Playing With Fire

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. Then flames leaped from the LORD’s presence and burned them to death before the LORD. – Leviticus 10:1-2

This is one of those Old Testament stories many of us find disturbing and perhaps a little bizarre. What does “unauthorized fire” involve? Some translations use profane instead of unauthorized. The firepan held coals or embers. They were supposed to take coals from off the altar of burnt offering, then sprinkle incense over them to create an aromatic smoke, representing prayer offered to turn away the Lord’s judgment upon sin. Instead, the priests took coals, perhaps from a cooking fire or some other source on which to offer the incense. No big deal, right? Apparently it was a very big deal. Additionally, I have been told, the phrase “which He had not commanded them to do” is somewhat idiomatic and the meaning is closer to “which He had strictly forbidden them to do”.

If their punishment seems a little harsh, it should be kept in mind that these were the priests who entered into the sanctuary before the Lord – a position of both high privilege and high responsibility, and not something to be taken lightly. Reading further in Leviticus 10 we find a suggestion that Nadab and Abihu may have been drunk and acted recklessly, perhaps even attempting to enter the Holy of Holies counter to the Lord’s command. In any case, God required that His symbols not be treated lightly, without respect and understanding.

Like the wayward priests, many of us give little thought to the foundation of prayer. Under the prior covenants, the basis of prayer was the altar, the place of sacrifice where man acknowledged that the flesh was dead and nothing more than fuel for the fire. The old nature is symbolically consumed in the fire of the Spirit, and prayers rise as smoke from that fire. In fact I suspect that if I am indwelt by the Spirit of God, I can no more refrain from praying than fire can fail to produce smoke. The more of my old life I am feeding to the flames, the more intense will be my prayers.

The basis of prayer today is not a temple altar on which dead animals are offered, but the Cross. Christ’s offering of Himself produces, we might say, the coals that burn in our hearts, on which our prayers are offered before the Lord.

As Nadab and Abihu learned, prayers offered apart from the life-giving Spirit are dead and worthless. Yet there is no need to offer “strange fire” to God. When Jesus instructed us on prayer, He cautioned: don’t be like the hypocrites, praying to be seen or to impress others. Instead we should pray in private, recognizing the presence of our Father and relying on Him alone. We are not to babble like the idolaters. We’re not flattering some weak, fickle human monarch. Our heavenly Father cares for us. He permeates our lives by His Spirit. He is aware of our needs and waits only for us to express our dependence upon Him and our willingness to be shaped by and in His will.

When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, he said, “The god who answers by fire, let Him be God.” Yes, it is a dangerous proposition. It’s playing with fire.