United Community Church Sermons

Regaining Perspective - Leviticus 10


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Dave Pike // Standalone
“1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the grain offering that is left of the Lord’s food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the Lord’s food offerings, for so I am commanded. 14 But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons’ due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. 15 The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

16 Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, 17 “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? 18 Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.”
— Leviticus 10:1-20 (ESV)
I. God is a Righteous Judge
“Speak to them of God as a Father, a friend, a helper, one who loves us despite all our weaknesses and folly and sin, and their faces light up; you are on their wavelength at once. But speak to them of God as Judge and they frown and shake their heads. Their minds recoil from such an idea. They find it repellent and unworthy.”
— J.I. Packer - "Knowing God"
II. God is Jealous for His GloryIII. God is to be Worshiped with Reverence & Awe
“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
— Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)
SMALL GROUP STUDY
  1. Lent is a season set apart for reflection and drawing near to God through denying one’s self something that you would usually depend on or enjoy. How does this help to commemorate and relate to Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness? How does this in turn help us to celebrate all the more on Easter Sunday?

  2. The story of Nadab & Abihu in Leviticus 10 tells us something about God’s character and can be quite shocking for us to read. Why is it important to have a Biblical perspective on God’s nature and character? In what ways can the world around us erode that perspective?

  3. Read Leviticus 10:1-2. Nadab and Abihu are disobedient and receive judgment from God? Why is it important that we remember that God is a righteous judge who brings judgment upon sin? How does this fit into the big picture of the gospel of grace?

  4. Read the quote from J.I. Packer above. Why do people struggle so much with thinking about God’s judgement? Why is it crucial that God’s judgement of sin is included when we share the gospel with unbelievers?

  5. Read v 3. Why is God’s glory a big deal? What is the link between our sanctification (growth in holiness and purity) and God receiving glory? Why is this important?

  6. Read v 6. Aaron is not allowed to mourn for his sons. Who has been most wronged in the situation and why? What does this tell us about the importance of God’s glory?

  7. How can being motivated by God’s glory help us as we make everyday decisions about what we choose to look at, think about, say, and do?

  8. In vv 16-18 Moses confronts Aaron about a sin offering that was not eaten by the priests as it should have been. What does Aaron’s response in vv 19-20 tell us about his understanding of God’s glory? 

  9. The book of Hebrews tells us that “with confidence” we may “draw near to the throne of grace” but it also tells us in 12:28-29, that we should “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” What does it mean to approach worship with reverence and awe? What can we do to make sure that we maintain this perspective when we worship God on Sunday’s and on other occasions?

Close by praying about what you have discovered in this study and for any other prayer requests presented to the group.

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United Community Church SermonsBy United Community Church