STRANGE FIRE!

Time with Jesus - Monday, 04 March 2013

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Hi all,

My Dad was a stickler for detail. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly”. He did not approve of shoddy work. It was something he learned while working as an apprentice in the factory. The apprentices went through some very hard training, even in the 1960’s. One of our jobs was to make what was called “Flogging spanners”. These were big heavy spanners made for tightening certain bolts for the turbine covers. These spanners were put over the head of the nut on a bolt. Then we had to tighten the bolts by “flogging” them with a 14lb hammer. It worked well. But you can imagine what these spanners looked like after a couple of nuts had been tightened. But that did not matter in the apprentice training school. We had to make them “exactly according to the pattern”. So if what we’d done was unacceptable to our foremen, we would have to take our spanner to the foundry for it to be “welded up” so that we could file the shapes correctly. The foremen had special gauges to check what we made. Each spanner had to be right! We also soon learned that filing weld material was hard work. Later on, working with a flogging spanner and hitting it with a 14lb hammer nearly brought tears to my eyes!

God’s standards are higher than those in the apprentice school. The penalty for doing anything that was not according to the pattern He had given was severe. For Nadab and Abihu, it was death. Uzzah touched the ark and died. Ananias and Sophira died for lying to the Holy Spirit.

Today we meditate on what the outcome was when Nadab and Abihu used “unauthorised fire” in their sensors.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 04 March 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Strange Fire!
God is incomprehensible. Isaiah expressed it as follows: 8 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT Why God does the things He does, frequently defies all human understanding. A classic example is what took place on the cross. To us it looks like an overwhelming defeat. A “man” dying on a cross, It was actually the greatest victory this world has even seen or known. There is one thing we can say about God with a reasonable degree of certainty. If He says something, it must be believed and acted upon. “Do not eat of the fruit” illustrates this. Adam disobeyed. We know the outcome. Moving on down the centuries, we come upon an extraordinary statement by God to Moses. 8 "Have the people of Israel build Me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. 9 You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:8-9 NLT This is what Moses and his people did. Men have tried to describe the splendour of the tabernacle - the tent in the wilderness. No doubt they’ve done their best. It’s doubtful if anyone can do so adequately. God required many things from His people; too many to go into in this short message. There were two I’d like to draw to our attention. The light shining from the menorah was never to go out. Another was associated with the consecration of the tabernacle and furnishings. The details are recorded in Leviticus. 23 Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community. 24 Fire blazed forth from the LORD's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground. Lev 9:23-24 NLT We are told that the fire on this altar was never to be extinguished. It also follows that fire generated by any other method would be “strange fire”. In this morning’s Scripture, we are informed that Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire from the Lord. They had used fire obtained by another method. It was “strange fire”. Nadab and Abihu disobeyed a direct instruction from God. The result was their death. Why the Lord did this is not for me to question. All we know is they had violated a pattern He had laid down. We may not touch God’s Holiness. To do so could be to proclaim our own death sentence. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave labourer. Gen 49:15 GW ! 10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. James 5:10 NLT 11 Those things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who are living at the time when God's work is being completed. 1 Cor. 10:11 NIrV 10 Job replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. We accept good things from God. So we should also accept trouble when he sends it." In spite of everything, Job didn't say anything that was sinful. Job 2:10 NIrV 3 Then Moses spoke to Aaron. He said, "That's what the LORD was talking about when he said, "'Among those who approach me I will show that I am holy. In the sight of all of the people I will be honoured.'" So Aaron remained silent. Leviticus 10:3 NIrV 17 "What did the LORD tell you?" he asked. "Please don't hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me." 18 So Samuel told Eli everything. Eli replied, "He is the LORD. May he do what he thinks is right." 1 Samuel 3:17-18 GW 20 My best friend has betrayed his friends. He has broken his solemn promise. 21 His speech is smoother than butter, but there is war in his heart. His words are more soothing than oil, but they are like swords ready to attack. 22 Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble. Psalm 55:20-22 GW 4 Surely he has borne our grief’s and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV 28 Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Mat 11:28-30 ESV	We have to do things properly, so we can do them right. The Lord is most particular; and so He shines His light, On each and every one of us, to make sure what we do, Conforms to what’s expected from the likes of me and you. We see this very clearly in the Scriptures for today. His priests were consecrated, in a very special way. They’d been through all the ritual for them to be a priest. Their ministry was starting. At death it would be ceased. They’d heard all God’s instructions; the lamps must not go out. They had to keep them burning; of that there was no doubt. The offering was burned up by fire from on High. That flame upon the altar; they mustn’t let it die. It had to be kept burning for seven twenty-four. Any other fire was acceptable no more. But Nadab and Abihu; they failed to do it right. Their incense burner’s fire was “strange” within God’s sight. It wasn’t from the altar; so they were both consumed, By fire from the Lord. “It doesn’t matter” they presumed. Moses informed Aaron, the reason why they’d died. The holiness of God by their “strange fire” was put aside. We have to be particular in everything we do. To violate His holiness means death for me and you! Much the same thing happened when Uzzah touched the ark.  (2 Sam 6:7) Never be transported on an ordinary cart! On the Levite’s shoulders was where it had to be. Covered and not visible, for everyone to see. Perhaps, it may be argued, these victims didn’t know, That what they had been doing would offend the Master so. But He is God Almighty. We know He does what’s right. Your or my opinion doesn’t matter in His sight. We must never violate the “pattern” He has shown; Even accidentally; such things must not be known. God is not an ogre. But sometimes He must act, In ways we find disquieting and very short of tact. Know that these things happen for reasons in His mind; Seldom understandable, the cause is hard to find. But Jesus and His Holiness we never may downgrade. And it will never happen if He’s constantly obeyed. Jim Strickland Written 4th March 2012