Tuesday, 13 April 2021

Submission and authority

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We had these verses recently in the Torah reading cycle. Leviticus 10:1-2 "Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, put fire in it, laid incense over it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai--which He had not commanded them. So fire came out from the presence of Adonai and consumed them. So they died before Adonai."

What, for heaven's sake, is "unauthorized fire?" For the last 40 (or more) chapters of Scripture, Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu have faithfully been preparing to minister before the Lord. Where did they make their mistake and what can we learn from it? In Hebrew "strange fire" is Aish Zara. Zur is strange, but it can also be+unauthorized (like the TLV translates it), as in layman fire.

This is the opposite of "Pekudei" (official appointments). Nadab and Abihu were only appointed to serve UNDER their father, Aaron, the high priest. Like kids playing with a new puppy, they thought they could go in at any time (without authority) and minister to the Lord. Their deaths are a lesson to us all.

Please don't miss this. (Most of the Christian world does.) God places leaders under authority. We see this throughout the Bible and especially in the book of Acts. The Apostles didn't just go, they were sent. To be sent, one must be under authority. The centurion understood this, which amazed Yeshua. Matthew 8:9 "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this!' and he does it."

In fact, it goes further than that. To have authority, one must be under authority. While all authority is given by God, (and we are all under God's authority), God also wants us to be relationally connected in real submission one to another. No one, not even Yeshua, is not called to a life of submission.

The power of the cross is based on the greatest act of submission ever. Yeshua submitted to His own crucifixion. Therefore ... Hebrews 12:1bi-2 "Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame; and He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God."