Leviticus chapter 10 is shocking to say the least. At first glance it seems as if God is unjust by killing Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. If we are not careful, our emotions will get the best of us and we will miss an important lesson on intent.

Nadab and Abihu each took his censor put fire on it, added incense upon it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded (Lev. 10:1). So fire went out from the Lord and killed them (Lev. 10:2). Did the Lord kill Aaron’s two sons because they were ignorant? Or is there something deeper at work?

Nadab and Abihu’s actions were wrong. First, they were the wrong people to be handling incense, Aaron was supposed to do that (Ex. 30:7-10). They used the incorrect instruments too, for it was supposed to Aaron’s incense burner which had to be consecrated (Ex. 40:9). Next, it wasn’t the right time to be offering incense, for that was to be done on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:1). Furthermore, the Lord had not commanded they offer incense (Lev. 10:1). Then Aaron’s two sons used the wrong kind of fire, perhaps using coals from someplace other than the Brazen Altar. It is possible that Nadab and Abihu may have been under the influence of alcohol, since the Lord commanded Aaron, “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die” (Lev. 10:8-9). Nadab and Abihu weren’t acting out of naivety. Their intent wasn’t one of ignorance, it was blatant disobedience.

Later in the chapter, after Aaron’s sons were killed, we read of Aaron, Mishael, and Elzaphan (Aaron’s cousins) not eating the sacrifice from the sin offering. Moses found the carcass of the goat burning on altar. Moses was outraged, considering that Aaron’s sons had just been killed for disobedience. But the men were cautious about following the instructions of Moses to the letter. They were supposed to eat some of the sin offering and burn the rest. They chose, however, to willingly give up some of their privileges out of respect to Aaron and the Lord. Nadab and Abihu had overstepped their boundaries. Aaron, Mishael, and Elzaphan decided to forgo their privileges out of reverence to the Lord (Lev. 10:16-20).

Beloved, intent is a matter of the heart. The writer of Hebrews says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Is your intent to gratify the lusts of the flesh? Or is your intent to glorify the holiness of God