The lure of the train whistle was just too much for us 2nd & 3rd graders. Four of us partners in crime began to leave school grounds; we all decided that it would be great to head down to the railroad tracks and watch the train go by. The highway overpass over the tracks was only 3 or 4 blocks from the school. We arrived just in time to slide down the embankment to see the train go by. Just as it arrived, we looked up to see our teacher’s car pulling off the highway on to the shoulder above. She was livid. “You boys have disobeyed the rule that you must go straight home from school!” Loading us all up in her car, she took us back to the classroom and began to administer the ‘board of education’. I think she had determined beforehand that she would spank us until we cried. She began with the youngest first. He was wailing before she even picked up the board. He received one swat. She saved me for last. To this day I am not sure why. But I was convinced that this was unjust. I didn’t know anything about going straight home. I was not going to cry! Not a wise decision. The board of education met me 13 times before she gave up. I was still convinced the penalty was unjust.
Kids usually never understand rules that are created for their benefit. When she happened to see us heading toward the railroad tracks instead of home, she probably had many images of news articles about boys who were killed or severely disabled because they were playing on the tracks. The penalty she administered had nothing to do with justice; it had everything to do with discipline to teach us to play safely. To this day she remains my favorite teacher. Why? Because I knew she loved us. As an adult, I see that love even more clearly now. Boy, she was strict, but it was strictness born out of love.
Boy, does God seem strict here. He struck Nadab an Abihu dead for offering ‘profane’ fire. Why is He so upset? Get the context. On the previous day, the glory of God had descended upon the tabernacle creating a wonderful experience for the people of Israel. I am convinced that they wanted to experience it again. What is ‘profane’ fire? God had given a specific recipe for incense for the priests to use only in the daily worship. No other recipe could be used. They used a different recipe for incense. Why? They probably thought that they could spice it up a little. They probably thought they had something to add. They probably had seen and smelled this particular incense used in worship in Egypt, and thought it was great. Essentially by offering profane fire, they were saying that they had something to improve the worship of the Most Holy God.
That is a very dangerous playground. You can go there and not get hurt, but it is unlikely. God’s penalty is a penalty born out of love. We need to learn how treat Him as Holy. It is imperative that we learn to treat Him as holy. But death? Well, He is also the author of life. He is able to resurrect them at any time. He probably will resurrect them. Death has no ultimate victory or sting. We needed to learn the lesson from their death about the priority of treating God as holy. I like J. Vernon McGee’s comments on this:
If God struck today as He struck Nadab and Abihu, I think half the church members would be dead.The liberals would be struck for denying the deity of Christ and the forgiveness of His sacrifice for us. Many fundamental church members would be struck down like Ananias and Sapphira for their hypocrisy, their lying to the Holy Spirit. God is dealing in mercy today, giving time for repentance and for men to come to the knowledge of the truth. Otherwise many people would be struck dead.
There is a wonderful lesson for you and for me. When we come to God, we must come on His terms. This is not an arrangement which we can make. We are not making the rules. God is the One who saves and He is the One who says how we shall be saved. Jesus Christ says that no man comes to the Father but by Him.
Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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[1]McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. Le 10:20
Luke 9:18-36
We were quite a distance away, and the deer were standing stone still. From our car they looked like statues. We were on the grounds of Woolaroc Museum, the former estate of Frank Philips, founder of Philips 66. Others insisted that they were statues. I insisted they were alive. "How do you know they are alive?" they asked.
"The deer flick their tails every once in a while," was my reply.
"We are too far away to see its tail flick," they insisted.
"It is flicking its tail. There it just did it again," I said. I really could see it flicking its tail when no one else could see it.
"No, they are just statues. Let's drive on." As we started to drive away, the deer decided it was time to move on and they walked off.
Of course, "I told you so," slipped out of my mouth.
The glory of God is so immense that when we get far enough away to be able to see the whole, we cannot see the detail. In the awesome splendor of the whole, He looks like a statue. In today's passage we get a glimpse at the whole. Peter rightly has seen the revelation from heaven that Jesus is the Christ of God. Jesus immediately begins warning about the crucifixion and our responsibility to join Him on the cross. Then He gives the promise of seeing Him in His glory. Peter, James and John accompany Him to the mountain where He is transfigured before their eyes into the glory that He will have in the kingdom. What an awesome sight that must have been! We all long to see such a sight. Then the voice of the Father boomed out of Heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son. Hear Him!"
What we often miss when we view the glory of Jesus is that this is a living breathing process. It is not a statue captured in time at a museum for us to behold. Part of the glory is that we are called to share in His glory. Imagine that! We are called to share in His glory! But it is a living breathing process. As the glory of Jesus is unwrapped, if we look closely at the detail we see the flickering of His suffering as He marched toward the cross. Without a cross there is no glory for us. He had to go to the cross in order to redeem us. It was a living breathing process that was full of fun, enjoyment, pain and suffering but in the end, glory. If we are to share in His glory, then we will take up the same cross. It is a living breathing process that is full of fun, enjoyment, pain and suffering but in the end, glory. The suffering proves that we are alive and not statues on God's lawn. The suffering is a flicking of a tail. Are we willing to lay down our rights for others to follow Him on the cross. That is a hard question. He was willing. He did it for us. It is hard to see from a distance. But He did it. So also, can we. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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