Text: Matthew 6; Leviticus 10

Watchman Nee writes,

“How sobering is the story of Nadab and Abihu! They served as priests, yet not because they were personally right but because they belonged to the family which God had chosen. God had set Aaron to be priest and the anointing oil was poured upon his head. In all matters of service Aaron was the chief; his sons were mere helpers, serving beside the altar in obedience to Aaron. God never meant to let the sons of Aaron serve independently; He placed them under the authority of Aaron. Twelve times Aaron and his sons are mentioned in Leviticus 8. In the next chapter Aaron offered sacrifices, with his sons helping him at his side. If Aaron made no move, his sons also ought not to move. Everything began with Aaron, not with his sons. Were the sons to venture to offer sacrifices by themselves, they would be offering strange fire. This, however, was exactly what Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, did. They thought they could offer sacrifices by themselves and so they offered without Aaron’s order. The meaning of strange fire is to serve without an order, to serve without obedience to authority. They had watched their father offer; to them it was rather simple. And so they assumed that they could do the same thing. Nadab and Abihu only thought of whether or not they were able to do the same. They failed to see who represented God’s authority” (Spiritual Authority, p. 29).

Jesus Christ is the Head of the body, and for you and me, we must operated under His authority and not through our own carnal desires and natural abilities. Pray for a renewed revelation of His authority and for an even greater desire to submit everything to Him.