“When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering. Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony, or else he will die.” (16:11-13)
Sometimes we treat the things of God with such a cavalier attitude. In reality, these things are often life and death. Aaron got up in the morning to go to work (as the High Priest) knowing that the work that he did in the temple was life or death. First, it was life or death for the people of Israel. An entire nation was counting on him to do the right thing the right way because he stood between them and the Lord and he offered sacrifices to atone for the sins of the entire nation. Can you imagine the pressure that must have created? He had to do things right for the glory of God and for all those who counted on him. Who is counting on you to be the man or woman that you are supposed to be?
Additionally, this was also life or death for Aaron himself. He knew that every time he went into the Holy of Holies he was taking his life in his hands. He had already watched two of his sons destroyed because they treated the holy things of God in a cavalier fashion. (See Lev. 10:1-3) They had lit “strange fire” and offered incense in a way that seemed best to them but was not prescribed by the Lord. Aaron had learned the hard way that doing things “your own way” is costly and it is best to do the right thing at the right time in God’s way. Many of us live in a world where the end justifies the means, but that is not a biblical principle. God cares about the “end” and the “means” and has a plan for both. God’s work matters, and His glory and holiness matter. We only honor Him when we take these things seriously.
