1 Chronicles 24 generally goes through how priestly duties were divided amongst the sons of Aaron. When reading the bible, I must admit that I tend to skip such passages listing the names of workers of God, and so this time, I decided to do a little more research into several areas. After all, these things were included in God’s word not just for the Israelites to track down their various family trees, but also for Abraham’s seed (aka us!) to learn about serving Him today.
The gift of prayer
If we take a closer look at verse 2, we see that Nadab and Abihu had actually died before Aaron did. At a closer inspection, we see a recording of the actual event in Leviticus 10:1-6, where Nadab and Abihu “offered profane fire before the LORD”. As such, God punished them, and “so fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:2) This incense was meant to be an incense before the LORD throughout the generations of Israel (Exodus 30), and the incense offered on it was consecrated to the LORD. No copy of the same perfume was to be made by the people, making it a holy scent associated with God’s tabernacle.
From here, we can see why offering incense with a profane fire would anger God. As Aaron’s sons and as priests, Nadab and Abihu were supposed to have known their priestly duties were sacred and not to be taken lightly. To be able to serve God was not only their birthright, but also a grace given to them.
Attitude in prayer and service
Today, do we also take this grace of being able to serve lightly? In Revelations 8:4, the smoke of the incense was mingled with prayers of the saints, ascending to heaven together. This incense of the past, which was offered both in the morning and the evening, is similar to our prayers today. What is our attitude towards prayer? Is it simply a habit, or a constant reminder of God’s presence in our lives? God gave the people a special incense to burn such that they would be perpetually reminded of His presence and holiness. Being able to talk to God is a special gift he gives us, to include His presence daily in our lives, and every prayer is an offering we make to Him.
God takes our service towards Him seriously. However, do we treat the grace He has given us, even in the simple action of prayer, with the correct attitude?
