And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense thereon, and offered unholy fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
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Bede
AD 735
This is not far from being a sign of our unhappy time, in which some who have attained positions as priests and teachers—merely to mention it is both distressing and sad enough—are consumed by the fire of heavenly vengeance because they prefer the fire of cupidity to the fire of heavenly love. Their eternal damnation was prefigured by the temporal death of Aaron’s sons.
The same penalty awaits those who bring strange water to a false baptism. The censure and vengeance of God overtakes heretics who do, against the church, what only the church is allowed to do.
The sons of Aaron also, who set upon the altar a strange fire not commanded by the Lord, were at once blotted out in the sight of the avenging Lord. These examples, you will see, are being followed wherever the tradition which comes from God is despised by lovers of strange doctrine and replaced by teaching of merely human authority. –.
The eldest sons, as they are mentioned first, Exodus vi. 23.
Censers. On the same evening of their consecration.
Fire. Not taken from the altar of holocausts, chap. vi. 9. Whether they neglected to do so out of respect for the miraculous fire, or out of thoughtlessness and inattention, their fault was severely punished, however venial in itself; (Tirinus) that all might learn to comply exactly with God's commands, and not dare to explain them away. Thus we must carefully avoid the mixing of falsehood with the word of God. (Theod., q. 9.) (Worthington)
Those in power, like priests, if they be negligent, shall suffer great torments, Wisdom vi. 7. They must expect to be treated with rigour. (St. Augustine, q. 21.) Estius infers, from the command to abstain from wine being given, (ver. 8,) that these priests had been rather intoxicated. Josephus says, they had not offered proper victims; and the Rabbins assert, that they were not clothed with the sacred garments: but the Scripture only ...
