So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.Fire came out from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah.
3 sermons cite this verse
… and added incense, and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to God's command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke of when he said, among those who approach me, I will show myself holy. In the sight of all the people, I will be honored. And Aaron remained silent. Does that sound familiar? That looks real familiar to Acts chapter 5. The height of the church that happens in Ananias and Sapphira, the height of the people of God, tabernacle, he shows his justice on those who treat his goodness and his worship lightly and disobey him. And don't fear deception, distrust, disobedience. Let me show you one more. Go to the right and come to Joshua chapter 7. Look at Joshua chapter 7. I want you to look at verse 1. People of God are at the height of things. They have just entered into the promised land. …
… They did something not prescribed, out of order. And fire," verse 2, "...came out from the presence of the Lord, and consumed them, and they died before the Lord." What did they do? We don't know specifically what they did, but the implications of this tenth chapter are they were drunk, because down in what we just read in verses 8 and following, if If you come to the tent of the meeting and you're drunk, you'll die. So, clearly, drinking is not the best choice that could bring about, in ancient times, execution by God if you got drunk. In the sixth chapter of Numbers, the Lord speaks to Moses again, and He says this, speak Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the Lord." Now this was just a time of serious consecration to the Lord. It's called a Nazarite vow from Nazir, which means to separate. …
There are some trials which come very distinctly from God. Perhaps you have lost one who was very dear to you. Let it comfort your heart that it was the Lord who took away your loved one. There is an empty chair in your house and every time you look at it your eyes fill with tears—yet never forget that it was the Lord who called to Himself the one who used to occupy that chair. Or possibly your trouble is that you are gradually fading away by consumption or some other deadly disease. Well, if it is so, that is God's appointment for you in the order of His Providence, so do not rebel against what is clearly His will. Or it may be that your trial is that you have struggled hard to gain an honest livelihood for yourself and your family, but instead of attaining that end, you are constantly getting further and further away from it. If it is so, look upon your trouble as coming from God and bear patiently what you are unable to alter! This leads me to say to every Christian whose trial is distinctly from the Lord—my Brother or Sister, this makes it all the easier for you to submit without murmuring at God's will When such a trial comes, there is nothing for a Believer to say but this, "It is the Lord: let Him do what seems good to Him." There may be cases in which submission will best be indicated by silence before the Lord. When Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered strange fire before the Lord and there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them, it must have been a terrible trial to their father, yet we read, "Aaron held his peace." As if he thought, "Since God has done it, what can I say?" You know the oft-repeated story of the gardener who had a favorite rose, and when it was plucked, he was very angry. But when he was told that the master had taken it, he said no more about the matter. May not the owner of the garden take any flowers in it that he pleases? And may not the Lord take away His beloved ones from us whenever He chooses to do so? We ought not to be vexed with Him when He does so, but we ought to say with Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." No, my Lord, I must not and I will not quibble at anything that You have done. Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth, but let not man strive with his Maker. In our case, it would not only be striving with our Maker—it would be striving with our best Friend, our Father, our All-in-All—and that we must never do. So, if the trial has come distinctly from God, it should be easy to submit to it. …