8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.
Most of our activities in life uses fire. Here are some of them:
- It provides warmth
- It is one of the sources of heat and light
- It is used for cooking
- It is used for purifying
- It is used as a signal ( esp. in the forest)when you are in danger
- It is needed to sustain/maintain life’s activities
Taking a look at the uses of fire makes us relate how Scriptures makes us think of its level of importance in our physical as well as our spiritual life. This life depends on fire as one of the most valuable resources for survival. We need to make sure how to build it and how to keep it burning. If this is a vital key for physical life survival; metaphorically, it is also used to represent a key for our spiritual life and survival.
Let us first understand the vital statistics of one of the books of the Old Testament that tackles two of our major words ( sacrifice/ offering) mention in the passage of the Scriptures that we have read.
Purpose: Leviticus is the handbook for the priests and Levites (a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, especially of that part of it which provided assistants to the priests in the worship in the Jewish temple.) in the Old Testament outlining their duties of worship, and a guidebook of holy living for the Hebrews.
Author: Moses
Original Audience: Israelites,
Key People: Moses, Aaron, Eleazar, Nadab, Abihu
Setting: At the foot of Mt. Sinai. God is teaching the Israelites how to live as holy people.
Place Written: In the desert during Israel’s wanderings, somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula.
Date Written: 1445-1444 B.C.
Key Verse: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2)
Special Feature: Holiness is mentioned more times (152) than any other book of the Bible
(Source: Life Application Study Bible NIV ,Tyndale House Publishers, p.154)
Looking at some verses in the 6th Chapter of the book of Leviticus I would like you to see how this is being led as a reference to how we will live our lives as an offering in preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Leviticus is a book with 27 chapters, few of the chapters I will mention will give us understanding as to what contents this book of offering means in the Old Testament:
Leviticus 1: The Burnt Offering
Leviticus 2: The Grain Offering
Leviticus 3: The Fellowship Offering
Leviticus 4-6: The Sin Offering
Leviticus 5: The Guilt Offering
Leviticus 6: The Burnt and Sin Offering
Leviticus 7: The Guilt and Fellowship Offering
Leviticus 8: Ordination
Leviticus 9: Ministry Begins
The overwhelming message of Leviticus is the holiness of God “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2) But how can unholy people approach a holy God? This question will lead us back to the first 7 chapters of this book that outlined the detailed instructions for offering sacrifices which is the only way to deal with sin/ungodliness.
Sacrifices are active symbols of repentance and obedience. This includes whether grain, bull, goats, sheep and it has to be perfect with no defects or bruises-pictures of the ultimate sacrifice to come, Jesus the Lamb of God.
In Leviticus, sacrifices, priests and the sacred Day of Atonement opened the way for the Israelites to come to God. It had opened their minds to what worship means and what are the instructions that involve one’s holy walk with God through purity laws and this spiritual living principle of holiness still apply today.
Give Your Lives to God
12 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives[a] as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.
2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. Romans 12:1-2 ERV
Looking at the laws of offering that God has stated to Moses we can relate on the three major things we need to consider to be able to thrive in offering a sacrificial life to the Lord.
8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
1. BE ON FIRE! (The Position/Location of the Offering)
– v. 9b The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
This passage reminded me of two things: Position and Offering
Hearth- position
Heart- is the offering
In the Old Testament, as mentioned earlier, sacrifices/offerings are active symbols of repentance and obedience; whether grain, bull, goats, sheep it has to be perfect with no defects or bruises.
Positioning our offering is very important for the offering to be completely burnt.
The hearth here represents two things:
The position as our most vulnerable state
This is the lowest point of our lives. Most of our sins/weaknesses and trials if not offered to the Lord bring us the most devastating effects in our spiritual life and one of which will be backsliding and being cold in our faith.
The enemy wants our vulnerability to be placed in a wrong position and this includes our pride so he can destroy us and lead us to do unholy and ungodly things that will separate us from God.
Sin is the disease of the soul.
Pastor Dick Maynard
On the contrary, the Lord commanded us to love him with all of our heart, because it is in this that he can dwell and become the King of our lives
The position as our power – the Holy Spirit/ God/ Jesus Christ
The Lord has no delight for anyone to perish. He wants to fulfill the promise He has for us as we walk on the salvation He has given 2000 years ago. For this reason He wants our spirit to reunite with Him and build a lasting relationship through repentance.
Power Position # 1: Genuine repentance is one of the keys to reconnect with God. When we become honest and humble to the Lord and surrender the desires of our hearts and our sins and weaknesses, we will experience a genuine life, a holy life filled with His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Proverbs 28:30 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Power Position # 2: Daily prayer and meditation of His Word are another keys to reconnect with God. It is through these that we will be able to get close to Him and understand His plans for us. It is a stairway to His heart and a light to our soul. The more you talk to God the more you would want to talk to Him.
Prayer is our spiritual GPS- (God Positioning System)
Meditation of His Word is our Spiritual compass to holiness.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
When you positioned your life to the best Source, you will get the best results. Our best result is our changed life in Christ.
Remember: The right positioning of the offering leads to blessing.
Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. Psalm 118:5
To recap, let us read the passage again:
The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
Burnt offering- our sinful lives/ our heart and its desires
Hearth- lowest position, position where God’s power is made perfect through our weakness
This means when we present /surrender our ungodly/sinful lives to the Lord as an offering, repent of our sins and let Him position our desires to the light of His Words, we will experience the fire of His salvation through forgiveness leading to a changed life and a renewed relationship with God. (Fire of Faith)
II. GUARD YOUR FIRE ( vv.10-12)
10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.11 Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
Symbolic representation:
Ashes represents our old life being burnt and changed by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beside the altar– Ashes placed beside the altar represents a reminder that the Lord has changed our old lives so we should not go back to our old life.
Shall be kept burning on it it shall not be put out- This signals responsibility, that is, it requires us to do something so the enemy cannot snatch it on us as saved people of God, guarding our testimony and living a surrendered life to God is guarding the heart. This is possible when we hold on to our daily devotion, Bible reading, and even constant fellowship with godly people.
How do we guard our relationship with God and our testimony of faith?
1.Guard your heart through constant Bible reading, meditation and devotion to the Lord
Proverbs 4:23
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
2. Be around people with wisdom and with godly advice, people who will help/inspire you with your walk with God.
Hebrews 13:7 ESV
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
3. Constant spiritual assessment, quick repentance and renewal of minds will help us guard our testimony.
Psalm 139:23-24 ESV
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Walking with God requires constant testing of our heart and renewal of our minds.
Romans 12:1-2 ERV
Give Your Lives to God
12 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives[a] as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.
2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
III. REMAIN IN THE FIRE ( v.13)
13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6: 13
-Reminding ourselves that apart from God we are nothing.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
–Remind yourself to always give glory to God in all you do/your experiences
2 “I know your works, your labor, your [a]patience, and that you cannot [b]bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5
-Always make way to be in awe of God and in love with Him
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5
Let us not go back to our old life. We can only maintain the fire of our worship and praise to God if we continue to abide in Him with all our heart, soul and strength, maintaining a sacrificial holy life. This is the only way we can see Him on earth as it is in heaven.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14
