instead of me prolonging this teaching by examining each of these debated theories, I will simply give you what I believe to be actions behind the crime committed by the brothers, based upon my read of linked Scriptural passages.

What Is Meant By Strange/Unauthorized Fire?

To begin with, the only other place in Scripture where “unauthorized” or “strange fire” is alluded to in the form of a commandment or instruction is found in Exodus 30:9, which reads:

“And thou shalt not offer strange incense upon it (ie., the Altar of Incense), nor an offering made by fire, nor a sacrifice; and thou shalt not pour a drink-offering upon it”(LXX).

Now, the brass censers of the priests would be used to transport burning embers from the Altar of Burnt Offerings outside the Tent of Meeting into the Holy Place and use those burning embers to ignite and burn incense upon the Golden Altar of Incense that was located just before the veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. And one of the duties or responsibilities of the priest on duty at any given day was to burn incense upon the Golden Altar of Incense every morning and evening in perpetuity (Exo. 30:7,8).

The thing to keep in mind here is that the priests were forbidden from burning strange incense upon that altar. Furthermore, there were time constraints for burning incense upon the Golden Altar of Incense—once in the morning and once in the evening. Also, the fire that would be used to burn the incense on the Altar of Incense had to come from a holy source and that source was the Altar of Burnt Offerings. Also bear in mind that Father ignited the fire on the Altar of Burnt Offering as recorded in Leviticus 9:24 and He instructed that that fire continue to burn in perpetuity.

Next, we read that Father commands Aaron that neither he nor his sons were ever permitted to “drink any wine or strong drink” whenever they went into the Tent of Meeting; otherwise they stood a good chance of dying (Lev. 10:9).

The last thing I want to bring up here is that censers were common elements of pagan worship as evidenced in Ezekiel 8:11 and 12 which reads:

“And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jechonias the son of Saphan stood in their presence in the midst of them and each one held his censer in his hand; and the smoke of the incense went up. And He said to me, ‘Thou hast seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do, each one of them in their secret chamber: because they have said, YHVH see not; YHVH has forsaken the earth” (LXX).

So for me, I think we have assembled before us enough of the elements of the crime to put together somewhat of a cogent story. Seems to me that Nadab and Abihu decided, probably in excitement over the festivities that was occurring all around them, to act a fool and grab themselves a little taste of something—ie., drink some liquor; get tipsy; get drunk.

Feeling the effects of the alcohol, which we know from scientific research, and for many of us from first hand knowledge, lowers one’s inhibitions, get the lamebrain idea of grabbing their brazen censers, taking burning embers –probably from the Altar of Burnt Offering—proceed into the Holy Place—unauthorized—and proceed to burn incense upon the Golden Altar of Incense—as the text states “before YHVH.” And they do this while Father’s presence is before the nation. Of course, Father sees all and He responds to this unauthorized—ritual (that for all we know may have pagan links—its uncertain; but we know they came out of Egypt and they probably learned such things from the Egyptians—maybe—maybe not) by burning the men up.

Lessons Learned

You know, we could speculate till the cows come home as to what exactly Nadab and Abihu did to warrant their summary execution by the hand of Almighty YHVH. But at the end of the day, the specifics of the crime are irrelevant. For Father gave us, through Moses, all the information He felt important for us to have to drive home a crucial lesson that He requires all of His children to understand. That lesson I believe, in great part, is contained in verse 3 of chapter 10 of Leviticus—which we read earlier:

“…Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified…” (ESV).

Ironically, Nadab and Abihu were in the process of being consecrated as priests in the service of YHVH. And Father commanded of His priesthood:

Exo. 19:22—”Let the priests who come near to YHVH sanctify themselves, lest YHVH break forth upon them” (KJV).

Regarding the particulars of this incident, Matthew Henry in his Commentary on the Whole Bible writes: “Indeed, the whole scope and tenor of His Law spoke this, that being a holy God, and a sovereign Master, He must always be worshiped with holiness and reverence, and exactly according to His own appointment; and, if any jest with Him, it is at their peril.”

