And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out “(Lev 6:12-13).
The showdown was on. Elijah was on one side, and 450 prophets of Baal were on the other. Ahab had sent a message to all Israel and gathered these prophets on Mount Carmel for this contest. “How long will you waver between two opinions?” was the question Elijah asked the people of Israel. “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him,” he told them. Both sides came to an agreement. They would build two altars of burnt offering, one for Baal and the other for Jehovah. The 450 prophets of Baal would call on their god, and Elijah would call on his God, and the God that answered with fire would be God indeed. That, simply put, was the contest.
Fire of God Fell Upon the Altar
From morning until noon, the prophets of Baal toiled and toiled, shouting and screaming, intensely calling on their god to set their altar ablaze; but there was no answer. Elijah mocked them. He advised them to shout louder so as to wake up their god, who might be asleep, or probably on vacation. It was hilarious!
So they continued, earnestly praying, shouting and screaming, jumping around the altar, cutting themselves with swords, and calling upon Baal to answer them, but to no avail. They continued this until the time of the evening sacrifice, but Baal could not answer, he was a dead god.
Then Elijah gathered the people around the altar of the living God on Mount Carmel. He took twelve stones, each representing a tribe of Israel. With these twelve stones, he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been broken down by Jezebel. He took the bullock, cut it in pieces, and laid all the pieces on the wood for a burnt offering according to the ordinance of the God of Israel.
“At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back [to You].
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench.
When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-39)
In the Old Testament, fire and flame are often associated with Israel’s worship. The fire of God descending from heaven and consuming a burnt offering is usually a symbol of God’s satisfaction with, and acceptance of, the offering. Fire and smoke are often associated with God’s power and presence, as seen on Mount Sinai.
Israel went astray after false gods of the nations around them. This started in the reign of Solomon, whose heart went after strange women. He married many strange women from heathen nations, and they led him into idolatry. During his reign, he erected high places for these strange gods in Israel. Not long after his death, his kingdom was divided according to the word of the Lord. National apostasy began, and idol worship became rampant in Israel and in Judah.
Yet through this time of apostasy, God was faithful in sending His prophets, whose missions were to turn the nation back to God, and to point the people to the ancient landmarks and bring them back to the faith of their fathers. Back and forth from the days of the judges to the reign of the kings, we see God’s people repenting from idolatry and then turning away from God after they have been delivered and brought back. There were seasons of revival followed by a turning away from God. And many more times, ungodly rulers succeeded those whose hearts were right with God.
There were kings like Hezekiah, who did what was right in the sight of the Lord, after the steps of David, and brought revival to the house of God (2 Kings 18). And there were evil kings in Israel who followed the ways of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin. There were even worse kings who followed the ways of Ahab and Jezebel, the mother of harlots. For “there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel” (I Kings, 21:25-26).
The people of God who had once loved and served Him under King David forsook Him. Their love for God grew cold. They left their first love, turned away from Him, and followed other gods. So God sent Elijah the prophet to call the nation back to Him. It was to be a time of revival in Israel, for God sent His messenger as the “refining fire to purify the sons of Levi.”
And so Elijah, the messenger of God, called upon Jehovah and He answered. The fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the bullock upon the altar. This indeed was a sign of approval from God. The fact that the fire of God fell and consumed the burnt offering indicated that this public worship organized by Elijah was acceptable to the God of Israel.
This fire that fell from God’s presence signified the power and presence of God on Mount Carmel. It was a fire of revival, a fire to make His people return to their first love, their love for God. And God’s desire is that this fire will continually burn on the altar. God commands in the Old Testament that the fire upon the altar of burnt offering be kept burning continuously; it is never to die or be put out. In the book of Leviticus, He spoke to them concerning this law of burnt offering.
“And Jehovah spake unto 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 unto the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning thereon
And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh; and he shall take up the ashes whereto the fire hath consumed the burnt-offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.” (Lev 6:8-10).
The Lord God commanded the priests on this occasion to initiate a divine ordinance. This was to be the beginning of a lifestyle of worship for Israel. The priests were to put the burnt offering upon the altar that night and set it on fire, then make sure the fire stayed burning until the morning. In the morning, the priests would then gather and consecrate themselves unto the worship of God.
This is a new day, dear member of the Royal Priesthood. The Spirit of God is telling us that the “fire is already upon the altar” and this is the day of consecration. We, the priests of the Most High God, are to congregate for worship at the golden altar of incense. We are to take the censer and fill it with our living sacrifices, which will produce a sweet aroma before the God of the whole earth.
The censer is a small vessel used to carry fire from the brazen altar in the Outer Court to the golden altar of incense. We also remember one occasion when Aaron took fire from the altar, put it in the censer with some incense, and ran among the people to stay the plague.
Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed (Num 16:46-48).
Re-echoing the last verse: “And Aaron stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.” This is a marvelous picture of intercession.
What is the incense we are talking about here? Let’s listen to John and let him tell us what was revealed to him:
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand” (Rev. 8:3-5).
This heavenly scene witnessed by John the beloved is taking place in the Temple of God. This is not in the earthly realm, but in the true tabernacle, which the Lord made. The incense in the censer is the worship and prayer of the saints. These produce the smoke that rises up before God, and this smoke, as from a burnt offering, produces before God a sweet-smelling savor.
As stated before, what he’s referring to here is not just the occasional worship song or prayer that we offer to God, but our lives wholly offered up as spiritual offerings of worship unto Him. It is a life of worship and prayer He’s seeking. It is to be a lifelong, continual thing.
Keep the Fire Burning
In the twelfth and thirteenth verses of the passage from Leviticus quoted above, the Lord God commanded, “And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
“And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning thereon, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning: and he shall lay the burnt-offering in order upon it, and shall burn thereon the fat of the peace-offerings.
“Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out” (Lev 6:9-13).
After putting on the proper attire in the morning, the priests had to gather wood and put it on the altar, and then lay the burnt offering upon it, and ensure that the fire upon the altar was not put out.
All the wood, hay, stubble, and dirt in our lives will be consumed by the fire of God. Junk is created in our lives every day, and every day we come in contact with more junk. As we live down here on this side of eternity, all the junk that we gather in our everyday walk must be placed with the wood of the altar to be consumed by His fire. But the divine substance that really glorifies Him is not the wood, hay, and stubble, but the burnt offering laid upon the altar. That is our lives offered up to Him as living sacrifices. This indeed is our spiritual worship.
We must never forget what God is commanding us in this passage—the fire shall not be put out, it must be kept burning upon the altar continually. We are to do everything within our power to keep the fire burning.
Apostle Paul summarized this same message in his Epistle to the Thessalonians in three short verses:
“Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit” (I Th 5:17, 18, 19). In other words: Don’t put the fire out. Praise Him always. Pray without ceasing. Rejoice evermore. Whatever happens, don’t do anything that might dampen the zeal that the Holy Ghost is stirring up either in you or in another believer around you. Instead, do everything in your power to stir up the fire. Add more fuel.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb 10:24-25).
“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Rom 12:9-11).The praise, worship, and prayers of God’s elect are not a useless exercise. They are part of bringing God’s purpose to pass on the earth. We have missed the importance of our ministry unto God in the Spirit. We have thought prayer was just for getting things from God. That is part of it. But the spiritual ministry of the royal priesthood in this heavenly temple of God, which manifests itself in prayer, praise, and worship, is an important function in the eternal purposes of God.
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake” (Rev 8:4,5).
As our lives are laid on the altar in submission and worship, a living sacrifice giving up a sweet-smelling savor unto God, other supernatural things are being accomplished on earth. The fire from the altar that released the incense from our prayers is cast down into the earth. This divine fire, as John saw in his vision, produces the purposes of God on the earth.
Not only does the incense from our worship and prayer produce the sweet savor that ascends before God, but as it is cast into the earth, the power of God is released, shaking the earth to its core. Voices are heard as the Word of the Lord is released. Thunder shakes the earth to its foundation as the power of God is manifested. Lightning lights the world, as the illumination of God flashes within the consciousness of men. And a great earthquake erupts, as the kingdoms of men are overthrown and the kingdom of this world becomes the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
This heavenly scene witnessed by John the beloved is taking place in the Temple of God. This is not in the earthly temple, but the true one, which we are. As we live a life of worship and prayer, we are indeed sending up to God a sweet odor, as from the burnt offering. When our lives are laid on the altar in submission and worship, they are like living sacrifices, giving up to God a sweet-smelling savor. Not only this, but also the fire from the prayers or the censer of our lives is cast into the earth, producing the purpose of God. As the sweet odor of our prayers and praise and worship ascends before God from the golden altar within us, it produces an effect on the earth to the glory of God.