Lev 10:1-2 “ Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”

What can we learn from this? Don’t play with fire. They were playing with fire and got burned. Nadab and Abihu were priests in Aaron’s household, and yet they offered strange fire before the Lord, that He had not commanded. We are used to thinking of God as a loving God, but He is also a demanding God, and His expectations have consequences if we ignore them.

What else do we know about Nadab and Abihu? In Ex 6:23 we see that they were born while Moses and Aaron were in Egypt. So they saw the miracles of the parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, the goodness of God and how he delivered them from slavery. In Ex 24:9-11 they went up with Moses and Aaron and saw God and lived. “Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank.” Ex 28:1-5 shows they had favor with God and priestly garments were made for them. We see Aaron had authority.

When we look at Youth Ablaze, the statistics, for example we have seen quite a good jump of new comers and new believers over the last 3 years, we’ve also seen God and what He’s done. We can forget God is in control and is the authority. When we’ve done something often and well, we can offer the attitude of “I’ve got it, I’ll do it this way” and have a tendency to not wait for God’s authority and His command. Don’t lose the heart behind all our successes, or you’ll be playing with fire. Don’t offer strange fire to God.

Examples of playing with fire:

• Attending services without worshiping
• Serving without spirit, or a wrong spirit- when something is not right in your heart
• Teaching without studying
• Praying without practicing- not living and believing what you pray

Don’t play with fire. You must have the right motive every moment. Remind yourself what is important, why we are here. Stay strong in your devotions and relationships.

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