LESSON 2:
God is very concerned about
this fire, this particular fire!
"The fire
shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."
Leviticus 6:13
A flame not to be extinguished!
It's the consuming fire that
constantly blazes in the largest piece of Furniture in the
Jewish Tabernacle! The largest according to the statistics we
are given in Scripture anyway, the Brazen Altar.
There the Cross of Calvary is
prefigured again and again, thousands of times a day, millions
of time throughout Israel's history!
But, what is the source of this
fire?
From whence did it come?
As one would suspect, the Bible
is clear on the subject. "And there came a
fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the
burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people
saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces." Leviticus
9:24 reports that the fire appeared miraculously,
"from before the Lord!"
This is the very Fire of God!
It is special!
So much so that the Lord would
not accept any other fire in this holy place!
Two sons of Aaron, the first
High Priest of Israel, somehow chose to enter the Tabernacle one
day, using a different fire, to worship God!
Here's how Moses recorded the
event: "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and
put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD,
which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the
LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD."
Leviticus 10:1-2 uses a word for "strange" that is spelled "zur."
It not only means "foreign or another," but also has tinges of
"loathsome, despised, immoral, or alienated."
God just will not accept
"strange" fire!
To worship God one must come to
Him "in spirit and truth." The right Spirit, the Holy Spirit Who
is often Scripturally symbolized by fire! And the only Truth,
found in the warm fiery Pages of God's Word!
The whole idea of these studies
at the change of this year, 2007 becoming 2008, is to challenge
our hearts to be more fervent, more "fire-filled" in the days
and weeks ahead! The Lord willing, if days and weeks lie ahead
for any of us.
When Paul commanded us
Christians to be "fervent" in spirit, in Romans 12:11, he used
an interesting word! "Fervent" in Greek is represented by the
little word "zeo," as a participle here, a verbal adjective. And
"zeo" means "to boil," to be "hot!" It's obviously associated
with "fire!"
Child of God reading here
today, don't let your fire go out!
Stoke it, stir it, rekindle it,
whatever it needs!
Be "on fire" for Jesus!
And if one needs more "fire,"
the only place to get Such a wonderful Thing is directly from
the Presence of God!
Via His Word!
And via His Holy Spirit!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
There is reason to believe that Nadab and
Abihu were drunk when they offered that "strange" fire!
Intoxicated! This conclusion is based on the Biblical context
anyway. "And the LORD spake unto Aaron,
saying, do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons
with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation,
lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout
your generations." Leviticus 10:8-9 speaks from the same
paragraph as did the "strange" fire incident mentioned above in
today's Lesson.
These men died when they tried to worship God
under the influence of something
other than the Spirit of God!
That noun for "wine" is spelled "yayin" in
Hebrew and does mean an intoxicating drink! It's root verb
clearly indicates that which "effervesces." Bubbles as it
ferments!
Another place in Scripture warns against
strong drink and immediately points us toward the Holy Spirit
also! "And be not drunk with wine, wherein
is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." Paul wrote
this, under divine Inspiration, in Ephesians 5:18.
I suspect we are dealing with a critically
important issue today!
Life threatening for some!
LESSON 3:
The
"altar" in Scripture is nearly always a place of fire.
For example, Leviticus 6:12
begins: "And the fire upon the altar shall
be burning in it; it shall not be put out ...."
The Hebrew word for altar is "mizbeach."
It, found 402 times in the Old Testament, always is rendered as
"altar" in the King James Bible, every time!
In the Jewish Tabernacle two
altars existed. A larger one made of brass and a smaller one
made of gold. The particular altar in view here is the big one,
the brazen altar.
It is here particularly that
the fire is never to be extinguished!
Let's talk about this
particular piece of holy Furniture a minute. It's size is
significant. It was five cubits long and five cubits wide and
three cubits high! A cubit is about a foot and a half. Look at
those numbers! Five, five and three! They represent Grace, then
Grace again, that's the two fives! Then the Triune Godhead is
symbolized by the three!
When God comes to man, to this
earth, always blood, atoning blood, must be shed!
Otherwise there can be no forgiveness of sin! Nor would
fellowship be possible! And God did come to earth two thousand
years ago in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ! What Grace!
What truine Beauty! And "in" that Person, "on" our Saviour,
rested the Fire of God, the precious Presence of the Divine Holy
Spirit! "God giveth not the Spirit by
measure unto him," Him being Jesus says John 3:34.
If my life is going to be a
place of living sacrifice unto God, then I too must be
overshadowed by such Fire!
