Sons in the Bible: Sons of Aaron

Aaron was the brother of Moses and the high priest of the Israelites.  He had four sons:

Nadab and Abihu offered sacrifices to God different from what God prescribed
  1. Eleazer—means God has helped; he succeeded his father upon his death; appointed in charge of the sanctuary; Moses grew angry with him and Ithamar for not eating a sin offering as required; responsible for carrying oil for lampstand, incense and anointing oil; assisted Moses with numbering the people; held office of high priest for over 20 years; high priesthood remained in his family until the time of Eli; restored to his descendants with Zadok {during King Solomon’s reign}; responsible for work of sons of Kohath who were responsible with carrying the ark, the altar and the lampstand
  2. Ithamar—means palm tree isle or coast; Eli was a descendant; responsible for recording inventory of Tabernacle after construction; responsible for sons of Gershon and Merari who carried the Tabernacle fittings and structures; youngest son of Aaron
  3. Nadab—means generous; oldest son of Aaron; accompanied Moses and Aaron up Mt. Sinai and saw God with great clarity; offered a sacrifice with ‘foreign fire’ before the LORD, disobeying his instructions, and were immediately consumed by God’s fire; Moses instructed Aaron and his family not to mourn, although the people at large were permitted
  4. Abihu—means he is my father; second oldest son of Aaron; accompanied Moses and Aaron up Mt. Sinai and saw God with great clarity; offered a sacrifice with ‘foreign fire’ before the LORD, disobeying his instructions, and were immediately consumed by God’s fire; Moses instructed Aaron and his family not to mourn, although the people at large were permitted

The older sons of Aaron prove that we can see God and still not know or understand him, so we must be careful to listen to his command and obey him.

Pictures from FreeBibleImages.org

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