Why this story matters

(commentary on Leviticus 9-10)

(Page 4 of 5)

The sin was strange fire

While a decent case can be made for each of the above sins, other verses in the Bible point clearly to unauthorized fire. The incident is mentioned a couple of other times. Numbers 3:4 states: “Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai.” And again, later on in Numbers we are told, “But Nadab and Abihu died when they made an offering before the LORD with unauthorized fire” (26:61). No other sins are even mentioned here. So, despite the efforts of apologists to multiply the boys' sins, I think we can say that the most significant transgression, and possibly the only one, was unauthorized fire.

What exactly was this unauthorized fire? Coals for worship were supposed to come exclusively from the sacrificial altar. It is assumed that Nadab and Abihu used coals from elsewhere. Smith’s Bible Dictionary says: “Fire for sacred purposes obtained elsewhere than from the altar was called "strange fire," and for the use of such Nadab and Abihu were punished with death by fire from God.” Holman’s Bible Dictionary says, “If fire was used for sacred purposes and obtained other than from the altar, it was called “strange fire” for which use Nadab and Abihu, two sons of Aaron, were punished immediately by divine execution."

Nadab, Abihu, and Christian rock (no I’m not kidding)

While the specific sin may have been offering unauthorized fire, many preachers extrapolate from this story a more general sin that they argue is still very important today. According to this theory, worshiping Yahweh in any way that isn’t specifically sanctioned in the Bible is a serious sin. To back up this claim, they point to the story of Nadab and Abihu emphasizing  the verse that says they, “offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command.” Some preachers, particularly in the United States, use the death of Nadab and Abihu to claim that certain types of modern worship are unacceptable to Yahweh because they have not been authorized. Not surprisingly, one of the most offensive of these is Christian rock music.

Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D. of the First Baptist Church of Oak Creek, Wisconsin wrote an article about the connection between Nadab, Abihu and Christian rock that exemplifies this kind of thinking. Quoting from the book America, the Sorcerers New Apprentice, by popular evangelical writers Dave Hunt and Thomas McMahon, Brown notes that “‘Traditional drumming and dancing techniques are designed to achieve the Shamanic State of Consciousness.’  You see, the beat ‘is a vehicle for demon infestation." He then explains that it all got started during an Expo '72 Christian rock concert in Texas. Pastor Brown laments, “They had taken 'strange fire' from the pagan altar and offered it to God." Considering how popular Christian rock music is, there must be millions of Christian teens and adults in America who daily absorb the beat of the drums and invite this vehicle of demon infestation into their lives. There must be millions of Christians infested with demons all across America. What a shame.

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