Shmini “Eighth”
Leviticus 9:1-11:47
2 Samuel 6:1-7:17
Psalm 128
John 13:1-38
The Shmini, or Eighth Day, is understood to have occurred on the 1st day of Nisan, only two weeks before Passover.
Sacrifices have been offered for Aharon and his sons so that they could in turn offer sacrifices for the people. It is thought that the Mishkan was assembled, disassembled, then re-assembled each day of the seven days of the week of consecration. They practiced, practiced, and Moses instructed, instructed, to ensure that these “dry runs” were proper preparation for the moment the Presence would descend on the Eighth Day.
The question of millennia is “What went wrong here?” From the greatest height of the Divine Presence and supernatural fire on the altar, Nadav and Avihu are supernaturally burned by the Presence. In fact, the wording is identical:
“Then fire went out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward.” (Le 9:24)
וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וַתֹּאכַל עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּח אֶת־הָעֹלָה וְאֶת־הַחֲלָבִים וַיַּרְא כָּל־הָעָם וַיָּרֹנּו
וַֽיִּפְּלוּעַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם
And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. (Le 10:2)
וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם וַיָּמֻתוּלִפְנֵי יְהוָֽה
In the first consuming fire, it was the olah, or whole burnt offering, that was consumed completely. In the second “bite,” Nadav and Avihu became the olah. Their bodies were intact, yet their souls were purged from them completely.
The two most obvious explanations from context relate to
1. Disrespect to Adonai, Moses, and Aaron
2. Intoxication in the sanctuary causes death (10:8)
There are different ideas on what kind of dishonor equated to “strange fire.” Don’t count these out until you hear the Shabbat live stream! They will reappear in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation.
3. One midrash says that “They failed to pour water over their hands and feet prior to entering the Mishkan.”
4. They did not consult Moses or their father Aaron in their application of the mitzvah (Le 1:7) “The sons of Aaron shall put fire on the altar...”
5. They went beyond the Holy Place and entered the Holy of Holies to offer the incense there, a place only to be entered by the Cohen HaGadol.
Perhaps it was a combination of errors. Accidents are rarely one oversight, but a series of oversights leading to a catastrophic event.
If any or all of these are true, then they all grew out of dishonor to Moses their teacher and Aaron their father, a desire to take the honor of the service for themselves instead of YHVH. The service had not even been performed yet by Aaron as practiced and instructed. If they were intoxicated, as the text also suggests (10:8), then they were drunk driving through the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
This might explain their disrespect for the instructions they’d received. Wine blurs the line. They’d already blurred it when they “ate and drank and gazed” at the Holy One on Mount Sinai, Who nevertheless did not consume them. Perhaps they thought to penetrate beyond the “veil” that separated them, desiring to go beyond the veil like their teacher Moses on Mt. Sinai or behind the veil of the Holy of Holies like their father Aaron.
The letter to the Hebrews, which focuses on the priestly service, especially Yom HaKippurim, explains the problem, so perhaps it is no coincidence that Nadav and Avihu will show up again soon in the Torah portion Acharei Mot, which explains their death in the context of Yom HaKippurim:
-
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is clothed in weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins for himself, as well as for the people. And no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was. So too Christ did not glorify Himself in becoming a high priest, but it was He who said to Him,“YOU ARE MY SON,TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU”; (He 5:1-5)
The writer uses a quote that evokes the meaning of Avihu's name: "He is my father." He brings in the context of our Torah portion: the appointment of Aaron at the inauguration of the Mishkan; the sacrifices made for Aaron and his sons before they could make sacrifices for the people; the glory of the Presence as the source of the Divine fire and the holy calling, not any intrinsic glory abiding in Aaron.
This explains what we suspect concerning the "strange fire" of Nadav and Avihu. They usurped the glory of their father Aaron's service and the authority of their teacher Moses, who could not have instructed them to offer the incense ahead of their father, who had not even had a chance to do so yet. How would they have dishonored their teacher Moses? Perhaps misapplying Leviticus 1:7: “The sons of Aaron shall put fire on the altar...” and taking it out of context, then performing an action based on their misinterpration. They conflated the two altars, brazen and gold.