He continues:

“Whenever we worship YHVH, we come nigh unto Him, as spiritual priests. This consideration ought to make us very reverent and serious in all acts of devotion, that in them we approach to God, and present ourselves before Him…It concerns us all, when we come nigh to YHVH, to sanctify Him, that is, to give Him the praise of His holiness, to perform every religious exercise as those who believe that the God with whom we have to do is a holy God, a God of spotless purity and transcendent perfection.”

This is verified quite succinctly by the Prophet Isaiah who wrote:

“But YHVH of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread” (Isa. 8:13; ESV).

Henry continues:

“When we sanctify YHVH we glorify Him, for His holiness; and when we sanctify Him in our solemn assemblies, we glorify Him before all people, confessing our own belief of His glory and desiring that others also may be affected with it…If YHVH be not sanctified and glorified by us, He will be sanctified and glorified upon us. He will take vengeance on those that profane His sacred Name by trifling with Him.”

What happened to Nadab and Abihu was that they were cut off from the people because “they did not sanctify and glorify YHVH. Thus, the acts of necessary justice, how hard soever they may seem to bear upon the persons concerned, are not to be complained of, but submitted to” (Henry).

This was Father’s impartial justice.

Moses said all this to Aharon “to quiet and humble him under the mighty hand of YHVH” (Gill’s Bible Commentary).

The priests in conducting their rituals of worship (ie., offering sacrifices and offerings), were NOT making YHVH Holy, for He is by default holy. The priests efforts were instead designed to declare the holiness of YHVH. And when the priests follow YHVH’s ordinances and commands to the letter, in fear and in faith, they were declaring YHVH holy and sanctifying (transcending YHVH above all that has been created) Him before the people.

And when the people fail to properly sanctify and declare YHVH as holy, Father will effectively declare Himself as holy and righteous. Thus, since Nadab and Abihu failed to properly humble themselves and glorify YHVH; declare YHVH’s holiness and sanctify Him before the people as prescribed by YHVH to them beforehand, He glorified Himself in their punishment.

Of this critical verse, he Jewish Commentator J. H. Hertz, in his Torah and Haftarah wrote:

“In sharp contrast to the common view that highly-placed or gifted men may disregard the laws of morality, Judaism teaches that the greater a man’s knowledge or position, the stricter the standard by which he is to be judged, and the greater the consequent guilt and punishment, if there is a falling away from that standard” (S. R. Hirsch).

A Question of Holiness and How Flawed Being Can Effectively Commune With a Holy God

The question facing us as Yeshua-centric Torah Observant disciples of Messiah is one of “holiness.” Essentially, how do we as flawed, depraved, sinful beings effectively commune with a Holy God? A God that demands to be treated as holy? And a God that demands that every created being that aligns with Him also be holy?

And I have to say that for me, I don’t see a lot in the way of teaching and emphasis on the topic and issue of holiness; especially holiness as it relates to our worship of YHVH.

So what exactly do we mean by holy. We serve a holy God who demands that His people be holy. And if we claim to be YHVH’s child, we have to figure out what it means to be holy. Right?

Let’s first gain an understanding of the definition of holy and the Hebrew term in question here is qadosh–(adjective). The Hebrew root signifies something or someone that is “pure” and devoted. (As an aside, the term holiness describes a situation or an abstract such as “the most holy or most pure.” It is found some 116 times in the authorized version of the Bible (ie., the KJV), the first occurrence found in Exodus 19:6:

“You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…”

Thus, when the Hebrew term qadosh is used, it describes an object or place or day to be holy, indicating that that object, place or day is devoted or dedicated to a particular purpose. For us, the day of the week that has the most significance in terms of being devoted or dedicated for a particular purpose is the Sabbath. The Sabbath was deemed holy by YHVH (Isa. 58:13,14)—devoted or dedicated as a day of rest (Num. 5:17).

