Aaron: Teach Them To Be Holy

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2mnesh

Having a famous father isn’t always the best thing for a son. Many famous athletes, celebrities, politicians and other public figures have seen their children fare far below expectations set before them. It’s tough to live in the shadow of someone famous, successful or popular.

But then that is still no excuse for not doing what is right. A son of an athlete may devote his life to something other than sports, but if he chooses wisely and lives righteously his father would still be proud of him.

Sometimes we see the children of athletes come into the same sport that their fathers played. Some fare well. Others do not.

The children of celebrities are often in the spotlight. Some live right. Others use the attention to show off their rebellion. It’s tough to live in the shadow of a successful father.

In the Old Testament many men stand out as being very successful. Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Job, and the list could go on and on. Another name to add to that list would be Aaron.

He was the brother of Moses and became the spokesperson for God along with Moses. Aaron was the first high priest of Israel and much of the form of worship was set in place while he served in that role. No doubt about it. Aaron was a very successful person.

But he wasn’t perfect. Of course, none of us are perfect. But at least our sins and mistakes are not recorded in the Bible for everyone to read!

Perhaps the most glaring mistake of Aaron’s life was his supervision over the making of the golden calf that the Israelites wanted to have as an idol to worship. This story unfolds in Exodus 32. Moses is on the mountain receiving the commandments from God and the people become restless. They said to Aaron, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Exodus 32:1)

Instead of being strong and rebuking the people, Aaron began to give orders and organize for the manufacturing of this idol. Apparently forgetting everything that God had done, Aaron beheld the new idol and said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4)

God then informs Moses of this action and sends him down to the people to confront them. Aaron was supposed to have kept the people in place. But he had failed.

Verse 25 tells us that “Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies.” This shortcoming of Aaron, the inability to stand firm when it comes to being faithful to God, apparently affected other parts of his life as well.

Consider the sons of Aaron. He had four in total, but mostly we know only of Nadab and Abihu. The other two are Eleazar and Ithamar.

All of his sons served with Aaron as priests, a very revered position among the people. But Nadab and Abihu did not discharge their duties in a way that was pleasing to God. Because of their actions, God consumed them with fire. As we review this account, please consider what effect the inconsistent faith of Aaron may have had on the actions of these two sons. This reading is from Leviticus 10:1-3.

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me

I must be regarded as holy;

And before all the people

I must be glorified.’”

So Aaron held his peace.

What a tragic loss! Aaron had made many mistakes in his life. One mistake cost him his entry to the Promised Land. But this mistake by his two sons cost them their lives immediately. Perhaps if Aaron had led a more consistent life for God his sons would have learned to respect everything God commanded.

Friends, God must be respected. God must be glorified and regarded as holy. Should we ever fail to retain these facts our lives may also end in tragedy.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we be diligent students of God’s word and may we apply everything He says to our lives today. May we also accept and complete the responsibility to teach our children to respect, glorify and regard God as holy.

Our thought for the day: “A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.” (Proverbs 10:1)

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.