In our culture we generally don’t appreciate ceremony, but hopefully we can accept that other cultures have different values and so do appreciate it. God may have used ceremony because it spoke to the people: the ceremony here was for the purpose of setting the priests apart, and likely was performed to instill in the people an understanding that the high priest was due their respect and submission. The elements of the ceremony seem strange to us, but God doubtless had a purpose in mind for each. Since we are called priests (I Peter 2:5, 9), understanding the significance of every rite in this ceremony might be valuable to us.
Although Aaron and his sons did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses, God struck them when they offered strange incense before Him. Their previous record didn’t save them from the consequences of their actions in offering what God didn’t authorize. Was it an act of rebellion? Testing God? A mistake? An attempt to honor God with the very best of their own creativity? Whatever it was, God saw their offering as dishonoring to Him. Whether or not they intended to do so didn’t matter; it dishonored Him. Does God seem harsh to you in this?
Given that God calls Himself good, what does this teach you about God? What lesson does this teach for people who draw near to God? It’s worth thinking about, because if He did this, it’s conceivable that He will one day say to those who also thought they could do whatever they felt like doing, or felt too special to suffer God’s stated consequences, or were ignorant about God’s requirements, or preferred to be creative in approaching God, “I never knew you. Away from me.” We cannot presume on God’s mercy. C.S. Lewis was correct in saying of his allegorical lion/king/God character, “He’s not a time lion.” (The Last Battle)