Bad Theology

Text for today: Leviticus 9 xxiv, Leviticus 10 i-xi

Two sons of Aaron, the brother of Moses, burn incense before God. Since He has not commanded them to do this, God sends out fire from before Himself and burns them both to death. He then orders Moses to sanctify Him among the élite and glorify Him before the people. Moses advises Aaron's family not to show the customary signs of mourning in case God kills them too, but permits them to bewail the burning. Later God lectures Aaron on the perils of drink and, perhaps with the golden calf in mind, promotes him to high priest and orders him to teach the people His forthcoming list of taboos.

When a burnt offering is made, God habitually provides the fire; and like any authoritarian, He becomes annoyed when His prerogatives are usurped, as He most famously made clear at Exodus 20 xiii. The offence may have been inadvertent - possibly resulting from intoxication, given God's subsequent threat to kill anyone from Aaron's family who enters the meeting tent after tasting alcohol - but the punishment, as usual, is immediate and unpleasant death. Both Moses and Aaron are wisely circumspect about the post-mortem arrangements, dumping the victims' bodies unceremoniously outside the camp and disassociating their deaths from the family's grief, so as not to fan the flames of the tyrant's displeasure.