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Patriarchs and Prophets
men choose any other path than that of strict obedience, they will find
that “the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 14:12
.
“Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his
sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die,
... for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” The great leader
reminded his brother of the words of God, “I will be sanctified in them
that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” Aaron
was silent. The death of his sons, cut down without warning, in so
terrible a sin—a sin which he now saw to be the result of his own
neglect of duty—wrung the father’s heart with anguish, but he gave
his feelings no expression. By no manifestation of grief must he seem
to sympathize with sin. The congregation must not be led to murmur
against God.
The Lord would teach His people to acknowledge the justice of
His corrections, that others may fear. There were those in Israel whom
the warning of this terrible judgment might save from presuming
upon God’s forbearance until they, too, should seal their own destiny.
The divine rebuke is upon that false sympathy for the sinner which
endeavors to excuse his sin. It is the effect of sin to deaden the moral
perceptions, so that the wrongdoer does not realize the enormity of
transgression, and without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he
remains in partial blindness to his sin. It is the duty of Christ’s servants
to show these erring ones their peril. Those who destroy the effect
of the warning by blinding the eyes of sinners to the real character
and results of sin often flatter themselves that they thus give evidence
of their charity; but they are working directly to oppose and hinder
the work of God’s Holy Spirit; they are lulling the sinner to rest on
the brink of destruction; they are making themselves partakers in his
guilt and incurring a fearful responsibility for his impenitence. Many,
many, have gone down to ruin as the result of this false and deceptive
sympathy.
Nadab and Abihu would never have committed that fatal sin had
they not first become partially intoxicated by the free use of wine.
They understood that the most careful and solemn preparation was
necessary before presenting themselves in the sanctuary, where the
divine Presence was manifested; but by intemperance they were dis-
qualified for their holy office. Their minds became confused and their
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moral perceptions dulled so that they could not discern the difference