Leviticus 6:13
“The fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.”
WHO STARTED THE FIRE?
In the Tabernacle:
Leviticus 9:23-24
“And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.”
In the Temple:
2 Chronicals 7:1-2
“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.”
The Lord had already manifested Himself in fire before these two structures were ever built.
Abraham’s Covenant with God
Genesis 15:17-18a
“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…”
Moses and the Burning Bush
Exodus 3:1-5
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said Here am I. And he said, Draw nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
The Pillar of Fire
Exodus 13:20-22
“And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”
Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai
Exodus 19:17-20
“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.”
Exodus 24:15-17
“And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.”
The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire Led Them Continually in the Wilderness
Exodus 40:34-38
“Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.”
When God instituted the sacrificial system the element that consumed the sacrifice was fire. But it was the fire that God started. Fire that men started was considered foreign or strange and therefore unholy.
Strange Fire: Nadab and Abihu
Leviticus 10:1-3
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.”
They could never burn incense from fire that was not taken from the altar.
Taken from “Meeting God in the Margin”
This fire is holy because it was started by God. If the embers are allowed to die out, then man would have to ignite a new fire with common corrupted hands. God provided His own fire for the offering which means that the fire is His and the smoke from the fire is His. Not only is this a miraculous and valuable thing all by itself, but it also led quite neatly into the next season. This fire is special.
When God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt He went before them as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of flame at night. They could always see this sign and know the LORD was with them. Once the Tabernacle was built God’s “cloud” descended upon it and filled the Tabernacle with His holy presence. The Tabernacle became the Tent of Meeting, the place where humans could meet with God.
So what does the fire under the altar of burnt offering do? It provided a pillar of smoke during the day and the light of flames at night – right in the midst of the camp.
In the reign of Solomon the Tent of Meeting is replaced by the Temple and the altar of fire there is elevated so that everyone in the city could see it. It is a clear image of great sacrifice. The vertical relationship between God and His people is both perpetually kept in motion and vividly illustrated through the single image of God’s fire on the altar.
Josephus: Incense was burned as the sun was setting along with the evening sacrifice and in the morning as the sun was rising with the morning sacrifice. It was a picture of continual intercession (prayer) and continual atonement.
Holy Spirit Fire
Acts 2:1-4
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Matthew 3:11
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier then I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
What Does this Mean?
Fire gives light and heat. It also purifies. God wants to give us direction, comfort and make us holy.
Malachi 3:2-3a
“But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner of silver…”
We are Living Sacrifices
Romans 12:1-2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
God’s Word is like Fire
Jeremiah 20:9b
“But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing (holding back), and I could not stay (refrain from speaking).”
God, Himself, is a Consuming Fire
Deuteronomy 4:24
“For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.”
Hebrews 12:25-29
“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth that removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”
The World will End by Fire
2 Peter 3:10
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”
God Wants to Restore our Passionate Yearning for Him, to Set Us on Fire
Psalms 42:1-2a
“As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God for the living God…”
Psalms 63:1-2
8a “O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary… My soul followeth hard after thee…”