strange fires

Zack: My interpretation of the word “temple” had always been “a very magnificent building in which people went to pray to God.” I held that view until I came across the scripture in God’s Word that said that God does not dwell in temples made with human hands (Acts 7:48, 17:24). That was an eye-opener; then I knew there was another kind of temple; one built not by hands of men, but by hands of God (Gen 1:27, Gen 2:21-22).

“After those days… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” (Jer 31:33-34.) When we invite Jesus Christ to come dwell in our hearts, we become that new temple. The temple of the living God. In God’s planning, every minute detail is as important as it is intricate. In retrospect, in the Old Testament paradigm which we were given, God gave Moses a detailed set of instructions for building His temple, which, because the Israelites were still in transit from Egypt to Israel, was mobile. (Exodus 25, 26, & 27). Very notable is the fact that everything used was the best of the best. Every instruction for the building of the temple had to be followed to the letter. Perhaps more notable was the fact that God commanded His people at the time to, once the lamplights of the temple were set on, keep them burning always. (Exodus. 27:20.)

In our day when we are the living temples of God, it’s God Himself that sets that fire in His temple (our bodies) with His Spirit. Again as in the Old Testament paradigm, we shouldn’t let this fire go out. That is our primal responsibility…to keep this fire burning. Exodus 30:8-9 show us God’s commandment to Moses to keep this fire burning and not offer any other incense of it, except that which was commanded, for our praise is as incense to God.

Shiran: Very true! Jesus said we are the light of the world, as a city on a hill, which cannot be hidden. We are candles, which people light and put on candlesticks, that they may give light to the house. (Matt 5:14-15). Jesus also said He is the Light of the world. That might seem confusing until one reads Genesis 1:16 (brackets added): “And God made two great lights; the greater light [sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [moon] to rule the night…” Christ is the Greater Light. We are the lesser lights, and just like the moon, we are supposed to reflect Christ’s light in this dark world.

After the temple was built, God instructed Moses to appoint as priests the tribe of Levi. Moses’ brother Aaron and his four sons, Moses’ nephews Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were selected for this office. The priests were to offer sacrifices to God for the people’s sins. These were known as atonement offerings. They were also to offer thanksgiving sacrifices and wave-offerings, among other sacrificial duties. They performed certain medicinal duties such as testing people for leprosy. Each sacrifice had specific instructions for the way it was to be carried out.

Zack: Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before God in his temple. When they did, they were consumed by fire from the presence of God. (Lev. 10:1-2.) They henceforth serve as examples to us - as temples of living God, we, too, should be very careful not to bring strange fires into God’s house.

Shiran: Still during this sojourn in the wilderness, Moses sent twelve men to go and search the land of Canaan, and see what lay in store for the Israelites when they got there. (Numbers 13). The men went and searched out the land, and ten came back very discouraged. They felt they were unable to conquer it. It was, as God had promised, a land of milk and honey. They even brought back samples – grapes, pomegranates and figs, how delicious!

“Nevertheless,” these men said, “the people be strong that dwell in that land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.” (Num 13:27-29)

Stop!

Who? The children of Anak, the Amale-what? The Jebu-who?

Anak was a giant. His descendants, also known as the sons of the Anakims (Deut 1:28), or the children of the Anakims (Deut 9:2). So if Anak was a giant, his descendants probably were, too. This frightened the men.

Amalek was Esau’s grandson (Genesis 36:12). According to Bible Topics, the Amalekites were a wicked, oppressive, warlike and cruel people, as demonstrated throughout the Bible. God ordered king Saul to utterly destroy the entire people of Amalek (1 Samuel 15:18).

The Jebusites, descendants of Noah’s son Ham (Genesis 10:6, Genesis 10:15-16), were a Canaanite people who lived in and around the area called Jebus, which king David later conquered by miraculous means, and renamed Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 5:6-7).

The Amorites were also descendants of Ham (Gen 10:6,15-16). Bible Topics uses scripture references to describe them as of gigantic strength and stature, with many strong cities. They were profane and wicked and idolatrous. The LORD “destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath (Amos 2:9).”

Shiran: Anyway… Ten men came back discouraged. How about the remaining two?

Zack: Two of these men, Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, had faith in their God when they said unto the children of Israel, “…The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land…” (Num. 14:7-8.) Their ten contemporaries had brought back a very negative and greatly disheartening report. A report of fear, a report of doubt. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of love, a spirit of power and a spirit of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7.) Fear and doubt to us, children of God living under the new and everlasting covenant are a sin, a strange fire in God’s temple. God still hates the strange fires. We should be careful what we set up in God’s temple. The two sons of Aaron and the ten contemporaries of Caleb and Joshua weren’t so lucky; their judgement was as sudden as was God’s fury at their disrespect for what He has set aside as holy unto Himself. The latter [ten contemporaries] didn’t make it into God’s promised land. You and I are still under the mercy of God, we can still change…will you be of the mindset of the sons of Nun and Jephunneh or will you continue to fear the sons of Ala’k?

Shiran: Like David slew Goliath, so can we, with God on our side, overcome any mountain, any giant, that tries to intimidate us. Fear and doubt must be overcome by faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 12:3 says that God hath dealt to every man a measure of faith. That means you have faith. With each miracle, faith increases. I echo Zack’s question: will you be of the mindset of the sons of Nun and Jephunneh, or will you fear the sons of Anak?