Nadab & Abihu, Annanias & Sapphira
written by Will Schumacher
I was listening to a podcast of Aleph Beta on the death of Nadab and Abihu. Rabbi David Fohrmann spoke of how the language of the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu was the same language used in the sin of Adam and Eve.
As a reminder, Nadab and Abihu are the sons of the first high priest Aaron. The tabernacle has just been erected and it is the beginning of the priesthood working in the tabernacle. Nadab and Abihu offered a strange offering that God did not command and they are killed on the spot.
Leviticus 10: 1-2 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. 2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
This instantly made me think of the New Testament story of Annanias and Sapphira. They too died instantly when they brought a “strange”/sinful offering to God. Read Acts 10.
I believe these stories replicate each other and show the same message. My assumption was then that the stories are numerically linked by the numbers within the Bible.
The stories are linked by numbers. Strong’s G4551 = Sapphira. This is Bible verse 4551…
Numbers 26:61 And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord.
Adam and Eve dwelled with God and they sinned and spiritually died and were kicked out.
The tabernacle was God’s way to dwell again with His people. Right at the beginning of the tabernacle time Nadab and Abihu sinned in their offering and died and were carried out.
In the New Testament the Church is likened to the tabernacle and temple. We are called the living stones. God is dwelling in us now. Acts 2 shows the Holy Spirit descending on the early church and the start of the 3rd temple. Right at the beginning again Annanias and Sapphira offer a sinful offering and they die and are carried out.
Sapphira is the name and number linking the two stories. It means “sapphire” and comes from Strong’s H5601 used a few times with the image of God on His throne. That image is important I believe in understanding the message God is trying to get across. It’s first use is in Exodus 24:10.
Exodus 24:10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
Notice who was there to see God enthroned over the sapphire floor, Nadab and Abihu.
Exodus 24:9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
Through the work of Christ we are free to dwell with God again, only because His death made us pure before the eyes of God. We should never lose sight of God’s pureness and majesty and our desire should be to be more like Him.