We find that Israel, by virtue of her adopted relationship to The Holy YHVH, was dedicated or deemed as holy by YHVH. Although Father dedicated or deemed ancient Israel as holy, it didn’t mean that our individual forefathers were holy, for they were in more cases than not, NOT holy. Nevertheless, Abba dedicated and deemed the nation holy with the intent of using her to be a royal priesthood among and to the nations (Exo. 19:6).

And it is here—at this nexus—that we find ourselves in this discussion regarding holiness. For YHVH is undeniably holy (Isa. 1:4; 5;16; 40:25). Even His Name—YHVH—is holy (Isa. 57:15).

Consequently, YHVH defines what holiness is. Thus, YHVH by default being holy, requires all who are aligned with Him to be holy. But when it came to our Hebrew forefathers, Abba recognized that He had to essentially train and mold them to become holy individuals in order to fulfill His purpose of establishing a holy nation among all the nations of the earth. Thus, He started the transformation process by selecting Aaron and his sons to serve as priests—intermediaries between YHVH and the people. Thus, they were dedicated and deemed as holy unto YHVH. Of Aaron and sons, YHVH stated:

“They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer YHVH’s food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, YHVH, who sanctify you, am holy” (Lev. 21:6-8; ESV; adjusted).

For those of us who have been in the Hebrew Roots or Messianic circle for any appreciable length of time, we may be more familiar with a similar Hebrew term for holy: that being “qodesh.” Many of us state or write of it quite regularly when we reference YHVH’s Spirit that interacts with us: the Ruach HaKodesh.

It’s easy to get “qodesh” confused with the Hebrew term “qadosh.” And the easiest way to keep these two easily confused terms separated in our minds is to remember that “qodesh” is a noun—that is a person, place or thing is actually holy (eg., Ruach HaKodesh; the sanctuary was holy-Exo.36:4) while “qadosh” describes a person, place, thing or day as being holy.

And if that’s not confusing enough, there is yet another Hebrew word that signifies holiness and that term is “qadesh.” Qadesh is the verb form of holy, and simply means the act of being holy; to be sanctified; to be holy (Exo. 29:37; Lev. 6:18).

We Must Be Holy to Extol the Virtues of Father’s Holiness to the World

Having established what it means to be holy, I want to bring us back to the story of Nadab and Abihu. The principle that I want to establish here for you is a crucial one. And I believe this crucial principle may explain—at least in part–why so many of us in our walk with Messiah are not living the abundant life that our Master Yahoshua promised us (Joh. 10:10). And I would appeal to you to take what I’m about to lay out to you to heart, especially those of you who may be going through an especially difficult time in your walk.

Recall that after Nadab and Abihu were summarily executed by the hand of YHVH, in order to get in front of what would be a display of grief and mourning on the part of Aaron over the loss of his two sons, Moses put their deaths in perspective for Aaron—and dare I say, Moses put their deaths in perspective for us as well.

Earlier in this teaching, I explained to you what YHVH meant when Moses relayed to Aaron: “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Lev. 10:3; ESV).

In other words, Aaron and his sons were selected—deemed and devoted to be holy—for the purpose of not only teaching the people how to distinguish the holy from the common and the clean from the unclean, but also to extol—to demonstrate—to proclaim to the nation and ultimately the people of the world, the virtues of YHVH’s holiness and to glorify His Name. And the only way the priests could do that is that they themselves had to be holy.

So how then were the priests to be holy other than YHVH saying to the nation that they were holy to Him. Well, quite simply, they were holy by virtue of their precise obedience to YHVH’s Torah and instructions. And the moment they were not obedient to YHVH’s Torah and instructions, they were no longer holy and Father would ultimately cut them off—maybe even executed as we saw happen to Nadab and Abihu (Exo. 19:22).

What Father is essentially saying here to us through this shadow picture—this lesson—this Torah Portion—is, “Look, I’m going to get the glory and my holiness is going to be proclaimed and demonstrated to all the world. Now this can be done by and through your actions of obedience and worship of me. And if you choose to glorify me and extol the virtues of my holiness to the world, you’re going to have to do it my way. For if you don’t choose to do it my way, then I’m still going to get the glory and my holiness will be demonstrated and manifested through my chastising of you. You see, it’s going to be done my way; or it’s going to be done my way. Either way, I’m going to be glorified and deemed holy to all the world.”

