Throw Some Wood On It

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” (Le 6:13 AV)

There are several ways in which we can look at this.  The altar of sacrifice was to have a fire that is never extinguished.  This altar was the altar used for the offering of sin.  A dead animal or a meat offering was placed upon the flames and offered as a means for atonement for sin or praise for that which the LORD provided.  Fire is almost always a symbol of God’s wrath.  But it is also a symbol of cleansing.  A burning away of that which is less desirable.  Like the judgment seat of Christ that will try every saint’s service to the LORD, fire will cleanse our service of all self-interest.  It will purify that which we have done for the LORD Jesus Christ of every human infirmity that might taint the service.  This flame of purification is never extinguished.  It can never go out lest the sinner or saint loses the means by which he can be purified by the grace and law of God.

There are several things that are compared to fire which the Saint is told to welcome.  When the Holy Spirit descended upon the first generation of believers, He appeared as a cloven tongue of fire.  One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to the believer is to bring to remembrance the word of God coupled with conviction of heart to overcome sin.  Then there is are the preachers of Heb 1:7 who declare the word of God.  They are referred to as ministers of fire.  They declare the word of God without compromise, challenging God’s people to repent of their sin and walk with God.  Peter tells us that the trial of our faith is also a fire.  Events or situations that come into our lives to reveal to us just how strong or weak our faith truly is.  These tests are determined that we might grow in our faith of who and what God is.  The Holy Spirit, the Men of God, and the trials of faith are all determined to purify the believer more and more into Christlikeness.  These fires cannot go out!  They must always be there.  They must always be active.

One of the skills we were taught in the Boy Scouts was to gather wood, start a fire, and see to it the fire is always burning.  This takes discipline.  This takes effort.  If one falls asleep for too long, the fire can go out.  The reason being, if the fire is extinguished, it may never start again.  I fear revival, although possible, is becoming al the more improbable.  We have let the fire of God’s word go out in the pulpits for a more motivational self-serving message.  The Holy Spirit and His ministry of conviction and conversion is quenched for the more appealing ministry of encouragement.  Trials of faith are to be avoided at all costs.  Predictability and self-reliance is the mantra of today.  The fire is going out on the altar.  Someone better start throwing some wood on it before it dies altogether.