The Missing Piece: Holy Fear-Part 2

Zaressa Richardson
Nov 10
5 min read

Discovering the balance between love and reverence in our walk with God

Part Two: Nadab and Abihu - Lack of Reverence

When worship becomes casual, the fire burns without obedience.

Welcome back. How did last week go? Were you able to identify any areas in your life where there might be an imbalance between your love for Jesus and your fear of God?

If so, you are not alone on this journey.

Today we are going to expose the enemy by looking at another example in the Bible where love and fear of God fell out of sync.

Let us jump right into the fine print.

Just as a gentle reminder, here is our foundational scripture for this series:

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

What is Reverence?

When we talk about reverence we are talking about more than simple respect. Reverence is that deep awe and submission that comes when we recognize who God really is. It is love that bows low. It is worship that is not casual but careful and intentional.

Respect says, “I admire you.” Reverence says, “I bow before You in Your presence. Like standing before a holy King, my head immediately bows in recognition of His lordship.”

Think about it. Even in earthly kingdoms, when someone enters the throne room of a king or queen, their first response is to bow or kneel. It is not because the king forced them to, but because his position demands it. No one strolls casually into a throne room. The atmosphere itself commands honor.

How much more, then, should our hearts bow when we enter the presence of the King of Kings? Reverence is not just a physical posture, it is the posture of the heart. It is the awareness that we are standing before the One who holds all authority, all power, and all glory.

My God, thank You Jesus. Thank You that we are able to approach Your throne of grace. Whew, that’s so powerful. Whenever I think about that, it does something in my heart. Thank You Lord. You did not have to, but You did. Okay, okay, back to the lesson.

Jesus Shows Us Reverence

The Bible gives us a perfect picture of reverence in the life of Jesus.

Hebrews 5:7 says: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

Think about that. Jesus, the Son of God, the One who had been with the Father from the very beginning, approached Him with reverence. He prayed with passion. He wept with tears. He surrendered His will to the Father.

His closeness to the Father never canceled out His awe of the Father. He carried intimacy and reverence together. And because of that posture, His prayers were heard.

Let us pray: “My God, let my heart always follow Your example of reverent submission. Holy Spirit, teach me never to neglect the holiness of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Nadab and Abihu: A Lack of Reverence

Now let us look at the opposite. If Jesus shows us what reverence is, Nadab and Abihu show us what happens when reverence is missing.

Leviticus 10:1–2 says: Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their censers, put fire in them and added incense. They offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Let us pause here for a moment and put this in context. Nadab and Abihu were not strangers to God’s presence. They were priests, chosen to serve. They had seen His glory on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:9–10). They knew His holiness. Yet when they offered incense, they did it their way, not His.

On the outside, it might not have looked like a big deal. Just incense in a censer. And if you are wondering, a censer was a sacred tool of worship. It was a container that held burning coals. Priests would place incense inside and swing it so the smoke rose before God as a sweet fragrance.

The act itself was not the problem. The problem was the posture of their hearts. Jesus came with reverent submission. Nadab and Abihu came with careless presumption. One bowed low, the other treated God’s presence as common. One was heard by God, the other was consumed by His fire.

Because here is the truth: we can fall into the same trap today. We may not swing a censer of incense, but how often do we treat prayer as a checklist, worship as background noise, or church as routine? It might look small on the surface, but God sees the posture of the heart. Reverence is not about the motions of worship but about the awe and humility we carry into His presence.

So here is the question to carry with you this week: When I step into God’s presence, am I coming with routine motions, or with a heart bowed low in reverence?

Because in the end, it is not just what we offer that matters. It is the posture we bring before the Holy One.

Now It’s Our Turn

We have seen the example of Jesus, whose reverent submission opened the Father’s ear, and the example of Nadab and Abihu, whose careless presumption brought judgment. One shows us the beauty of holy fear, the other shows us the danger of leaving it out.

And this is where our foundational verse comes alive:

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

The truth is one day, the motives of our hearts will be exposed. God will separate what was done in love and reverence from what was done in pride or convenience. And that is why holy fear is the missing piece. Without it, even our worship and service can drift off course. With it, our love for Jesus stays anchored in humility and awe.

So now it is our turn. Will we live like Jesus, bowing low in reverent submission, or will we risk offering strange fire by treating His presence casually?

This is not just their story. It is ours.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, I do not want to miss the weight of Your holiness. Teach me to carry holy fear as the missing piece in my life. Search my motives and purify my worship so that nothing I bring before You is casual or careless. Help me to walk in both love and reverence, just as Jesus did, so that my life reflects honor to Your name.