“‘From beyond the doorway to the Tent of Meeting you cannot go, or you’ll die. You’ve the Holy One’s consecrated oil upon you.’ They did as Moses said” (Leviticus 10.7).
Don’t split up. Even if you’ve never heard the rule, if you’ve ever watched a scary movie you know it. You’ve probably yelled it at some innocent man or woman who has decided to go off on their own to investigate a noise. Particularly if it’s a dark basement or abandoned shed.
Honestly, after watching a lot of horror movies over the years, I wonder if it really makes a difference. If there really is a supernatural monster lurking in the midnight shadows, the outcome probably isn’t much different if you’ve got a friend with you or not.
It didn’t save Nadav and Avihu.
Now, God is not a monster. The tragic events of this chapter are, I believe, more a dangerous consequence of encountering the benevolent yet fiery love that is the Holy One. But it’s a reminder that numbers are no guarantee of safety in our world—in the basement or in the daylight.
But none of us wants to go into the unknown alone. Even Moses wants someone with him on the uncertain path ahead.
If you leave the area, Moses tells his brother, you will die. Such an ominous statement, especially in light of what has just happened. I wonder if Aaron took this as a prophetic message directly from God. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t. Though, Scripture hints that these words are more from Moses’ lips than from God’s.
And if they were, what would be his motivation? If this weren’t a Divine warning, a supernatural prohibition why would Moses say such a thing? Did he, perhaps, believe that his brother would die if he chose to walk off alone?
What would have happened if, in that moment, Aaron had walked beyond the threshold of the Tent? Perhaps he would have been untouched. His heart heavy with grief, he would have taken a step and another. And, I think, before you knew it he would have walked beyond the borders of the camp, never to be seen again.
Moses could sense this. He knew if Aaron left, he would never return. The life he’d known would have ended. And isn’t that a sort of death?
Maybe Moses thought this. Perhaps he knew that if Aaron walked away now, the life he’d prepared for would be over. He feared what might happen from a choice made in grief.
Or, maybe Moses just couldn’t bear to continue on alone. He could not face the unknown that lay ahead without someone he knew, loved, and trusted beside him. The thought of trying to bring a whole community to a new land, a new life by himself was too much to face.
Aaron’s presence, we know, didn’t prevent the tragedies to come: the forty-years of wandering, the questions and doubts, nor even the fact that both Moses and Aaron would die without crossing the border to the Promised Land.
But they were together, side-by-side in the darkness, both uncertain what lay ahead.
And they didn’t split up.
Beloved Companion, I can be tempted to go it alone—either out of independence or a fear of burdening someone. Help me be humble enough and brave enough to reach out and ask someone to come and go with me.