"Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD."

Leviticus 10:1-2, NIV 

Have you ever been tempted to "tweak" God's commandments? Maybe you decided that God's instruction on lying didn't include "little white lies". Perhaps you were convinced that His requirement of baptism was really not that important - after all, it's what's in the heart that counts... right? Or maybe you looked (or maybe even you have not looked) at the ways that the New Testament churches worshiped and decided that times have changed so you can worship in any way you want and that God will just have to accept that.

I imagine Nadab and Abihu must have had similar thoughts about God's commands for the way that men could approach Him in the worship - who knows what their reasoning was? Perhaps they were just arrogant or careless or maybe they were drunk, but the point is that they were just as dead at the end because they did not honor God's holiness by approaching Him in His prescribed way.

I don't know about you, but for me it's something to think about because I am often tempted to bypass God's commands for my own personal preferences. But that mindset did not work out so very well fo Nadab and Abihu, and I don't think that such an attitude has a very good chance of working out in the end for those who live under the New Testament era.

It's something to think about... isn't it?

"Moses then said to Aaron, 'This is what the LORD spoke about when He said:

Among those who approach Me I will show Myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'"

Leviticus 10:3, NIV

Today s the sixteenth day of the Thirty Day Challenge to read through the Books of Moses. The reading for today is Leviticus 8-14. May God richly bless your efforts as you seek to learn more about His ways!