This week we've been studying the sin of two of Aaron's sons who offered incense to the Lord in a manner that was wrong. Their actions were so disrespectful to the Lord that they died. Aaron and his other two sons were forbidden to carry out the typical public days of mourning for the two dead men but today we learn that Aaron is so burdened with grief that he cannot eat the priest's portion of the sin offering presented at the tabernacle. We also take a look at what some scholars think led Nadab and Abihu to improperly offer incense to the Lord.
Right in the middle of Chapter 10 the Lord issues a warning to Aaron and his two remaining sons never to come to the tabernacle while under the influence of alcohol. "Then the Lord said to Aaron, 'You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean; and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.'" (Leviticus 10:8-11) In Leviticus and Exodus when the Lord was giving instructions for how to carry out religious services in the tabernacle, He made no mention of the need for the priests to refrain from imbibing alcohol before performing their duties. Such a prohibition should have gone without saying; anyone with any respect for the Lord would know better than to show up intoxicated at His house. But suddenly, in the middle of the passage regarding the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, we find this very serious warning and this has led a number of scholars to believe that Nadab and Abihu were intoxicated when they lit the incense in their censors with fire from the wrong source.
If this is the case, then their drunkenness is what made them incapable of distinguishing "between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean". These two men set a bad example not only for their fellow priests but also for the entire congregation of Israel. If they didn't respect the Lord enough to soberly and reverently serve Him in His house, how could they possibly "teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them"? A person has to have a good understanding of the Lord's laws, and must respect and follow the Lord's laws, in order to effectively teach His laws to others in a manner that encourages them to honor and obey the Lord.
Next our passage discusses the priests' portion of the offerings that were brought to the tabernacle and we learn that certain portions were only shared by the male members of the priests' families while other portions were shared by their whole families. "Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Take the grain offering left over from the food offerings prepared without yeast and presented to the Lord and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy. Eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is your share and your son's share of the food offerings presented to the Lord; for so I have commanded. But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship offerings. The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the food offerings, to be waved before the Lord as a wave offering. This will be the perpetual share for you and your children, as the Lord commanded.'" (Leviticus 10:12-15)
Moses notices that the priests' portion of the sin offering has not been eaten. "When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, 'Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.'" (Leviticus 10:16-18)
This is the goat that was offered for the sins of all the Israelites. Because it is not the annual Day of Atonement, and because its blood was not taken behind the veil and sprinkled onto the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, a portion of it belonged to the priests. But instead Moses realizes that instead of retaining the portions that aren't offered to the Lord, they burned everything up that wasn't offered to the Lord. He is angry because these men haven't eaten these portions together and, in a symbolic way, haven't "eaten the sins" of the people. They haven't identified themselves with the people by partaking in the share of the sin offering that was theirs. The portion given to the Lord was, in a symbolic way, eaten by Him. The priests were to eat the portions that were theirs. In this way everyone (the priests, the community, and the Lord) communed with each other in the acknowledgment that the humans involved in this transaction were all sinners but that the Lord was willing to forgive their sins and have fellowship with them. So naturally Moses is upset that Aaron's two sons have failed to carry out this important part of their service at the tabernacle. But it appears they were commiserating with their father in his grief, for as we close today we learn that Aaron was not able to eat due to the terrible things that have happened on this day.
"Aaron replied to Moses, 'Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?' When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.'" (Leviticus 10:19-20) I think Aaron is saying something like this, "My sons are not refusing to identify themselves as sinners or to identify themselves with the people, who are also sinners. They brought the required offerings today to signify their need for forgiveness from their own sins and to symbolize their desire to submit themselves to the Lord. But because of the things that happened today, I couldn't partake in the meal. It would be unseemly to feast in an attitude of joy and thankfulness while two of my sons lie dead. It would not have honored the Lord if I behaved as if nothing has happened and as if my heart is not broken over my sons' sins and subsequent death. I am their father and I feel some responsibility over their wrongdoing even though they were grown men capable of making their own choices. Because of my sorrow I was unable to eat and my two remaining sons showed me their support and sympathy by not eating their portion of the sin offering either." Aaron's explanation makes practical sense to Moses and he is satisfied with his brother's words. The Lord is also satisfied; we know this because He imposes no penalty upon Aaron or Eleazar or Ithamar for failing to partake in their portion of the offering.
If any of you has ever lost a child or if you know anyone who has lost a child, you can understand a father not being able to eat on the day he loses two of his sons. The Lord can sympathize with Aaron's grief, for He is a father too and He knows that a day is coming in which He will witness the death of His own Son who will die not for sins of His own but for the sins of the world. God the Father doesn't have to eat food in order to survive as human beings do, but if He did He would not be able to swallow even one bite on the day His precious Son gives His life on the cross. With this in mind, the Lord has no words of chastisement for Aaron. I think the Lord's heart goes out to Aaron just as His heart goes out to anyone who mourns, for the Bible tells us in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted."
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