Leviticus 10:3 - Meaning and Application

We may well think that when Nadab and Abihu were struck down, everyone around them was filled with horror. Their faces, and the faces of the whole crowd, likely turned pale with fear and grief. There was great confusion among them, but Moses stayed calm and knew what to say and do. Unlike David in a similar situation (2 Samuel 6:8), Moses was not thrown off balance.

Even though this struck Moses in a very tender place and dimmed one of the greatest joys he had known, he held his peace and kept order in the sanctuary. He tried to comfort Aaron and help him remain steady under this painful event (Leviticus 10:3). Moses was a true friend in trouble, and his example teaches us how to strengthen the weak with timely counsel and comfort.

Notice first what Moses brought to Aaron’s mind: “This is what the Lord spoke.” The most calming thoughts in suffering are the ones taken from God’s word. When God has spoken, there is no room for argument. It is also good, in all God’s dealings, to notice how his word is carried out in his works, because Scripture and providence fit together beautifully and explain each other.

We do not find these exact words earlier, but God had said something very close to them in Exodus 19:22: the priests who came near him must consecrate themselves, or the Lord would break out against them. The whole direction of God’s law taught the same thing, that because he is holy and sovereign, he must be worshiped with holiness and reverence, and exactly as he commands. Much had already been said in this spirit (Exodus 29:43-44; Exodus 34:14; Leviticus 8:35).

What did God mean? “I will be treated as holy by those who come near me, and before all the people I will be honored.” This message speaks to all of us. Whenever we worship, we draw near to God like priests, so we must do so with great seriousness and reverence. We should honor his holiness in every act of worship, because the God we deal with is pure and perfect (Isaiah 8:13).

When we treat God as holy, we also glorify him, because holiness is part of his glory. And when we do that in public worship, we glorify him before all the people, confessing his greatness and inviting others to see it too. If we do not honor and glorify him, he will still uphold his own holiness and glory in judgment. He will punish those who treat his sacred name lightly.

This was enough to quiet Aaron. First, it showed him that his sons deserved their death, because they had failed to honor and glorify God. When God carries out necessary justice, even if it falls hard on those involved, we must not complain but submit. Second, it showed him that their death would bring honor to God, and God’s fair judgment would be praised for all time.

Aaron then held his peace. He quietly submitted to God’s holy will in this painful providence. He wanted to speak in complaint, as people often do when they suffer loss, but he wisely held back. He kept silent for fear of sinning with his tongue while his heart was burning inside. When God corrects us or our children for sin, our duty is to be silent under his hand. We must not argue with God, question his justice, or accuse him of folly. We should accept his correction, even when it is painful, and say as Eli did in a similar case, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him” (1 Samuel 3:18).

If our children have sinned against God, and he has cast them off because of their wrongdoing, it is deeply sad to see those we love become objects of God’s anger. Yet we must still honor God’s justice and make no objection to how he acts. The strongest help for a gracious heart in trouble is often this: God is glorified. That silenced Aaron. He was losing much comfort, but Moses showed him that God was gaining glory, and that was enough. If God is honored, Aaron is satisfied.

He must not love his sons more than God, or wish that God’s name, house, or law were shamed in order to save his family’s honor. Like Levi had done in the matter of the golden calf, he must not recognize his brothers or his own children when they stood against God. For that reason Levi was later commended, and his tribe was chosen to teach God’s judgments and law to Israel (Deuteronomy 33:9-10). Ministers and their families are sometimes tested severely so they may become examples of patience and surrender to God, and so they may comfort others with the comfort they themselves have received.

Moses then gave orders about the dead bodies. It was not right to leave them where they fell. But their own father and brothers, stunned by the terrible event, did not dare to lift them up or even check whether any life remained. They could not be pulled away from the service that was now before them. Let the dead bury their dead, but God’s work must go on. If no one else is available, it is better for the dead to remain unburied than for those called by God to leave their duty undone.

