I would’ve made for a terrible priest.
Not because I couldn’t handle the minutiae of daily tasks (I’m very checklist oriented) or because I couldn’t be around the blood and dead animals.
No, I’d make a terrible priest because I am absolutely terrible at keeping any kind of fire lit. Just ask anyone that has watched me start a campfire, or a fire on the grill, or a fire in our fireplace. It goes out every.single.time.
The priests aren’t allowed to do that. God specifically says in Leviticus 6:13 that the fire of the burnt offering should go continually. Nonstop. Never ceases. Always lit.
To be fair, it’s not the only thing that’s always lit. The lampstand in the Tabernacle always had a flame (Exodus 27:20-21), incense was burned “regularly” (Exodus 30:7-8), and even the bread was stationed in the Holy Place every morning and evening (Leviticus 24:5-9). The regularity of their duties operated as a sort of clock for the priests.
But the burnt offering is a much larger (and more public) type of ongoing presence. For that reason, it’s attracted hordes of opinions as to why God wanted it burning continually.
Some argue that it’s a symbol of God’s ever-abiding presence through sacrifices. Humans sin a lot, so there is always a need for sacrifices. God stands ready to answer each and every prayer for forgiveness.
Others contend that the fire speaks as a metaphor for our “burning zeal” for God’s righteousness. Or that the nonstop burning points towards Jesus—our continual Mediator and High Priest who always stands before God.
All of those are probably correct in their own way, but don’t forget that fire also stands as a representation of God Himself. He was present in the burning bush and as a pillar of fire in the wilderness. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit sat as pillars of fire on top of the Apostles (Acts 2).
Perhaps most appropriate, the very first fire of the burnt offering was given directly by God in Leviticus 9:27. Just a few short verses after, Nadab and Abihu are struck down for offering “strange fire,” which, given the context, could be tantamount to idolatry. If God lights the fire Himself, the presence of any other fire is seen as profanation.
God’s presence should be in our worship as well. I’ve seen a lot of services that look more like monuments to entertainment and culture than they are glorifications of God. At the same time, I’ve seen a lot of services that lacked any kind of sincerity. As John 4:24 says, we must worship God in “spirit and in truth.”
Is the presence of God in your worship just as it was in the Tabernacle? Moreover, would God’s presence even be welcome in our worship? Or are we coming together in our own names instead?
