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. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:12-13
Priests were assigned tasks according to their family and they took turns performing their responsibilities. One of the tasks the priests were given was to keep the fire on the altar burning at all times. Leviticus 6:13 “A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.” To keep the fire burning, they had to add wood daily and some priests were assigned the responsibility to keep the fire stoked and going through out the night. If a priest failed and the fire went out, they would cut his garments and all Israel could see that he failed to keep the fire kept going. Several times in the bible, the sacrifices that were placed on the altar were consumed with a fire that came from heaven. Leviticus 9:24 “And the fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offerings and the fat on the altar.” The fire was from God and it was a constant reminder of the power of God. The fire also represented the presence of God. A pillar of fire led the children of Israel in the desert for forty years. When the fire came up off the altar and began to move, the children of Israel would break camp and follow the fire. The fire was the light they needed to travel by night and to keep them warm in the desert evenings. The fire also let the surrounding countries know that the presence of God was with the Israelites. The shekinah glory was visible on the altar at all times. It reminded the Israelites that their help and salvation came from the Lord. Therefore, it was a sign of judgment and it refined everything that went through it. Somehow the fire of God went out and at the end of the Old Testament the fresh words from God stopped. Scholars estimate there was around 400 years of silence from God in the Old Testament before the birth of Jesus. When a light is removed, darkness will take its place. Matthew 4:16 states, “The people who sat in darkness.” When the priest, those who were responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the people allowed the fire to go out, it created a void called darkness. Darkness is the absence of light, the absence of God and truth. It is the presence of the devil and his demonic influence on the world around them. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel.” 2 Corinthians 4:4. Have you ever experienced darkness that was so dark that you could not even see your hand in front of your face? If Darkness can cause us to become isolated, “Darkness is my closest friend.” It also clouds our decisions and leads us to places we should never go, Proverbs 4:19 warns, 'But the path of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.'
While some have just allowed the fire of God to go out in their lives and churches, others are offering profane fire to the Lord. Profane fire as a burnt offering that God does not recognize or bless. In Leviticus 10, two of Aaron’s son’s rebelled and put fires on them censers and tried to offer the wrong fire before the Lord. “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. “It is a scary thing when churches start to offer profane fire and want God’s endorsement or blessing. If we want to win our world for Jesus, we must be careful what we ae offering the peoples. Jesus made it very clear what would draw the lost and hurting to in John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” It is very easy to become arrogant or cocky and believe that we have a better way to win the lost instead of simply pointing people to Jesus. God is not pleased when we lift something up before the people instead of him. I used to go to T.D. Jakes conferences and was blessed. A few years ago, he brought a live lion into the conference on the stage and I began to feel a difference in the anointing of his messages and quit listening to him or attending his conference. It is very sad that he has fallen so far as he has. Last week, there was men’s conference to encourage men in Missouri to be better Christians, husbands and fathers, and the opening act was a male sword swallower. The man walked on to the platform and ripped his shirt off. He paraded around bare chested around an erected pole. Looked like a pole a stripper would perform on. He moved around in a provocative way and climbed the pole, hanging sideways. During the performance he swallowed a sword. No one in the audience seemed to see anything wrong with opening a Christian men’s conference with a halfdressed man dancing around. I wonder how the men felt who were there that struggle with homosexuality? The next morning one of the speakers humbly addressed the Jezebel spirit that had opened the conference. He stated that he was hoarse because he had been up since 1:00 praying over the conference and directions. He stated he had to say something that he did not want to say. He was being obedient to God and confronted an issue that was very uncomfortable. Right after he started, the pastor who hosted the conference and allowed such a shameful exhibition to start the meetings off, told him from the floor that he was finished. The guest speaker honored the house and took his bible and left the platform. I wonder how God felt about a stripper opening a Christian men’s conference. God is not mocked. He alone is to get the glory. Everything we offer God would not tolerate the profane fire of r to Him must bring Him glory and not cross the line into entertainment or even rebellion. Profane fire will always bring judgement. God responded to the profane fire of Nadab and Abihu with fire. “So, fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.” Leviticus 10:2-3. Profane fire is anything we bring before God that is contrary to His word. We must be so careful not to offer a sacrifice that is displeasing to God or that will mislead others. The second time the Israelites needed water in the wilderness. God told Moses to speak to the rock and in his frustration, Moses struck the rock, His disobedience cost him the privilege of leading the people into the promised land. Do our actions, words and doctrine reflect the goodness of God or do we portray Him as an angry God. Several years ago, one of my friends’ children had sone something wrong and they would not confess who was in the wrong. She told them that she was going into her room to pray and God was going to real who was lying. In my opinion, she made God out to be harsh. What things do we say and so that is profane fire, things that do not show God in all His holiness and majesty, but reveal our misguided revelation of who God is.
It is the responsibility of our pastors and church leaders to keep the fire burning on the alter at church, but 1 Peter 2:9 makes it clear that once we become saved, we are priests. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”. We are responsible to keep the fire burning in our own lives. Perhaps you are thinking how do I keep the fire for God burning in my life? First it is not coincidence that when the Holy Ghost was given in Acts 1 and 2, that He came with flames of fire that sat on the top of people’s heads. Just like fire fell from God and consumed the sacrifice on the altar, the Holy Ghost will fall on us and fill us with a fresh anointing and power that will burn up the flesh and sin that is still present in our lives even after we give our lives to Jesus. Even with the fire from the Holy Ghost, we still need to put fuel, wood on the fire. In the Bible, wood always represents mankind. Romans12:1teaches that we are the living sacrifice that is supposed to offered to God. ” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” We are supposed to die to Christ daily and pick up our cross and follow Him. When we fan the flames of God in our life, we have the boldness to preach the gospel to the lost. We must get back to Romans 1:16 when Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Instead of offering the profane fire of a watered down and sometimes false doctrine, we must boldly proclaim the truth found in the Word of God. Cathy Nesmith