April 6, 2022 — Musing As The Fire Burns

Our lives are combustible, but we need the Lord to examine our treasures to see if they’re fireproof.

In Leviticus 6:8-13, we have God instructing the priests regarding the fire for the burnt offering. What is the big issue? God tells us THREE times: “The fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.…it shall not be put out.…A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out” (vv 9, 12, 13). Keep it burning, don’t put it out, and never allow it to go out! Why is this so important? Well, what does it symbolize? Here is the real eternal flame: “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29). Every Christian should be very interested in this because “each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (1 Cor 3:13). But fear not, Christian. As the poet reminds us of God’s use of His fire, “The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.” Now it was no easy thing to burn animals to ashes. One modern veterinary manual explains: “The material must…be arranged in a manner to permit an adequate flow of air to the fire.…Under favorable conditions, burning should be complete in 48 hours.” But these lambs were consumed in 12 hours! One of them burned “all night until morning” (v 9) and the other one placed there “every morning” (v 12). The secret of a good fire? Wood laid in order and ashes removed (see vv 10-12). Believer, God has the fire if you will be the fuel. If we will set our lives in order before Him, and remove the cold ashes of past experiences, He will enflame our hearts for Him so we can also say, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Lk 24:32). There can be no true sacrifice unless the fire of God burns within.

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