“Strange Fire”

(Lev. 10:1-2 )"And the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." Very few stories in the Word of God teach us so strongly about the important lesson of respecting God and His holiness. "Nadab and Abihu," were faithful sons, consecrated to offer the sacred offerings of God, yet God killed them. Why? 1) As an example of the importance of respecting the will of God. God never told Aaron's sons that they could offer the fire of incense anyway they so desired. Their sin was the sin of self-will worship. Brethren (it does) matter how we worship God. Although we probably will not be killed for doing it wrong today, much of what we see going on in many churches is definitely wrong and offensive to a holy God, for it is more of the flesh than it is spiritual. 2) To teach a respect for personal holiness. "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;" God desires all who approach Him to respect His holiness, for He is Holy. We as Christians are called by God as the two sons of Aaron were called, to reflect God's holiness while we too dwell in His Temple!

 

 

“Jephthah’s Hasty Vow”

"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, … I will offer it up for a burnt offering." Little did Jephthah know that his only daughter would come out first. There are some that believe that he offered her up as a burnt offering, but there are others like me who believe that he offered her up to the Lord just as Samuel was offered back to the Lord by his mother Hannah. You see, the importance of this story is not about the offering as much as it is about the vow. "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel…" Jephthah kept his word even though his only daughter remained a virgin the rest of her life, cutting off Jephthah's future posterity, and his daughter was faithful to Jephthah's vow even though it affected her life forever. Oh that we as God's people would have such faith,  keeping our vows even though  keeping them is difficult. Sometimes believers rashly vow to God at the moment of an emotional high, but quickly forget it even though God still remembers