1. Leviticus 10:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does this act of the LORD (the fire coming down and consuming Nadab and Abihu) recall?

Leviticus 10:2 (ESV)

2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

The act of God that kills them is described in exactly the same words as before, in Leviticus 9:24, about the burnt offering on the altar. It is the revelation of the Lord's holy glory in his earthly dwelling that inspires awe twice, leading to cheer in the first event and to shock in the second.