Incoming!

“Incoming!” is the shout that goes up when a position is about to be hit by rocket or artillery fire. Everyone then dives to the ground, hopefully under some type of protection, but regardless, getting as low to the ground as possible. This does not protect them in the unlucky event of a direct or near direct hit, but if the explosion is a ways away, flying shrapnel will fly over the prone body instead of scoring a hit.

This idea occurred to me as I read Leviticus 9. Let’s take a look at it. At first glance, this chapter seems to major on tedium. The topic is Moses’ following the ordination protocol for ordaining Aaron as the high priest. First Moses called Aaron and his sons to meet with him. The elders of Israel came along. Exodus 24 and Numbers 11 tells us that there were 70 elders.

So this party evidently gathered at the Tent of Meeting to observe the ceremony. Chapter 8 began the process and now chapter 9 continues and consummates it. As I read these passages, they seemed tedious and, well, frankly boring. Take some of this animal, slaughter it and bring the blood.... The details of how the slaughter was to be accomplished are detailed, including what part of the entrails to burn and what to discard. Actually, it took eight days as chapter 9 begins with, “...on  the eighth day....”

Chapter 9  continues the strain. And it was beginning to strain my attention. Then it dawned on me, that what I could read in just a few minutes took days. The slaughter details could not be accomplished in a few minutes. Hours would have been consumed in doing it. And for what purpose?

Chapter 10 will explain that. But for now, just trudge through it with me. Moses completed his portion of the ceremony and then, the newly ordained and sanctified (set apart) Aaron did his. And why do we have to endure all of these mundane details?

Because the process of encountering and interacting with God is neither mundane or trivial. Throughout the process of positing the law in Exodus and now in Leviticus, we were introduced to the extreme attention to detail that God applied to every interaction with Himself. God is holy and the minutia of our existence concerns Him. Careful attention to how we approach God is demanded and reflected here.

We must learn to discern every occasion to stray from His guidance as critical and avoid it. If He said “Do it,” we should be careful to do it. If He said, “Don’t do it,” we, likewise, must exercise diligence to avoid that. He is not pleased with the Cliff Notes version of devotion and obedience.

So the extreme attention to detail is warranted when approaching this infinitely holy God. Moses did as he was commanded. (Chapter 8) Aaron, likewise, followed the pattern laid down by his brother, Moses. The ordination of Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar was completed in chapter 8 and then Aaron begins his duties of representing the people. The same careful execution of detail was repeated.

When that was completed, Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting, presumably to have a meeting with the Lord. As they left the tent, the visible presence of the Lord was manifested. Our version said, “The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.” Now recall the scene. Aaron had sacrificed the sin offering, a goat, for the people. (Verse 15) This was followed by the grain offering which was a thanksgiving offering subsequent to the sin offering.

Finally came the peace offering of an ox and a ram. The order is sin being addressed first, followed by thanksgiving for the atonement, then peace with God is illustrated. After that Moses and Aaron had had a personal meeting with the Lord. As they came out of the tent, the glory of the Lord appeared and fire flashed out and consumed the remainder of the offering on the altar.

That would be spectacular, wouldn’t it? Evidently it was. Everyone saw it, shouted, and fell on their faces! There is no “messing around with God.” No one even got to call out, “Incoming!” But they fell, either in abject terror, hoping that no shrapnel would hit them (anachronism) or in worship. After eight days of watching the preparation, I imagine that they were impressed with how holy and meticulous they had to remain in the sight of their God.

The impact of this is bolstered in chapter 10 as the two oldest sons of Aaron violated the provisions of Moses’ and God’s instructions. It was the seemingly simple and innocuous act of taking unauthorized fire into the worship process. It was neither minor nor insignificant. The same fire that consumed the burnt offering now snuffed out their lives. We are not told the timing of this incident, but presumably it was fairly shortly. We will not follow the story any farther, but Moses and Aaron had to live with the repercussions of Nadab and Abihu’s disobedience or disregard for God’s instructions.

We can conclude, that careful observation to His guidance and instructions is pretty important. It is not a trivial matter to rebel, even passively against God. As Hebrews 10:31 reminds us:
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Before we leave, we must put this into perspective. Why was and is God so “picky?” It is because He is perfectly holy. If anything flawed, regardless of how slight the flaw, is presented to Him, it will be consumed by His holiness. And God loves us. He wants us to be able to spend eternity with Him. And if any bit of unholiness appears in us, we will perish. The sacrifice of Jesus was completely and perfectly executed. It will remove any flaws, or sins from those who trust in Him. We are completely safe and accepted in Jesus.

The picture in the Old Testament was an illustration of this coming perfection. It is now presented to us. It is incumbent on us to reflect that to a lost and dying world around us. Love compels us to share the message that perfection, though unattainable, is available. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

That should and does cause us to see it, shout, and fall on our faces. Hallelujah! And just for a little frosting on the cake, He is coming again. Incoming!