But had God ever forbidden it? Where do we find that ever God had forbidden them to offer strange Fire, or appointed that they should over only one kind of fire? There is no Text of Scripture, that you can find from the beginning of Genesis to this place, where God hath said in terminis, in so many words expressly, You shall offer no fire but one kind of fire. And yet here they are consumed by fire from God, for offering strange fire. I find in the 30. of Exod. ver. 9. that there they were forbidden offering strange Incense, but I do not find that they were forbidden offering strange fire. In Levit. 6.13. and divers verses in that Chapter we find that God had appointed that they should keep constantly the fire on the Altar burning, and never to let it go out: Now that was it seems Gods intention that therefore they should make use of that fire, and that fire only. God would have them to pick out his meaning: God sent fire down from heaven upon the Altar, so in the latter end of the 9. Chap. God sent down fire from heaven, & gave them a charge to keep that fire on the Altar constantly, and never to let it go out: so that it seems God would have them pick out his meaning, that because he had sent down fire from heaven upon the Altar, and gave them power to keep that constantly, God would have them therefore to understand, that what Incense or Sacrifice he would have the use of fire in, it should be only that fire and no other, though God did never say to them directly in these words, You shall make use of this fire and no other, but God would have them to understand this. That's their sin therefore in offering of strange fire. Now fire comes from the Lord and doth consume them. Some think this fire came from the Altar, but surely it could not be any ordinary fire that did consume Nadab and Abihu at this time: for you shall find in the next ver. to my text, That the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were not consumed by the fire, no, not their clothes, they were killed by the fire and yet their clothes were whole, therefore it was not an ordinary fire, it was some Celestial fire struck into them to slay them, for so saith the text in the 4th ver. Come near, carry away your brethren from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp:
But had God ever forbidden it? Where do we find that ever God had forbidden them to offer strange Fire, or appointed that they should oner only one kind of fire? There is no Text of Scripture, that you can find from the beginning of Genesis to this place, where God hath said in terminis, in so many words expresly, You shall offer no fire but one kind of fire. And yet here they are consumed by fire from God, for offering strange fire. I find in the 30. of Exod. ver. 9. that there they were forbidden offering strange Incense, but I do not find that they were forbidden offering strange fire. In Levit. 6.13. and divers verses in that Chapter we find that God had appointed that they should keep constantly the fire on the Altar burning, and never to let it go out: Now that was it seems Gods intention that therefore they should make use of that fire, and that fire only. God would have them to pick out his meaning: God sent fire down from heaven upon the Altar, so in the latter end of the 9. Chap. God sent down fire from heaven, & gave them a charge to keep that fire on the Altar constantly, and never to let it go out: so that it seems God would have them pick out his meaning, that because he had sent down fire from heaven upon the Altar, and gave them power to keep that constantly, God would have them therfore to understand, that what Incense or Sacrifice he would have the use of fire in, it should be only that fire and no other, though God did never say to them directly in these words, You shall make use of this fire and no other, but God would have them to understand this. That's their sin therefore in offering of strange fire. Now fire comes from the Lord and doth consume them. Some think this fire came from the Altar, but surely it could not be any ordinary fire that did consume Nadab and Abihu at this time: for you shall find in the next ver. to my text, That the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were not consumed by the fire, no, not their cloathes, they were kil'd by the fire and yet their cloathes were whol, therefore it was not an ordinary fire, it was some Coelestial fire struck into them to slay them, for so saith the text in the 4th ver. Come neer, carry away your brethren from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp:
