Jump Start # 1175

Leviticus 10:3 “Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.’ So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.”

This week in our Jump Starts we are looking at unique phrases in our Bible. There are layers of lessons to be seen in these wonderful expressions. Recently in different programs on TV I have heard Biblical expressions such as, “Can a leopard change it’s spots?” The shows were not religious. These great lines from the Bible are classic and they find their ways into everyday life.

Our verse today comes from one of the tragic pages in the Bible. It is a sad and dark story. Aaron, Moses’ brother, and first high priest of Israel, had two sons that served as priests. In a sacrifice to God they used a different fire, not one that was authorized. The text states that they used “Strange fire,” “which the Lord had not commanded.” Immediately, fire consumed them and they died. They died in punishment from God. This wasn’t a freak accident. God killed them. Their desire to change things resulted in their quick and instant death. It didn’t matter that they were Aaron’s sons. It didn’t matter that they only did this one time. They did not respect God nor His word. They did not treat God as holy. Their death was shocking.

Our verse follows immediately. It is the first thing uttered after their deaths. Moses speaks to his brother. Moses didn’t try to explain away what happened. He didn’t try to soften the damage or the wrong that the two sons did. He reminded Aaron what God had spoken. God will be treated as holy. The two sons didn’t do that.

The expression that is intriguing is “So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.” The King James states this, “And Aaron held his peace.” Aaron didn’t say anything. His sons just died. They died suddenly and very tragically. God was the reason they died. Aaron held his peace. Far too many, maybe even me in that moment, would have said something, anything to God. Some would have shouted in anger at God. Some may have even cursed God. Some may have walked away from God and never returned. Aaron held his peace.

There are some lessons for us.

First, sometimes we talk too much. There are times we ought to hold our peace. There is a time to be silent. Solomon said that in Ecclesiastes. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent. For too many of us, the only time we are silent is when we are asleep. It’s good to hold our peace when someone is pouring their heart out to us. It is important to hold your peace when someone is correcting you. You need to hear what they are saying. There are places that we would do well to hold our peace, such as the funeral home. Some feel compelled to say something and too often it’s the wrong thing. A hug goes a lot further than any of our words will. The Psalmist declared, “Be still and know that I am God.” Some translate that as “Cease striving and know that I am God.” I tend to think it’s more like, “Hush and know that I am God.” We talk so much that we don’t recognize God’s voice. We are surrounded by noise all the time. I was sitting on my deck the other night and the cicadas were preforming a delightful musical score that must have been Heaven sent. I just listened. No cars. No airplanes. No TV. No noise. Just me and God’s musicians. It was very relaxing. Aaron held his peace.

Second, Aaron held his peace because he knew that his sons were wrong. There was no Ferguson riots taking place here. His sons were guilty. No excuses. No justifications. Maybe Aaron felt some of the blame himself. Maybe he hadn’t taught them the way he should have. Maybe he found fault in his own heart. When we defend the guilty, we show disrespect for God and His word. We don’t help people when we stand behind them when they are wrong. No, stand with God. Stand behind God.

Third, Aaron held his peace because he knew you can’t fight God and win. God is right. God is holy. Those that toss the Bible out to defend wrong actions are fighting a losing cause. Sure they may win in the courts and in popular consent, but they will lose with God. You can’t fight God and win. There was nothing to be said. The boys were wrong. God was right. Aaron held his peace.

Fourth, Aaron held his peace because he loved the Lord. The worship of God is to be holy and reverent. It needs to be offered in the deepest respect. A causal, flippant attitude isn’t fitting for God. Aaron knew. He was the first to offer sacrifice to God. He knew how important it was to be clean and to do things in God’s way. The love for the Lord will compel a person to do things God’s way. The religious community has lost that today. Church isn’t church any longer. It’s a school…it’s a place to eat…it’s a place to play sports…it’s a movie night…it’s a comedy club—it’s become many things. And in all that changing, it’s lost the sense of reverence for God and His word. Aaron held his peace. His boys were trying something new. Younger folks are always interested in NEW. New music. New fashions. New looks. New stuff. And in this case, new worship. Different. Strange. Unique. They didn’t get that from a deep study of God’s word. No, it came from somewhere else. That’s where most worship changes come from, not the Bible but from somewhere else. Aaron knew. He held his peace. He lost two boys that day because they loved change more than they loved the Lord. They didn’t think that it mattered. It did. They were reckless in their thinking. God ended it. Hard and fast. He wasn’t going to have another generation of rebels. This lesson is repeated over and over throughout the Old Testament. God’s people stopped listening to His Word and introduced idols. Again and again they would be punished. Aaron held his peace. He loved the Lord.

We do well to learn from Aaron in this passage. I’ve seen parents rush off to the school or the church, child in arm, and anger in their eyes, because someone dared to call down their little angel. They will defend the child all the way to the jail house. I’ve seen whole families leave a congregation because they would rather stand with a rebel in their family than stand with the people of God who are trying to do what the Bible says.  God or family…Aaron held his peace. He didn’t complain. He didn’t say something that he would later regret. He held his peace. We do not help our family members when we defend them when they are wrong. We do not help them when we become co-dependents or enablers to their bad choices in life. Sometimes a trip to the pig pen, like the prodigal, will open the eyes of those who are wrong. The road home will never be traveled as long as we support, defend and help those that are wrong. Aaron held his peace.

What a great statement that is. There are so many applications. I hope this gives you some things to think about.

Roger