Kitchen Fire Is Not For The Holy Altars

False Fire

A growing number of television preachers are resorting to the most inane tactics to raise money. A popular trend this year is the “Day of Atonement Offering”—in which Old Testament scriptures are strained to the breaking point to make a case for buying special blessings from God. Thanks to this “revelation,” you can click on a Web site icon and give your Day of Atonement Offering to win divine favor. And of course every dime of that money goes to an evangelist who uses it to purchase private Jets, houses, cars, plastic surgeries and more airtime so they can spread this nonsense to more naïve people.

Many who claim to be voices for God today are on dangerous ground. We don’t talk much today about Nadab and Abihu. They were obscure Bible characters who failed miserably. Certainly their tragic story doesn’t work well as an illustration in the typical seeker-friendly sermon about wealth or success. So we tend to ignore these guys, even though they are mentioned in the Old Testament nine times.

Both sons of Aaron the priest, Nadab and Abihu were suddenly struck dead in the tabernacle because they offered “strange fire” (Lev. 10:1 NASB). We aren’t told exactly what they did wrong—that is left to our imagination. Perhaps they were drunk on wine and got lazy and used fire from the kitchen to light the holy altars of the Lord. All we know is that they did not follow God’s specific instructions when offering incense. They were careless with His glory. Their mistake proved to be fatal...

 

So what exactly is an "altar?"