Presumption

“When the cat’s away…”

Remember that old adage?

Exodus 24 is a short chapter and seemingly not terribly significant considering all the tremendous events that take place around it. Huddled between the giving of the Ten Commandments and the description of how the Tabernacle was to be built and furnished, Exodus 24 feels like one of those comic relief moments that break the tension in a book or movie.

Except that it’s not funny.

It’s a little sad actually. The chapter begins with God instructing Moses to come up the mountain. He is to take Aaron, seventy of the elders of Israel and two priests, Nadab and Abihu, to the foot of Sinai with him. They must stay at the bottom while Moses goes up to talk to the Lord. The people are to stay back.

“When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has says we will do.’” (24:3, NIV).

The next morning Moses offers sacrifices to the Lord and read the record of the covenant that God had made with His people. Once again, the people said: “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” (24:7, NIV).

Then a curious thing happens; Moses take the seventy elders, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and “went up and saw the God of Israel…” (24:10, NIV). We aren’t told how close they came, but it was close enough to see what God chose to reveal of Himself, but not close enough to be in breach of the instructions that God had originally given to Moses.

Shortly after this encounter, Moses was instructed to go higher. He disappeared into the cloud that cover the summit of Sinai and stayed there for forty days and forty nights (24:13-18).

Aaron had seen God, but it would be Aaron who facilitated the Hebrews' slide into idolatry around the base of the Gold Calf while Moses lingered on the mountain. Nadab and Abihu saw God, but it would be these two men who offered to God what had been strictly prohibited (Leviticus 10:1; Numbers 3:4). They died as a consequence.

But they saw God!

The story reminded me of an incident in the first church I served in after I graduated from Seminary. Several key couples who were committed to God and His service, who could be characterized as having “seen God,” wanted more. Wanting more of God actually led them into sins that eventually set the stage for the destruction of the church.

It sounds incredible but the Biblical record shows us that Aaron, Nadab and Abihu did the same thing. They had seen God. Did they think that somehow that put them above the law, beyond the reach of God, capable of making their own rules? I don't know. But the story is a warning against presumption, against pride, against the lie of spiritual superiority.

There  is nothing wrong with wanting more of God. In fact, that desire is to be commended. But the warning against spiritual pride and where it can lead is a solemn warning indeed.