Still, Moses saw to it that the bodies would be buried with proper care, even though they had died by justice while sinning. They were given decent burial. Some of their closest relatives were appointed for this task, cousins on their father’s side, and they are named here because they would carry out this duty with tenderness and respect. They were Levites, and they would not have been allowed into the sanctuary, even on such an occasion, unless they had received a special command.

They carried the bodies out of the camp to be burned. They did not bury them in the holy place, or even in the camp itself, as later custom allowed. The tabernacle stood in the middle of the camp, so to take the dead priests out meant passing through one section of the camp after another. It must have been a fearful sight for the people.

Nadab and Abihu had become well known and highly respected among them. No one had been talked about more, or expected more eagerly to step forward after their ordination, to receive the crowd’s praise and attention. People often treat rising power with admiration. Next to Moses and Aaron, who were now aging and declining, Nadab and Abihu, who had gone up the mountain with God (Exodus 24:1), were seen as heaven’s special favorites and the hope of the nation. Then, all at once, before the news had even fully spread, both men were brought out dead, with clear signs of God’s judgment on them, as victims of God’s justice. The people could hardly help crying out, “Who can stand before this holy Lord God?” (1 Samuel 6:20).

They were carried out, and likely buried, in their coats, the garments of their priesthood, which they had only recently put on and may have valued too highly. In this way, God showed that his justice is fair to everyone. Even a priest’s clothing cannot protect a person from God’s anger. It was easy to draw the lesson, if they did not escape when they sinned, can we expect to go unpunished? The priestly clothes becoming burial clothes so quickly may also hint that the law brings death, and that in time that priesthood itself would be set aside and buried in the grave of the Lord Jesus.

God then gave directions about mourning. Aaron and his two surviving sons, though sorrowful in heart, were not to show outward signs of grief for this loss, and they were not even to follow the bodies one step away from the tabernacle door (Leviticus 10:7). Later, the high priest was forbidden to use mourning customs for anyone, even a father or mother (Leviticus 21:11). At the same time, lesser priests were allowed to mourn for close relatives (Leviticus 10:2, 3). But here both Aaron and his sons were told not to mourn, for two reasons.

First, they were in the middle of holy service, and that work must not stop (Nehemiah 6:3). It honored God for their service to come before their family ties, and for ministry to take priority over every other duty. By obeying, they showed that they valued God and his work more than even their nearest family. Christ spoke in a similar way (Matthew 12:47, 48). This also teaches us that when we serve God in holy duties, we should keep our minds fixed as much as possible and not let worldly thoughts, worries, or feelings pull us away. We should always be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

Second, their brothers had been cut down by God’s direct hand because of their sin, so Aaron and his sons must not mourn in a way that seemed to approve the sin or question God’s justice. Instead of grieving as though God had done wrong, they were to accept his sentence as right. The public honor of God should matter to us more than any private feeling of our own. Moses pressed them to submit by warning them of the danger, lest they die as well, and lest wrath come on all the people because of their disrespect and disobedience (Leviticus 10:6, 7). We should use God’s judgments on others to watch ourselves more closely, lest we also fall. The death of others, especially sudden death, should not stir us to wild emotion, but should lead us to holy fear, a careful turning from sin, and sober thought about our own death.

Moses also said this because the anointing oil of your God is on you. That honor had to be kept clear by carrying out their duties with willing hearts. Those who, by grace, have received God’s anointing should not let worldly sorrow, which leads to death, take control of them. It must have been very hard for Aaron and his sons to hold themselves back in such an unusual loss. Yet reason and grace ruled over their grief, and they bore the hardship with obedient patience. They did what Moses said, because they knew it was God’s word. Happy are those who live under God’s rule and keep their passions under control.

The people, however, were told to mourn. Let the whole house of Israel weep over the burning that the Lord has kindled. The whole congregation was to grieve, not only because their priests were gone, but especially because God’s displeasure had shown itself in this judgment. They were to mourn the burning that had been kindled, so that it might not spread further. Aaron and his sons were in danger of feeling too much, so they were forbidden to mourn. The house of Israel was in danger of feeling too little, so they were commanded to lament. In this way, nature must always be guided by grace, either held back or stirred up as needed.