Communion 10.17.25
DRAW NEAR

Perhaps one of the starkest and saddest reminders of the holiness of God
and how that collides with the sinfulness of man is the tragic story of Nadab
and Abihu.
These were Moses nephews - sons of Aaron, Moses brother. Under the
Covenant God made with Israel -Aaron and His sons were to be priests who
were to offer sacrifices in the room in the tabernacle where God’s very
presence dwelt – clled the Holy of Holies - according to God’s clear
commands and regulations. They were told specifically when and how to
enter God’s presence in the sealed center of the tabernacle where God
presence dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant.
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But Aarons two sons – perhaps in the excitement of this new role, perhaps
in foolish disregard - come before the presence of the Lord and offer a
sacrifice according on a day they choose and in a way they choose - wuhout
reagrd to God’s commands.
Leviticus 10 says this:
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective
firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and
offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded
them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and
consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying,
‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy,
In the sight of all the people I will be honored ...’”
God’s holiness is not a thing to be trifled with. And everywhere in Scripture,
we see over and over that we can only approach God, have relationship
with God, and be acceptable to God on His terms and not ours.

Our world is full of arrogant and empty attempts that suppose we can relate
to God how we want. This invariably means we turn Him into something He
is not.
In many churches “God is love” has come to mean, God is always nice.
And that's all he asks of you: be nice. We can live how we choose, define
sexulity and men and women how we choose and God, whoever He or She
is, will be fine - as long as we’re nice. The Great Commandment of this God
is “Cursed be the person who upsets another with the truth. You shall be
condemned as a Hater and a Phobic.”
In other cases, even churches that would have more conservatuive doctrine,
God is simply about your success, your happiness, your good fortune, and
your health. God is not so much god as a means to your earthly
happniness.
Thne there are many false religions, Islam, Mormonism, and other warped
conceptions of God that will allow you to draw near if you follow certain
rituals or do certain good deeds, commands made by men and/or demons.
In the face of all of these falsehoods, the dead bodies of Aaron’s two sons
warn us: Do not think you can draw near to God on your terms. Do not
think you can create God in Your image and be accepted by Him.
He is God and you are not.
And His holiness – His sacredness – His “other than us” purity - demands
that if we’re going to have a relationship, with Him - He is the One who
must define the terms.
Make no mistake - God wants a relationship with us and has sought
reconciliation with us – but there is throughout the OT this tension – just as
with Moses – wherein God draws near, but in another He says, “do not
come any closer, lest you be destroyed iun your sin by my holiness”
Do you know what God’s first words are to Moses - even as God comes to
find Moses, even as He draws near to Moses, God says, “Moses, Moses...
do not come any closer. The place you are standing on is holy ground”

Moses could not come to close– for God’s holiness would consumes him in
his sin.
And even where He stood, God tells Him to take off His shoes.
Why? Moses had no right to protect His feet from the filth of the ground – for
God’s presence had made it holy.
You see, in God’s presence, Moses didn’t need to protect himself from
defilement.
And neither do we.
In God’s presence it is we - apart from Christ - who are the ones who bring
defilement. We are the one’s who cannot come just as we are.
He is holy and we – in our selfishness and unfaithfulness and many sins -
are not holy as the Lord.
Habakkuk says in His complaint “But you are pure and cannot stand the
sight of evil.”
This is what Nadab and Abihu found out.
Sometimes after those two brothers were killed by God we read this:
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron,
when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to
Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy
Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that
he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy
seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place.”
And then the Lord reveals to Moses that only once a year, on one day, for a
short time, could one man - the Great High Priest — come into the holy of
Holies where God’s presence dwelt above the Ark.

There, on this special day, after washing and dressing himself exactly as
God had commanded and after performing specific sacrifices and rituals, He
would come in with incense smoke that would obscure the sight of God’s
glory. And He would offer blood the blood sacrifice for the sins of the whole
nation.
The other 364 days of the year the priest could well understand God to be
saying “Do not come near... because I am holy”.
But today we lift up the bread and juice as symbol of the body and blood of
our Lord as we proclaim His death we proclaim that God no longer says “do
not come near”, He longer says “don’t come any closer!” He no longer says
“Only once a year”, or “only the priests of Israel”...
But now listen to these words in Hebrews 10:
“brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy
Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us
through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere
heart and with the full assurance that faith brings”
Now God says to all of us: draw near. All the time. Each moment. Draw
near. Not to a temple made with hands, but through the Holy Spirit – to the
real temple in heavenly places in which we dwell and meet God spirit to
spirit.
What has happened?
The Lamb of God has been slain.
His blood poured out for all your sins.
Remember those beautiful words of Heb 10:
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties;
again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice

for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time
he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one
sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
You will have committed many sins that should keep you from God. You
have many sins in your life you still battle. His sacrifice is well sufficient to
cover them all. And His sacrifice does cover them all. With regard to your
sin debt before God – you are perfect.
If you are a Christian - if you have come to the place in your life where you
have truly acknowledged your sin before God and asked for His forgiveness
through Christ, and are depending on Him to save you...
You are holy now.
You are holy.
I am not saying. God’s Word says it.
Co3” 3:15
“As those chosen of God, HOLY, and dearly loved...”
That is you.
Holy one.
This is the common name for believers in the NT. Holy Ones. We say
“saints,” but the Greek word is the same as Holy. Hagios.
You are holy now, and God has called you to walk in holiness.
He wants your life outside to reflect your true identity inside.
This is a high calling and often and very difficult calling. And you need His
grace and mercy always.
But He has slain His Son for you for that very reason

And so He says...
Draw near. Draw near. Anytime, Any moment. Draw near.
This is why we hear these words from Heb 4 :
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into
heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we
profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize
with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.
There is much help you often need to walk with God.
There is much temptation. He has great compassion for your struggle
There is much failure, but He has great mercy for it.
None of it makes you unholy because Jesus has finished paying the price
for it all. Your holiness is in Him as your covering and it doesn’t go away
when you fail.
Because Jesus has taken upon Himself the judgment you deserve, you are
only an object of God’s mercy and compassion: As James says, “where sin
abounds, grace abounds all the more”.
And so He says, draw near for grace...
Grace to forgive you. Grace to clean you. Grace to help you get up and
walk towards Him again.