And you thought your church collected too many offerings….Try living in Old Testament Times.
Burnt offerings, sin offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, there was even a wave offering.
Commit an unintentional sin, time for a sin offering. Commit a sin unintentionally regarding any of the Lord’s Holy things, time for a guilt offering. Want to express gratitude? Time for a grain offering. What was the significance of the burnt offering? It honored God’s holiness and invited His presence. (W.Capps, P31 ministries)
These offerings required much more than putting a few dollars in the offering plate.
The burnt offering involved the slaying of an animal, the draining of its blood and the priest putting on special linen clothes, including linen undergarments. ( TMI, I know…but it’s in the Bible, I promise)
God provided the flame for the burnt offering, but the people were required to bring the sacrifice and maintain the fire.
Leviticus 6:12, “The Fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out…every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire..”
The fire was a reminder of God’s presence and it was to “not go out.”
We live in good times, y’all.
Because of Jesus Christ, all we have to do now to experience God is…. “Draw near to Him and He will draw near to us.” (James 4:8)
There is no need to gather firewood and no need to put on linen garments. But one thing remains the same…..We must be intentional. We can not let the fire go out. Sounds easy, but with so many things competing for our attention, this may be easier said than done.
What does ‘keeping the fire burning on the altar’ mean for you?
For me, it means intentionally spending more time each day in worship, in my Bible and in prayer and less time scrolling mindlessly on my phone. It means being intentional about getting together with fellow believers when I’d rather be at home. It means saying ‘no’ to certain things, so I can say ‘yes’ to God.
What does it mean for you?
Leviticus 6:12, “The Fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”
-Binu
