Monday, February 18, 2008

presence of the LORD

 
Moses followed Yahweh's instructions for the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests - he followed God's instructions to the "t".  Consequently, when we obey God in faith, we are blessed with his presence:
22 After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. 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.
Tragically, two of Aaron's freshly priested sons did NOT obey, and they experienced the consequences:

Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord's presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.  3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when he said,

   'I will display my holiness
      through those who come near me.
   I will display my glory
      before all the people.'"
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise you for your holiness.  LORD, I know that I don't fully understand what it means that you are holy.  LORD, I pray that I would fear you and experience the joy of obedience in faith.  I pray that you will help me lead others away from the fire of judgement.  I ask you this in the name of the Faithful Servant, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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