Leviticus 10:9 “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,
I enjoy watching and reading mysteries. But I am terrible at guessing the culprit. I always seem to dine on the red herrings, the clues that get dropped that lead you to the wrong conclusion. But fortunately for all the innocent people of the world, I am not a detective for the police.
But these little facts that get dropped in mystery stories are meant to lead us away from the truth. They are there to get us off track. But this act of dropping facts to get us off track is not a universal trait in literature. In some forms, like the Scriptures, these small details give us a hint into what is going on in the background.
I think our text today gives us a hint about what happened to Nadab and Abihu. There were two of Aaron’s four sons who were to serve with Aaron in the priesthood. They had taken part in the initiation and consecration ceremonies in the Tabernacle. They had officially become priests.
And right in the middle of this narrative about the consecration and dedication of all things Tabernacle related, we get this story about Nadab and Ahihu “offering unauthorized fire before the LORD.” Why would they do this? They knew the stakes involved. They had seen the LORD at work, and probably feared Him just like the rest of the Israelites.
But somewhere between the fire of the LORD coming out of the tent of meeting and consuming the offerings and the people shouting for joy and falling facedown, and a few hours later, they went off script. Nothing is said that explains what happened, but they begin to do their own thing. They grab a sacred censer, and some fire and incense, and off they go.
And the same fire that consumed the sacrifices on the altar comes from the tent of meeting and consumes them! Two close relatives have to be summoned to remove the bodies. Aaron and his two other sons must remain in their priestly roles. No mourning is allowed to take place. They must remain holy, set apart for the LORD.
And then there is our text, dropped right in the middle of this story. Alcohol can get you in trouble! What!?! What does this have to do with this moment of consecration and dedication? Doesn’t it seem out of place to you?
Biblical authors often use these types of devices to clue us into what is important. My guess is that the alcohol contributed to the acts of rebellion of Nadab and Abihu. The imbibed in drink, the drink that was part of the ritual, and had too much to drink.
The result of this was that they were not able to keep in mind what was allowed, what was holy and what was common. They had lost focus. They were no longer in a place to teach the Israelites. Alcohol had clouded their judgment.
Now you might say, “There was no warning about drinking too much. They shouldn’t have been held accountable for what wasn’t stated directly.” But many things are not stated. This isn’t a complete security camera footage of these events. Only the things that move the story forward are concluded.
So how does this story of disobedience at the highest level move the story forward? Sin is dealt with at every level. For those who are in leadership, there is a higher standard. Those in leadership need wisdom from the LORD to govern their decisions. Drunkenness clouds that judgment. Humans fail. The LORD remains faithful.