It’s About Order and Obedience

As a clan, the Levitical priesthood was deemed holy by YHVH as His instrument for declaring and demonstrating his holiness to the people and glorifying His Name. Individually, the priests were holy only when they conformed to the precise instructions of YHVH. Otherwise, they were no longer deemed as holy by Father.

Thus the priests had to perform certain duties and carry out assigned responsibilities precisely as YHVH commanded. They had to behave in precise ways as commanded by YHVH; wear certain garments while dispensing their duties and responsibilities; eat only that which Father designated for them to eat. The priests had to be in a perpetual state of ritual purity or cleanliness in order to serve in the Sanctuary. And they had to teach the people Torah.

In speaking to the priesthood, YHVH commanded:

Leviticus 11:44—”For I am YHVH your Elohim; and ye shall be sanctified, and ye shall be holy, because I YHVH your Elohim am holy; and ye shall not defile your souls…” (ESV; adjusted).

So fast forward some 3500-years or so to today. We find that the Levitical Priesthood is no longer in operation. The Sanctuary; the Tent of Meeting; the Temple is no longer in existence nor operational in any form.

Under the renewed covenant, the Levitical Priesthood has been replaced by the Melchizedekian Priesthood, the High Priest—the Cohen Gadol—being Yahoshua our Messiah.

We have been, by virtue of us becoming true disciples of Yeshua Messiah, priests unto YHVH, answerable to our High Priest Yeshua Messiah.

The Apostle Peter described us accordingly:

1 Peter 2:9—”You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (cf. Exo. 19:6; ESV).

In other words, we are taking over from that which the Levitical Priests ultimately failed to do. And in so doing, does it make any sense to think that we will be held to any lesser standard than they in terms of our commitment to living holy lives and proclaiming and declaring the holiness of our God to the world in all that we do?

Yahoshua said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well:

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth—praise Yah, we’re living this today!–for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. YHVH is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Joh. 4:23,24; ESV; adjusted).

Isn’t this a fantastic thing?! To be a priest of the Most High God. In the service of YHVH. To extol His holiness to the world and to glorify Him and His Name to all the world is an honor that I fear too many of us take for granted.

Unfortunately, we run the risk of dereliction of duty when we fail to be holy. Remember that a Levitical Priest could not extol the holiness of YHVH to the nation unless they themselves were holy and behaving in a holy and obedient manner. Well, does that same principle apply to us today?

Christianity would say it does and it doesn’t. It does in the sense that we are required to be holy before a holy God. However, it is naturally impossible for us to be holy. Thus, holiness is imputed unto us through the agency and spilled blood of Yeshua Messiah. Thus, being holy in the way we conduct our lives is NOT a requirement of service as was pictured through the example of the Levitical Priesthood back in the day.

But is Christianity’s perspective on the importance of holiness in a disciple of Yeshua Messiah’s life biblical? I believe it is not.

We see throughout much of the New Testament where Paul, who has been falsely accused by millions throughout the centuries, of rejecting Torah and teaching the assemblies he oversaw that Torah was done away with by the sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah, teaches that in order for us to be of service in the kingdom, believers must be holy.

1 Cor. 3:16,17—”Do you not realize that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (ESV).

Ephesians 1:4—”Blessed be the God and Father of our Master Yahoshua Messiah, who has blessed us in Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He (speaking of YHVH) chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (ESV; adjusted).

Ephesians 4:19-24—”They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Messiah; assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Yahoshua: to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Folks, we have to get rid of our old, carnal nature if we’re going to make it out of here. That old carnal nature—you know, the baggage you and I dragged into this Faith when we converted—has NO place in how we carry ourselves in our day-to-day walk with Yahoshua Messiah. It especially has no place in our worship of the Creator of the Universe.

