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FEBRUARY 20
DAY 19:What was the incident with Nadab and Abihu about?
In Leviticus 9:23, it states that “the glory of the LORD appeared.”The Bible speaks often of the
glory of God—the visible appearance of His beauty and perfection reduced to blazing light. His
glory appeared to Moses (Ex. 3:1–6; 24:15–17; 33:18–23).The glory of God also filled the tabernacle
(Ex. 40:34), led the people as a pillar of fire and cloud (Ex. 40:35–38), and also filled the temple in
Jerusalem (1 Kin. 8:10,11). When Aaron made the first sacrifice in the wilderness, as a priest, the
“glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.”In these manifestations, God was revealing His righ-
teousness, holiness, truth, wisdom, and grace—the sum of all He is.
Nadab and Abihu were the two oldest sons of Aaron (10:1). The vessel in which the incense
was burned in the Holy Place was to be used only for holy purposes.Though the exact infraction is
not detailed, instead of taking the incense fire from the bronze altar, they had some other source
and thus perpetrated a “profane”act,especially considering the descent of the miraculous fire they
had just seen.The same divine fire that accepted the sacrifices (9:24) consumed the errant priests.
The sons of Aaron were guilty of violating both requirements of God’s absolute standard:“regard-
ed as holy…be glorified” (10:3). That was not unlike the later deaths of Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:6,7) or
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5,10).

February 20 they are an abomination: the eagle, the vul-
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ture, the buzzard, the kite, and the falcon
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after its kind; every raven after its kind, the
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ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and
Leviticus 11:1–12:8
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the hawk after its kind; the little owl, the fish-
Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, er owl, and the screech owl; the white owl,
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11 saying to them, “Speak to the children of the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; the
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Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and
you may eat among all the animals that are on the bat.
the earth: Among the animals, whatever 20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours
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divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and shall be an abomination to you. Yet these you
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chewing the cud—that you may eat. Never- may eat of every flying insect that creeps on
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theless these you shall not eat among those all fours: those which have jointed legs above
that chew the cud or those that have cloven their feet with which to leap on the earth.
hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud 22 These you may eat: the locust after its kind,
but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket
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you; the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud after its kind, and the grasshopper after its
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but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to kind. But all other flying insects which have
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you; the hare, because it chews the cud but four feet shall be an abomination to you.
does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to 24 ‘By these you shall become unclean; who-
you; and the swine, though it divides the hoof, ever touches the carcass of any of them shall
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having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the be unclean until evening; whoever carries
cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you shall part of the carcass of any of them shall wash
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not eat, and their carcasses you shall not his clothes and be unclean until evening: The
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touch. They are unclean to you. carcass of any animal which divides the foot,
‘These you may eat of all that are in the but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the
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water: whatever in the water has fins and cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches
scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers— it shall be unclean. And whatever goes on its
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that you may eat. But all in the seas or in the paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all
rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever
move in the water or any living thing which is touches any such carcass shall be unclean
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in the water, they are an abomination to you. until evening. Whoever carries any such car-
They shall be an abomination to you; you cass shall wash his clothes and be unclean
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shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard until evening. It is unclean to you.
their carcasses as an abomination. Whatever 29 ‘These also shall be unclean to you among
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in the water does not have fins or scales—that the creeping things that creep on the earth: the
shall be an abomination to you. mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its
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‘And these you shall regard as an abomina- kind; the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand
tion among the birds; they shall not be eaten, reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
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