Discerning Between Holy and Unholy # 1

Discerning Between Holy and Unholy # 1

Brethren, do we discern the difference between the holy things of God and those things that are unholy? This is a great matter before God. Consider that three times in the Old Testament God expressed great concern that His priest distinguish between the holy and the unholy.

"Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, not your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the clean and the useless, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses" (Lev. 10:8-11).

"Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean;and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths,so that I am profaned among them" (Ez. 22:26).

"No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court ... and they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ez. 44:21-23).

The first passage quoted above is from a portion of the law, where God gave instructions concerning the offerings and the service of the priesthood unto Him.

The second passage was written by Ezekiel while he is in exile in Babylon. Here God expresses one of the reasons for His judgment upon Judah that led to the fall of Jerusalem and the exile. The practise of the priests, in not distinguishing between the holy and the unholy, led to a shocking and unbelievable result - God Himself was profaned (made to appear unholy) among them. What could be more serious than this - the person of God being debased?

The third passage looks forward to a future temple in Israel, probably in the millennium.

Let us see what we might learn from these potent passages, including their application to us as New Testament believers.

A graphic Lesson From Leviticus Chapter Ten

The instructions for the priesthood noted in the first passage above were preceded by, and precipitated by, the dramatic story of God's judgment upon Nadab and Abihu. We see below how the story and the instructions are tied together.

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So,fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying: "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified."

So Aaron held his peace. Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp". So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, "Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you." And they did according to the word of Moses.

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a stature forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the unclean and the clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." (Lev. 10:1-11).

It seems evident that Nadab and Abihu offered something unholy to a holy God - the profane fire. Because of that failure, the Lord set up a statute for the priests that they should not drink wine when they entered the tabernacle,so that they would have discernment while serving God. This discernment was to be between the holy things and the unholy, and also between the clean and unclean. The reference to holy and unholy things referred to the service in the tabernacle covered in Lev. 1:9, whereas the clean and the unclean referred to the instructions about personal cleanliness given in Lev. 11:15. Some Bible teachers feel there is a strong indication here that Nadab and Abihu were probably drunk when they offered the profane fire. I concur with this thought.

Just prior to Nadab's and Abihu's failure, fire had come out from God to consume the burnt offering on the altar (Lev. 9:24). That act of God with fire was a statement of His acceptance of the offering. The instructions concerning the offerings were given to Leviticus chapters one through seven. In chapter eight the priests were ordained and in chapter nine the priests began to offer sacrifices for the people. At this point, the Bible records: "Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar." (Lev. 9:23, 24). God was pleased with the offerings because they were performed in accordance with all that he had prescribed.

The fire from God was still burning on the altar after God consumed the burnt offering because the ordinance was that this fire was not to go out (Lev. 6:13). The fire from God was then available for all future offerings. However, Nadab and Abihu chose to procure fire from another source. This was not in accordance with God's command. "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them." (Lev. 10:1).

All of these details give us some strong indications for understanding the discernment between the holy and the unholy.

The Holy and the Unholy

An object, place, season or person was considered holy in the Old Testament if it was set apart from common use and dedicated to God. The tabernacle and all its furnishings and utensils were considered holy (Numbers 4:4-5). The offerings were holy (Lev. 2:3; 6:25; 7:1). All of the priests were consecrated in holiness (Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9, 30). The Sabbath day was holy (Ex. 20:8).

A key factor, however, was that only those things which God designated to be holy, according to His word, could indeed be holy. The Scripture notes that God commanded the laws of the various offerings (Lev. 9:7, 10, 16). Thus, they were holy, consecrated to God, because God so ordered them. Herein lies the problem with the profane fire offered by Nadah and Abihu. "Then Nadab and Abihu ... offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them." (Lev. 10:1). All of the tabernacle objects and the priests were holy because they were separated unto God in accordance with His command, which reflects His will. God's word, then, proved to be the validation of their holiness.

A second aspect of holiness in the Scriptures, seen especially clearly in the New Testament, has to do with the ethical quality of something, the quality of purity and godliness. As God alone is holy, so His very element must be involved in something in order for that thing to be holy. The items for service in the tabernacle were holy in being set apart for God, but they were also anointed with the anointing oil,symbolizing that God's spirit was upon them, constituting the vital holiness of the object (Lev. 8:10, 30).

In this regard, we should remember that the fire God wanted Nadab and Abihu to use had God as its source. The fire had fallen from God upon the altar in Lev. 9:24). The vital energy of the fire was of God Himself.

~Tom Finley~

(continued with # 2)