Self-Restraint and Utterance
W. Clarkson Leviticus 10:3-7 Then Moses said to Aaron, This is it that the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me… And Aaron held his peace, etc. The sequel to the sad story of the sin and death of Nadab and Abihu carries with it three lessons we shall do well to learn. I. THAT A MAN IS LESS HONOURED BY EXALTED OFFICE THAN BY LOFTY ACTION. We pay a certain respect to Aaron as the first high priest of the ancient Law, type of the "High Priest of our profession." But we pay a higher honor to him and feel a deeper regard for him, as one who acted nobly at a most trying time. Such a scene might well have unmanned him. We could not have blamed him had he given way to violent agitation, even in the house of the Lord. There is, in sorrow, a descending scale, and his was at the very bottom of its dark depths. Bereavement, the saddest of all losses; the death of a child, the saddest of all bereavements; the death of two sons in their manhood, the saddest form which the loss of children can assume; its startling, awful suddenness; its occurrence under the aggravating conditions of guilt and dishonour; - such was the staggering blow that fell on Aaron then! There is a nobleness of self-restraint which is truly touching, which excites our hearty admiration, in the fact that "Aaron held his peace." He did not give way to tempestuous emotion or to querulous complaint; he acted as became him: standing where he stood in the near presence of God, he bore the blow in sacred silence, he opened not his mouth, he was dumb, because he felt the Lord had done it (Psalm 39:9). There is nothing manlier, nobler, more admirable than calmness in the overwhelming hour. it is born of (1) devoutness, a profound sense of the presence and sovereignty of God; and of (2) self-culture, the training of our own spirit, the "keeping of our heart" (Proverbs 4:23). II. THAT THE DEVOUT HEART WILL RECOGNIZE THE RIGHTNESS OF SUBORDINATING PERSONAL SENTIMENT TO THE SERVICE OF GOD. (Verse 6.) This melancholy occurrence had taken place in vindication of the honour of God (verse 3). The one feeling which was to fill the hearts of those who stood before God was an unquestioning acceptance of the severe and. afflictive decree of the Holy One. To show the ordinary signs of sorrow might be open to misconstruction; might appear as a protest against the death-penalty. In the cause of righteousness the natural feeling of father and sons must be energetically suppressed. And it was done. There come times in our history when, in the highest interests of all, in the service of God and of our kind, we are called upon to make parental, conjugal, fraternal, friendly emotions give place to calmness of spirit. When that hour comes, we, if we have Aaron's spirit, shall obey as he obeyed. III. THAT GOD DESIRES US TO GIVE PLAY TO HUMAN FEELING WHEN HIS LAW IS NOT BROKEN OR, HIS SERVICE HINDERED THEREBY. 1. The relatives of the dead were to carry their bodies decently and reverently "from before the sanctuary" (verse 4). 2. The whole house of Israel were to "bewail the burning which the Lord had kindled" (verse 6). Where the lamentation was natural, and where there was no peril of its being misinterpreted, it was not only allowed but encouraged of God. Stoicism is no part of Christianity. We are to be natural and sympathetic. Jesus "rejoiced in spirit" and" wept" himself. He intimated his wish that we should act naturally, in accordance with our surrounding circumstances and inward spirit (Matthew 9:15-17; John 16:20-22; James 5:13). Sympathetic as well as natural: "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep," etc. (Romans 12:15). - C. Parallel Verses KJV: Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. WEB: Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, 'I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aaron held his peace.