“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. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.”
Leviticus 6:8-13 NKJV
Burnt Offerings are believed to be the oldest and most common offerings in the Bible – Noah offered burnt offerings in Genesis 8:20 and G-d ordered Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering in Genesis 22. While there are many offerings mentioned in Leviticus, a “burnt offering” was significant because it was the only offering that was completely consumed by fire – minus only the hide of the animal- and the the burnt offering symbolized a desire to renew and restore relationship with G-d. The Hebrew word for “burnt offering” – ʻôlâ- means to step up or ascend, as on stairs, or or to go up in smoke – literally to burn completely.
G-d commanded that this type of offering burn continually and not be allowed to “go out” – the Hebrew word used for that phrase is kâbâh, meaning to be quenched or to be extinguished. G-d desires a continual “burning” before Him – that our hearts “go up before Him” day and night. It’s costly and it requires sacrifice, but it is what He gave for us and what He asks in return. Relationship – not acquaintanceship.
As I was reading this passage morning, the part about the Priest removing the ashes from the altar stood out to me. Living in the country, we burn paper-type trash. It smells good and is nice to look at, but it’s messy. If you stand near the burn barrel, you’ll soon have ash on you. And, the ash that collects in the bottom of the barrel eventually has to be cleaned out so there is room for the fire to keep burning. When my dad said he had to clean out the ash this past weekend, I offered to help, but he replied that it was a “one person job” because the person cleaning the barrel will get ash on them. Today when I read this passage, G-d whispered those words to my heart: “it’s a One person job, Marci”.
G-d provided the One sacrifice that restores my relationship to Him. He is the One High Priest who receives and cleans up the ashes of my burnt offering. Offerings are costly – He gave His Only Son.
The “wood on the fire” is the fuel for the fire – the wood I bring is a sacrifice of time, it’s when I enter His presence with thanksgiving that I might not “feel” like giving, it’s when I turn off TV and movies that don’t please Him, it’s when I obey His voice even when it is costly, it’s when I go wherever He sends me – all 12 times, it’s surrendering my brokenness and forgiving when I’ve been wounded, it’s speaking what He puts in my heart and doing whatever He asks of me – all of it is costly and all of it is wood for the fire of my relationship with Him.
And the ashes? He carries them to a clean place outside the camp – the significance of that isn’t lost on me. One Person. One Priest. He alone cleans up my mess. He alone carries the ashes of my life – the brokenness and the offerings – to a clean place. He makes the offering of my life holy through His Son. I’m messy – but He’s ok with that. He’s the only One worthy of all I have to give and the only One who can clean up the ashes of my life so there’s room for the fire to keep burning.
Father – More of You. Less of me. Clean out the ashes that I might burn continually for You alone. You are good. You can be trusted and Your leadership in my life is perfect. Amen.
Daily Reading: Leviticus 5-7