Catholic Commentary on Leviticus 10

"Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honoured." (Leviticus 10:3)

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons, take their censers, put fire in them and add incense, and offer unauthorised fire before the LORD, fire he had not commanded them to use. Fire comes out from the presence of the LORD and consumes them. Moses explains to Aaron: Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honoured. Aaron is silent. The sin of Nadab and Abihu is the sin of liturgical presumption: approaching the holy God on their own terms rather than his. The same divine fire that accepted Aaron's offering destroys unauthorized worship.

God then forbids Aaron and his remaining sons to mourn or drink wine when they enter the tent of meeting, and gives the reason: you must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean. The Catechism identifies the holiness of God as the first truth that authentic worship must acknowledge: God is not managed or manipulated; he is approached on his own terms, in the manner he has prescribed, with the reverence his holiness demands (CCC 2807). The death of Nadab and Abihu is a severe mercy: it establishes at the outset of the priestly ministry that proximity to the holy is not a privilege to be presumed.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, we are not free to invent the terms on which we approach God. The freedom of the Gospel is not liturgical improvisation; it is the freedom of children who know their Father and approach him accordingly. The God who receives our worship is the same God who consumed Nadab and Abihu. Come with joy and with reverence.

Prayer

Lord God, you are holy and you will be honoured among those who approach you. Let our worship be offered on your terms, not ours. Purify our liturgy of presumption and fill it with the reverence that your holiness requires. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

10
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
(Numbers 3:1–4)
1 Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized * 10:1 Or strange fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.
 
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said:
 
‘To those who come near Me
I will show My holiness,
and in the sight of all the people
I will reveal My glory.’ ”
 
But Aaron remained silent.
 
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan,† 10:4 Elzaphan is a variant of Elizaphan; see Numbers 3:30. sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.” 5 So they came forward and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had directed.
 
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled ‡ 10:6 Or Do not uncover your heads and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited. 7 You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.”
 
So they did as Moses instructed.
Restrictions for Priests
 
8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean, 11 so that you may teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given them through Moses.”
 
12 And Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that remains from the offerings made by fire to the LORD and eat it without leaven beside the altar, because it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the offerings made by fire to the LORD; for this is what I have been commanded.
 
14 And you and your sons and daughters may eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution in a ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15 They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, together with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to wave as a wave offering before the LORD. It will belong permanently to you and your children, as the LORD has commanded.”
 
16 Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the congregation by making atonement for them before the LORD. 18 Since its blood was not brought inside the holy place, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
 
19 But Aaron replied to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the sight of the LORD?”
 
20 And when Moses heard this explanation, he was satisfied.

*10:1 10:1 Or strange

†10:4 10:4 Elzaphan is a variant of Elizaphan; see Numbers 3:30.

‡10:6 10:6 Or Do not uncover your heads

Public Domain