“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 on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire on the altar must never go out — this is the most fundamental requirement of the altar's maintenance. Every morning the priest adds wood and arranges the daily burnt offering. The perpetual fire is the perpetual presence of the covenant community's offering before God: the altar that is never cold is the altar of a people who are never without the God who dwells in their midst. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says pray continually — the perpetual altar fire is the Old Testament institutional form of the New Testament call to unceasing prayer.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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