The Lord said to Moses: “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." Leviticus 6:8-13 The above passage probably seems pretty unrelated to today. We don’t offer burnt offerings anymore—Jesus provided the ultimate atonement so we no longer have to. However, I was always taught that when a teacher repeats something more than once, take note. Here, the Lord three times repeats, “The fire on the altar must be keep burning,” or the like. This immediately caught my attention, so I dug a little deeper. In the Old Testament, phrases were repeated three times as a common way to provide emphasis (Jeremiah 22:29, Ezekiel 21:27, Isaiah 6:3). Professor William D. Barrick refers to this as an "emphatic Semitic triplet.” I didn’t look much farther than this because I got the point: something repeated three times is to be emphasized. So what was repeated three times? That the fire must be kept burning on the altar. What do we know about the altar? Well, we know that the altar is in the tabernacle which is where God’s presence dwelled among the people of Israel as they journeyed to the promised land. So it is vital that the fire where God’s presence was located be kept burning. But where is that tabernacle today? Where is God’s presence found today? Well, according to Paul, we are the temples. God’s presence is found within us. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 Priests had to continuously keep the fire on the altar burning. They couldn’t just forget about it and go about their day. Keeping that fire burning was constantly on the forefront of their mind. When it got low, they immediately noticed and added firewood. They never let the fire die. Similarly, we need to put this same effort into being attentive to God’s fire within us. Do you ever forget to be slow to anger, slow to speak, and quick to listen? Or to not be wise in your own eyes? Or to love others before yourself and count them as more significant than you? I know I do. I’m not perfect. And we never will be perfect. Truthfully, we’ll never be able to successfully meditate on God every moment, take every thought captive and make it obedient to Him, love God with all our heart, soul, strength, fear God and shun evil, etc. Nevertheless, that does not mean that we should not remain attentive to that fire within us. Add firewood each time it gets low. Meditate on the Word, pray without ceasing, take your thoughts captive, fight the good fight of faith. If the fire dies, spark it back up. Keep that passion and that first love for God burning; it must not go out. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:2-4 It’s not just about what we do on the outside. God wants our hearts. That passion and excitement and feeling of overwhelming love we received when we first knew, really knew God—that is the fire that must be kept burning. That is the fire that must never go out. Pray that this relationship with God and pursuit of Him through prayer and reading the Bible never becomes routine for you, reader. Pray that you never obey just out of obligation or guilt. Keep the fire burning. Do not forsake the love you had at first.
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AuthorFighting complacency and advocating change in myself for the world around me. Posts by Date
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