Profane Fire

The bible can, in some sense, be thought of as an instruction manual for how God wants us to live. If the bible were written the way that most instruction manuals today are written, there would be fairly large sections entitled “How to Worship God” and “How NOT to Worship God.” Unfortunately, most people today who believe in God are unaware of most of what would be in the “How to” section and would be shocked by some of the things that they find acceptable that would end up in the “How NOT to” section. 

First of all, let’s establish that there is a particular way that God wants to be worshipped. Consider the story of Nadab and Abihu, found in Leviticus 10. They were sons of Aaron and priests in the tabernacle, which was a sort of portable temple during the time that Israel was wandering in the desert.

Leviticus 10:1-3

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’”

We don’t know for sure whether Nadab and Abihu were offering this incense in sincerity or not, but we do know for sure the reason that God killed them: they made an offering in a way that “He had not commanded them.” Furthermore, we can’t simply look at this passage and say “God doesn’t want us to burn incense” and move on because in the previous chapters (Lev. 4, 5, 6, and other places) God commanded the burning of incense in certain rituals. Therefore, we conclude that it is possible to think that we are worshipping God in an acceptable way when really we are breaking His commandments.

There are examples in the bible of people getting even farther away from God’s commandments and worshipping Him in ways that are clearly unacceptable. There is an account in Judges in which a man named Micah recovered some silver that had been stolen from his mother. Let’s break into the story at her response:

Judges 17:2-3

Then his mother said, “The LORD bless you, my son!” When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you.”

So she gives the silver back to her son, who then makes an idol out of it. The woman thinks that she is worshipping God, and yet she is blatantly violating the 2^nd of the 10 commandments. It’s very important to note here that it was an idol “to the LORD.” People today are easily able to see that what this woman has done is wrong, but they do not see the same sin in making crosses or pictures and statues of God (the Father) and Jesus. God looks at the painting on the roof of the Sistine Chapel the same way he looks at this woman’s idol (for a detailed explanation, see the 2nd commandment).

It is evident then that there are all kinds of wrong ways to worship God and that you can do it without even realizing that it’s wrong. God has outlined the way that he intends for us to worship Him, and we are not to stray from it. He reiterates this to the Israelites as they are about to enter the promised land:

Deuteronomy 12:28-31

Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God… be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about [other nations’] gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates”

Clearly, God wants us to look only to the commandments given in His Word when seeking how to worship Him. Any form of worship that God has not commanded is sin. Do you know what things God has commanded? Almost all of the commandments that God requires of us can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Many people do not regard the laws of these books as relevant for Christians today, but there is no evidence in the New Testament to support this view (see The New Covenant for an extensive study of the New Covenant and what it means for you and God’s law.)  One of the major aspects of the law in which modern “Christianity” is in error is their holiday celebrations. Effectively, Christmas, Easter, and other “Christian” holidays are exactly what God spoke of in Deuteronomy 12: the way in which other nations worship (or, in most cases, worshiped) their gods. Consider this: God specifically commanded the Israelites to keep His Holy Days in Leviticus 23. The significance of each of these days is expounded throughout the pages of the bible. These are the days that Jesus and the apostles kept. Plain and simple, God did not command anyone to celebrate the birth of Christ (Christmas) or the resurrection of Christ (Easter) anywhere in the bible, but he did command His people to keep the above Holy Days.

Many are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel, but few are familiar with how one of the lessons of that story would fit into this discussion.

Genesis 4:2-7

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

What did Cain do wrong? There are many other places in the Old Testament where offerings of grain and crops were accepted. It’s not that God liked offerings of animals any more than offerings of crops – in fact, he later commands that people tithe on their crops! But if you read carefully, you will see that Cain offered “some of the fruits of the soil,” whereas Abel offered “the firstborn of his flock.” My interpretation is not that God was displeased because he offered fruits and vegetables instead of an animal (since fruits and veggies are what he had), but rather that he did not give thanks to God first by offering the first fruits of his harvest. Furthermore, the “fat portions” of the animals were the most highly regarded part, as God makes plain later in the giving of the law, so it is possible also that Cain may have chosen not to give God the best of his fruit and vegetables (notice that any time God commanded an offering in the bible that it must be without blemish.)

Furthermore, God held Cain responsible for this by saying “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” This indicates that God had instructed them on what was right to offer. Therefore, let us do what is right, so that we will be accepted. Ask yourself if you are offering profane fire by worshiping God in ways that He has not commanded. Search God's Word for the things that we should be doing so that we can draw near to Him, and remember the lesson of the profane fire: "By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified."