“Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.” Leviticus 6:12-13 NLT
The Old Testament book of Leviticus describes the sacrifices that had to be made to forgive and cover sins that were committed. The sacrifices didn’t take away the sin, only covered it. Someone had to pay for that sin committed. A blameless animal’s blood was shed on the alter with the perpetual fire of God under it. The fire was never to go out signifying God’s willingness and readiness to receive confession and offer forgiveness. The people of Israel needed continual atonement for their sin and the Lord would always accept their sacrifice on the altar. The fire was always burning.
Today we do not need to offer daily sacrifices to cover our sin. There was a perfect sacrifice made for us once and for all in the God-man Christ Jesus. “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.” (1Pt.3:18 nlt) Not only are our sins forgiven but we gain entrance into the kingdom to God as we accept Christ as our savior. Our sin that kept alienated from God has been forgiven and taken away. We have now been reconciled to God for the sin that kept us apart. It has been taken away by the blood of Christ, something that the blood of bulls and goats could never do.
But, we still have a problem. Although assured of forgiveness and eternal life with Christ we still sin in this life. So what do we do? The symbolism of God’s perpetual fire still applies for us today. Fire destroys but it also purifies. God is ready to forgive us our sins and restore us to fellowship with Him as we confess them to Him. The fire still burns. Ask Him daily to purify you as you confess your sins to Him.