Ephesians 5:25-27—”Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah loved the church (ie., the ekklesia) and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word—Do you see that the Word, His Torah and the teachings of Yeshua cleanses us—by the washing of water with the Word so that He might present the church (ie., the ekklesia) to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (ESV; adjusted).

1 Thessalonians 4:7—”For YHVH has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (ESV; adjusted).

When expounding upon the qualifications of an overseer of the assemblies of Messiah, Paul wrote:

“For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined” (Tit. 1:7-8; ESV).

The Apostle Peter also spoke on the importance of holiness in a believer’s life:

1 Pet. 1:14-16—”As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He (ie., YHVH) who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy”” (cf. Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2; Lev. 20:7).

If all that was required for a disciple of Yeshua to function as a priest under the conventions of the renewed covenant is an imputed holiness, why then did Paul and Peter spend so much precious parchment space in their epistles on this issue of living holy lives ?

These anointed men of YHVH were trying to get across to their readers that when we fail to be holy—that is, when we fail to do the things that take us into the realm of being holy—spelled out in YHVH’s Torah and the teachings of Yeshua our Messiah—we by default fail to honor and demonstrate and proclaim the holiness of our God, and we fail to glorify the Name of our God to the world. And when we don’t do what we’re supposed to do in carrying out our duties as priests unto YHVH; when we profane those things that Father has deemed and designated as holy; when we live lives that place us into the realm of being “unholy,” then we stand the risk of judgment.

Are There Parallels With Nadab and Abihu?

We see this brilliantly explained by Paul in his letter to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Corinth. Paul writes of a peculiar practice ongoing in the assembly that is causing some to become sick and some to even die. Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 11:27-33—”Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Master. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judge ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Master, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (ESV; adjusted).

So then, if we are going through a prolonged, and difficult time of trials and tribulations in our lives, it is wise to seek Father’s revelation as to what is going on. That is, seek Father’s revelation if we are unaware of what is going on. A lot of the time, when things go south for us spiritually and physically, we probably have a good idea of what the problem is. And that’s why the example I sighted here is so important. For Paul points out that a number of the Corinthians were sick and dying or dead because of their mistreatment of a holy thing such as the Master’s Supper. Thus, Paul instructs the Corinthians that before they partake in a holy thing such as the Master’s Supper, that they “examine themselves.” The point is that partaking in a holy thing such as the Master’s Supper in an unworthy manner will ultimately lead to serious problems. And if YHVH is gracious to us and chooses to punish us as opposed to breaking out against us and cutting us off (ie., killing us) when we mistreat that which He deems as holy, then we have a chance to make the proper correction before it’s too late.

As Paul stated, it’s better to be judged now by Master than to be condemned along with the rest of the unbelieving world.

Folks, this is normative stuff we’re talking about here. And what I mean by that is that this principle applies to everything that is deemed holy by YHVH—across the board in our Faith. And we are going to be held accountable for ensuring that we glorify Father and declare His holiness in all that we do. We’ve been called to be priests unto YHVH and our responsibilities as priests under the Melchizedkian Priesthood is certainly higher than those of our cousins who made up the Levitical Priesthood. For we have been called to a much higher standard than they.

Are we glorifying YHVH and declaring His holiness in all that we do? Are we living holy and righteous lives? Are we pure? Are we obedient? Is our focus on Father as opposed to ourselves? Do we have the right intentions driving everything we do in life? These are the things we must always be asking ourselves. Fortunately, we have the tragic example of Nadab and Abihu to give us cause to pause and to analyze how we are conducting our worship of YHVH in our lives?

So I end this with two questions and a call to action for each of us:

Are we offering unauthorized fire unto YHVH? Are we conducting regular examinations of ourselves and if found wanting, are we reconciling with our God so that we may get back to being holy unto YHVH? Let us constantly examine ourselves to determine whether or not we’re holy unto YHVH. And we know that we are holy unto Father when we are obedient to His Torah and to the teachings of Yeshua Messiah and our hearts are pure.

Shabbat Shalom; Shavu’tov; Until next time, take care and be abundantly blessed.