People Must Always have Access to God
Leviticus 6:8-13
Leviticus 6:8–7:38 is our next section. This portion covers the five major offerings and gives additional instructions or teaching related to portions and how to handle the holy things of God.
So, we go back to the first offering given by God to Moses in Leviticus 1:1.
As we read this section for today, there are two main ideas stated. One has to do with the fire on the alter and the other has to do with priestly garments. The fire was to be kept burning night and day. Next, the priest had to be clothed in proper attire for the duty he performed.
Leviticus 6:8-13
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
1. God’s Atonement Fire Must Stay Burning (6:8-9)
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
God has a positive, didactic teaching purpose with His law; a purpose that is not always served with the way we use law, and in our own personal civil codes. Do this and don’t do this is not exactly what God’s Law is about. So, when God speaks of Torah (or law) in the Old Testament, and especially here in the Pentateuch, He means something that has a positive teaching function, and not just a code of right and wrong. In this case we have here something of a manual for sacrificial procedure by the priesthood, but even then, God’s point is not merely that the details of the ritual instruction be followed, but that we appreciate the truth that that ritual instruction is intended to symbolize for us. To get the Law of God right means we see further than just the rule but the rich shadow it contains.
Now, we New Testament Christians are often tempted to view the law only in negative terms, or to view it as simply a code of condemnation.
Ephesians 2:12–16 (ESV)
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
John 1:17 (ESV)
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The law came through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ. And of course, there is a proper contrast between law and gospel. That is one of the glorious truths of the New Testament. But when we only view the law in those terms, when we only view the law as negative, we miss something of the beauty of the law given in its original context. And this passage itself illustrates the wider, more positive Hebrew usage of law or here, Torah. It is first and foremost family instruction. And that reminds us, when we use those words as an introduction to our reading of Scripture, when we ask the Lord to allow us to behold wonderful things in His law, we’re not speaking of statutory codes only, we’re speaking about the whole of His word, which is a word of instruction.
God’s Law is perfect because God is perfect. We are the broken pieces. So, even when we read God’s Law, we should not view it negatively but it too shows God’s grace in granting forgiveness. However, when Jesus comes onto the scene, he fixes the broken pieces when our sins are removed and entirely atoned for.
Let’s go back for a moment and be reminded what the Burnt Offering was…
Leviticus 1 and 6:8-13 describe the traditional burnt offering. The Israelites brought a bull, sheep, or goat, a male with no defect, and killed it at the entrance to the tabernacle. The animal’s blood was drained, and the priest sprinkled blood around the altar. The animal was skinned and cut it into pieces, the intestines and legs washed, and the priest burned the pieces over the altar all night. A turtledove or pigeon could also be sacrificed, although they weren’t skinned.
A person could give a burnt offering at any time. It was a sacrifice of general atonement—an acknowledgement of the sin nature and a request for renewed relationship with God through forgiveness via sacrificial substitution.
The ultimate fulfillment of the burnt offering is in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. His physical life was completely consumed, He ascended to God. But most importantly, His sacrifice, once for all time, atoned for our sins and restored our relationship with God.
With that meaning and purpose of the Burnt Offering in mind, we see how important it is that atonement always be accessible. The provision of atonement must always be available to sinners.
No Israelite should ever come to the entrance of the Tabernacle ready to sacrifice and receive forgiveness only to discover the fire is out and there is no priest on duty.
Perpetual fire signified that the way of access to God by the substitutionary sacrifice of the burnt offering was always ready and available.
Are you willing? He has removed all obstacles; the door is open. Bring your shame to him, confess your sins to him, look to Christ upon the cross, and trust in his work for sinners. It is not humble, safe, or wise to wait another moment. He does not merely invite you to come as you are — he summons you near:
Isaiah 55:6–7 (ESV)
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
We are called to ascend the Holy Mountain to enter into God’s plan of salvation now given exclusively through Jesus Christ. He is the sacrifice for sin that brings full and complete atonement.
Hebrews 10:4–7 (ESV)
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
Access to the Father is always open through the Son…The fire is always burning.
2. God’s Priests Must Be Holy (6:10-12)
10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
The clothing of the priests is highlighted a lot in the OT. The reason is that the garments are symbolic of holiness. Pure linen garments symbolize holiness.
One thing we see here, is when the priests worked outside the sacred place, scraping of the ashes of the burnt offering into the rubbish heap, they changed their clothes. They had to maintain their pure white garments when they laid the sacrifice on the altar to be burned.
People need a holy priest…
Jesus offered a sacrifice to satisfy the Law of God when He offered Himself for our sins (Hebrews 7:26-27). Unlike the Levitical priests, who had to continually offer sacrifices, Jesus only had to offer His sacrifice once, gaining eternal redemption for all who come to God through Him (Hebrews 9:12).
One other important point about Jesus’ priesthood—every priest is appointed from among men. Jesus, though God from eternity, became a man in order to suffer death and serve as our High Priest (Hebrews 2:9). As a man, He was subject to all the weaknesses and temptations that we are, so that He could personally relate to us in our struggles (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is greater than any other priest, so He is called our “Great High Priest” in Hebrews 4:14, and that gives us the boldness to come “unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV).
13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
3. The Fire is Burning, the Door is Open, and the High Priest Stands Ready to Receive You
How does God compel His people to come to Him? We must see that atonement must be personal. You need your sins atoned for. You need a Substitute and you need a holy High Priest. You also must see your sin.
Jesus makes a wonderful point in Luke 13. While people may speculate about a lot of things, our Lord cuts through all the distractions and shoots an arrow into the hearts of His listeners. He calls us to repentance. That’s how God draws people to Himself He refocuses their attention not on the evils of the world but on the evils within them.
I wanted to use this passage because it is an account of a terrible massacre committed by Rome during the time of the sacrifices of the Burnt Offering.
Luke 13:1–5 (ESV)
13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Will you come to Christ and trust Him alone?
Resources Used:
Holiness to the Lord by Ross
Teaching Leviticus by Harper
Leviticus by Rooker
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