Playing with Holy Fire: When Gospel Ministers Fall & Fail

In Leviticus 10 we read the tragic story of two priests who were literally playing with fire – and not just ordinary fire! The occasion was the first ordination of Aaron and his sons into God’s priesthood. Everything had been done according to God’s command. The ordinands were anointed with oil, the animals were slain, the blood sprinkled, and the sacrifice laid out on the altar. As Aaron pronounced God’s blessing over the people God revealed his glory and sent fire from heaven to consume the offering (9:24). Then Nadab and Abihu start offering incense that God has not commanded – and the fire from heaven consumed them too (10:2).

 

Why did they act like this? Was there a presumptuous bravado in their position as priests? Did they think they had already ‘arrived’? Did they think their special priestly status put them above the people and above the law?

 

It should have been an occasion of great hope. God had separated his people from the pagan world of ancient Egypt in order that they should worship him alone. He was now putting everything necessary in place for that worship to occur. He was establishing a distinct priesthood to mediate the people’s worship through sacrifice. Nabad and Abihu had been anointed for that ministry but because of their failure to submit to God’s commands their setting-apart was prematurely aborted, before the process was completed (cf. 8:33 & 10:7). The consequence of their failure was a literal, sudden, and violent death. The message was clear: you cannot mess around with the holy God.

 

Imagine the impact of all this on Aaron and his surviving sons as they saw – and smelled – the charred remains of their flesh and blood brothers. They must have felt the grief of bereavement. They must have been gripped with a sense of fear at the raw power and absolute otherness of the God to whose service they were now consecrated. The danger of despair or discouragement was very real.

 

Many Christians carry scars received when people they trusted to care for their eternal souls turned out to be less than they appeared. Most gospel preachers remember men they studied with in college, prayed with in fraternal meetings, and labored with in evangelism, who are now spiritually nowhere. Perhaps they started playing with sinful fire and fell morally or departed from the faith doctrinally. What a disappointment! Of course, the New Testament treats every Christian as a priest serving under the Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, which is one reason the failure of a pastor is distressing for the whole church and not just those who are set apart for public ministry.

 

There are three lessons in the story of Nadab and Abihu which can help us to face such disappointments:

 

(1) Firstly, the failure of a minister does not excuse us from serving God. Beyond the necessary action of removing the bodies, Aaron and his sons were not allowed to leave their posts to express their grief (10:6-7). The Lord’s anointing oil was still on them – that is, they were still in God’s hand, set apart by God, for a specific purpose. The responsibilities of their holy calling took absolute priority. To break ranks now would be to risk further outpourings of God’s anger against the people and against any priest who was ‘absent without leave’. The experience of seeing a minister fail can be devastating. We might feel that all is lost and there is no point carrying on. But God’s anointing – God’s claim – on your life is not removed by their failure. Don’t add to their shortcomings by giving up too.

 

(2) Secondly, the failure of a minister should stimulate us to seek greater holiness. In the immediate aftermath of this shocking event, God spoke to Aaron (10:9-11). He impressed on him the importance of distinguishing between the sacred and profane. As teachers of God’s statutes the priests had to live lives that were visibly distinct. There could be no ambiguity. They were to be living models of what God required of the people, a constant reminder of the holiness of God. This must have come with great force to men who had just seen their relatives pay the ultimate price for their spiritual compromise. No pretense of being immune to sin or above the law could dull the edge of God’s stringent demands; the priests knew they were no different to Nadab and Abihu. “But for the grace of God, there go I”. Our consciences may be more sensitive when we see another Christian fail publically and God’s word touches our hearts in an unusually powerful way. Let the impact of such failures spur us on to live what we preach and back up our message with lives of exemplary holiness.

 

(3) Thirdly, the failure of a minister should provoke godly grief. In verse 16-20, Moses learns that Aaron had not eaten the allotted portion of the sacrifice and rebukes him. However, Aaron’s explanation satisfies Moses’ concerns. It was not an act of rebellion but a deliberate, spiritually-motivated, fast. Partaking in emblems that symbolize the forgiveness of sin was something which the priests would normally celebrate and rejoice in. But Aaron recognized that God would not be pleased by any ‘triumphalism’ after an experience of such tragic failure and personal loss (10:19). The priests, in their public ministry roles, did not dishonor God by grieving before the people (6:3). Nevertheless, out of the public eye, and in ways compatible with a faithful fear of the Almighty, Aaron and his sons humbled themselves before God. Failure among gospel ministers should topple any triumphalism we have like a house of cards. It will cause those who have the first-fruits of the Spirit to be deeply and prayerfully grieved (Romans 8:23). In words attributed to Cyprian, and affirmed by Augustine and Calvin, “Let a man mercifully correct what he can; let him patiently bear what he cannot correct; and groan and sorrow over it with love”. In light of the obvious spiritual weakness in large sections of the professing church, do we need to take this example of fasting more seriously and move this neglected practice to a higher place on the agenda?

 

Only the grace of God can provide and sustain a public ministry which is pure in life, doctrine and devotion. The holy fire which fell on Nadab and Abihu was an expression of the anger of God against sin. Thanks be to God that, for every believer, his fiery wrath was poured out and satisfied on the perfect sacrifice of our flesh-and-blood Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. No further sacrifice of atonement is necessary. It is finished.

 

There remains, however, a sacrifice of prayer, love and gratitude, an offering of our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Fire still falls from heaven on such offerings, not to devour but to sanctify, a continual burning which sustains the soul as it is consumed to the glory of God. “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place… and divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:1,3-4).