This took place as all Israel watched on the Eighth Day, and it was Israel's first impression of the Divine service. First impressions are lasting impressions, and unless something drastic happened, the nations would always remember the incense service performed in error. What happened next was like the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira is Acts. A new move of the Spirit had begun, and their lie could have been an influencing factor for the apostles to think grace would override willful sin. First impressions are lasting impressions. How better way to wake up all new believers to the abomination of the lie? The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is a Teacher as well as a Comforter and Helper.
Leviticus 10:9-11 elaborates on the connection:
-
Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you do not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— and to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.
A priest’s words and actions teach and influence. As a royal priesthood, the apostles’ actions and words taught and influenced. Intoxication blurred the line between strange fire, bringing the abomination of pride into the Holy Place, and Holy Fire of acceptance because of obedience to the call of the High Priesthood.
Likewise, Ananias and Sapphira introduced an abomination into the holy fire resting on the apostles in Acts. The Holy Place is no place to introduce things that Moses, Yeshua, or the Ruach HaKodesh never taught. Just as Moses prophesied that the Israelites would one day serve strange gods that neither they nor their fathers had known, gods they had never been taught to serve, so Nadav and Avihu introduced an interpretation into the commandment that had never been taught them, nor had they practiced.
Remember, the Eighth Day occurred just prior to Passover on Nisan 1, the beginning of the months. A new thing. A new day. A new move of the Ruach HaKodesh when the Divine Glory descended upon Israel. Here is an explanation of how leaven affects flour and water:
-
Matzah, [the unleavened bread of Pesach and the altar sacrifices], includes the very same ingredients as the regular leavened bread: flour and water. In making the Matzah, the mixture of flour and water has to be very rapidly baked, and the outcome is a very thin unleavened bread. For the regular bread, when the mixture of water and flour stays longer than 18 minutes before baking, it undergoes the process of leavening, thus eventually causing the bread to "inflate" and get filled with air bubbles, appearing much thicker than the original ingredients composing it. A true liberated person does not need to rely on a false "thick image" made by bubbles. He should rather stick to the original ingredients of flour and water and bond to his true authentic liberated image, without the need to "hype" it in any way… (Ulpan-Or Newsletter, 4/2/21)
Nadav and Avihu were caught up in the ecstasy of the glory bubbles as they were on Mt. Sinai where they “ate and drank,” and the Holy One did not stretch out His hand against them. This time, they went too far. They pierced a veil without authorization, seeking the glory of the service for themselves. The tragedy is followed by instructions to Aaron, Eleazar, and Itamar to eat the unleavened bread near the altar. (Le 10:12-13) This is where Nadav and Avihu seemed to have begun their misinterpretation of the incense service.
Nadav and Avihu are replaced by their brother Eleazar, “God helped.” Indeed the Ruach HaKodesh is a Helper to those who mourn. Sometimes, in our ecstasy in the Word or ministry, we overstep our boundary. We want to be someone whom we’re not yet called or chosen or promoted to be…yet. It doesn’t mean that we will never attain that level of service, but that we must seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, and THEN all things will be added in our Father’s time. His time. Then we can can say, “He is my Father.” Then He can say, "Today I have fathered you." It doesn't make sense to father ourselves.
We don’t need to project an image to others that says we know more Hebrew than we do, that we are more expert in Scriptures than we are, that we are called to lead before we serve our Teacher, Father, and one another, or that we contribute more to the Kingdom than we do. If we have a ministry, we don't need to convince others that ours is better or deserves more attention. Truly, the Ruach HaKodesh will direct and guide those who need to partner with us. In the Kingdom, our Teacher and Father will validate our assignments, and if more believers can benefit from what we do, then Baruch HaShem, we can build on the foundation of faithfulness laid in a time when it seemed few were listening. We were promised a harvest, and a harvest we will have, but until then...
We must pop our own glory bubbles. The matzah reminds us each year of the tragedy of Nadav and Avihu, and how detrimental our self-validating, "self-image" bubbles can be when the Ruach HaKodesh wants to use us in the calling of the Father, not in the calling of our pride. Another Eighth Day and another Acts Two is coming every year.
May all glory and honor go to the Holy One.
And all our bubbles.
***
Want to know the deeper prophecies of Nadav and Avihu? Why did Yeshua wash the disciples' feet? Why did he have to go away to send the Comforter? What did he really mean when he used the phrase "My Father's House"? Find out tomorrow on the YouTube live stream at 4:00 pm. See the Live Stream block below for the link.
