Numbers 3:4 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
Bringing up the past can be a painful thing! Anyone who has been through tough stuff in life, especially in relationships, can attest to this. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I see it every day in my practice. People carry hurts around with them like suitcases. The problems happen when those suitcases open seemingly on their own, at unexpected times and unwanted moments.
Our story today is about a month after Israel’s exit from Egypt. A lot has happened in the interim. They have received the LORD’s initial instructions about how they are to live as His people in the Promised Land to which they are traveling. Good stuff!
But they have also rebelled several times, almost been destroyed by the LORD, needing someone, namely Moses, to step up and stand in the gap. As the Tabernacle has been set up and put into action, there is a disaster that strikes. The LORD enforces holiness on His chosen family. Two of Aaron’s sons are killed.
Nadab and Abihu are two are Aaron’s four sons. They are now dead, but his family is still charged with carrying out all the duties of the priest. Now half the number of people will still have to do all the work. No substitutes are allowed.
And besides, who else would be crazy enough to enter the LORD’s presence. People get killed in there!
So the two remaining sons of Aaron must pick up the slack. They must fill in the gap left by the death of their two brothers. And this was about a month ago! Grief is still fresh on their hearts and minds. And they have to still go to work! No bereavement leave possible.
How would you feel in this circumstance? What would it be like for you if your two brothers were killed in a workplace accident and you still had to go to work in the same place where they were killed? How would that feel?
And yet, this is exactly where Eleazar and Ithamar live. They must perform their duties. They have no choice. They haven’t even been able to grieve in their culturally acceptable ways. Others in the community are able to grieve their deaths, but they must remain in the LORD’s presence working.
So why does our narrative put this detail right in the path of the details about the Levites and their duties? I think it helps the readers understand the necessity of the Levites in helping with the Tabernacle. Now there are half the priests. The Levites are going to have to step up their game. They are going to have to make sure they are performing up to the standard.
I imagine it is also a warning, are reminder of the seriousness of what the Levites are charged with doing. They must make sure that they don’t overstep their boundaries and try to do any “unauthorized” things as Nadab and Abihu had done. If the priests died, they might also, if they too step out of line.
We are blessed that the LORD doesn’t step in and strike like this today, or at least we don’t know if He does. Since Jesus took the death-blow that we deserved, we now have the privilege of walking in grace and mercy, just as they did. They had rebelled, and so have we.
It will do us well if we live in light of this reality. Jesus died in our place, because of the things we have done and failed to do, because of our attitudes and actions. We need to keep that in mind as we do our work.
The Arnold Journey 