Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “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.’” Lev. 6:8-9 NKJV
This burnt offering is the lamb that was sacrificed both morning and evening. A burnt offering is symbolic of a voluntary sacrifice indicating the worshiper’s desire to be purged of sin.
The book of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice has taken the place of all earlier sacrifices. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And I praise God for that!!
But my attention was drawn to the priest who is up all night stoking the fire. A whole carcass would take several hours to burn, probably all night. And the flames would need to be roaring hot in order to reduce it, bones and all, to ashes. That priest isn’t going to get any sleep!
Since we are priest unto our God, (1Peter 2:9) I take notice of the vigilance required. Neither are we to be sleeping, spiritually speaking. Several times the passage declares that “the fire will ever be burning upon the altar; it will never go out.” (Lev. 6:13)
What does it look like to be diligently tending the fire on the altar of sacrifice? Once I remembered that “fire” in scripture is symbolic of the Presence of God, then it made sense!
We are to be diligently tending the Presence of God in our life through obedience. Day and night we are to be feeding God’s Presence in the study of His Word. Hour after hour we are to be giving fuel to the Presence of God in constant prayer.
I found one other nugget in this rich passage; it has to do with the fuel (wood) required for the offering. “Wood” in scripture is symbolic of humanity. Our humanity is the fuel used to stoke the fire of the Presence of God. Our humanity (wood) consumed in the Presence of God (fire) is what causes the Burnt Offering (Jesus) to rise as a sweet savor to the Lord. Yes, as our humanity is consumed in God’s Presence, God gets the prize, the sweet savor, that He sacrificed His Son for.
Wow! As we humbly offer our all in His Presence, God is pleased and awarded His prize. It is hard to believe that God valued us so much - valued me so much - that He gave His Son as a Burnt Offering. That stirs my heart to be constantly offering all that I am and all that I have! I want to give Jesus Christ, our Burnt Offering, what He paid for! Amen!