Furthermore, this altar is
constructed of wood overlaid with brass! That pictures Jesus in
His humanity, being virgin born, like that wood "grown up from
the ground!" Isaiah said this of Jesus,
"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a
dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him." Isaiah 53:2
But the wood was capped with
brass, a "type" of Judgment in the Bible! Jesus on the Cross
bore God's very wrath for us sinners! Again Isaiah preaches,
"We did esteem Him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted." Also, "The
LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Jesus took our judgment for us
on that Cross!
Through the Spirit, too!
That Fire symbolizes the Holy
Spirit!
"How much
more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Hebrews 9:14
The actual Hebrew noun for
"altar," as we saw earlier "mizbeach," means the place of
"slaughter!" It's a place of bloodshed and fiery consumption!
"Fire" on the altar!
In a direct way that "Fire," at
least in our lives today, can be a picture of God in three
senses. God the Father is said to be fire in Hebrews 12:29.
"For
our God is a consuming fire." The Son is also associated
with Fire! Here's John's initial glimpse of Jesus at Patmos in
Revelation 1:14-15. "His head and his
hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his
eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine
brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters." See it, the fire! Also the Holy
Spirit as fire is depicted in Acts 2:3.
"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them." This is indeed the Holy
Spirit Himself!
Oh! We need the Fire of God upon us in this
sense too, the precious inerrant Word of God! Fervently burning
in our souls! The Bible in Jeremiah 20:9 reports
autobiographically of the Prophet, "His
word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones."
Lord, today, fill us with that Fire!
Let this new year be one of Holy Spirit
control in our lives!
And may that Fire never go out!
When Paul wrote,
"Quench not the Spirit" in 1st Thessalonians 5:19, he
used a verb, "sbennumi," which means "to extinguish" a fire!
Lord, help us not to be "cold." And not to be
"lukewarm!" But to be fiery "hot" in these first days of a new
year, which also may be the last days of this dispensation!
After all, Jesus could come today!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
The word for
today is "burning."
"Burning" as used in Leviticus
6:12, "And the fire upon the altar shall
be burning in it; it shall not be put out."
An ever burning fire!
At first glance "burning" is
just another common verb, nothing very unusual about it at all.
But upon closer study we learn
that a specific and relatively rare Hebrew word is used here. "Yaqad"
is the verb and I can only find it 9 times in the whole Bible!
Grammatically "yaqad" often
means "to kindle" something. To set it aflame!
In Deuteronomy 32:22 God's
anger is compared to a burning fire, one that will "burn" to the
lowest hell! "For a fire is kindled in
mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell,
and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire
the foundations of the mountains." The verbal unit "shall
burn" translates "yaqad."
This is indeed an intense
burning, reaching to the lowest hell!
Then in Isaiah 65:5 the
Prophet, quoting Almighty God, speaks of a fire that "burneth"
all day." Again using "yaqad."
This too is intense!
And by Jeremiah 17:4 the fire
of God is said to "burn" for ever! " Speaking to backslidden
Israel, God says, "I will cause thee to
serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye
have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall
burn for ever."
Also intense, for ever!
Even back in Leviticus 6:9,
concerning the Burnt Offering, "all night unto the morning" is
mentioned as a time frame! "Command Aaron
and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt
offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the
burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire
of the altar shall be burning in it."
The "yaqad" phrase is underlined.
No worshippers came at 3:00 AM,
not likely!
But the fire must still burn,
very intense!
Then add to these examples our
Text this week, Leviticus 6:12-13. "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."
Still, extremely intense!
If this fire is to picture the
fervent moving of the Holy Spirit in my heart and in my life ...
no wonder such a verb is used for "burning!"
Such an intense context
each time it appears.
I read recently that the sun,
our nearest star, consumes 700,000,000 tons of hydrogen a
second!
That's intense burning!
Likewise the indwelling,
filling, empowering, illuminating, nourishing Presence of the
Holy Spirit of God, "burning" deeply in my heart and soul and
spirit also should be intense! Fervent, never ceasing!
By the way, the sun does not
waste that energy either! It converts those millions of tons of
hydrogen into other forms of power!
Beneficial forms!
Am I writing to someone today
who longs to be ever more and more filled with the Holy Spirit?
Saturated with His very
Presence!
If so, we need to know, to know
by experience, that "fire" of God! That intense "burning" of His
Spirit within our innermost selves!
A "burning" that has vast depth
and height and breadth!
A "burning" that has sun-up to
sun-down endurance!
A "burning" that will last for
ever!
A "burning" that continues all
night unto morning!
A "burning" that is
inextinguishable! That shall never go out!
God, grant it we pray!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
Notice this John the Baptist
"connection" between the Holy Spirit and fire.
"John answered, saying unto them
all, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I
cometh, the latchet of Whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost
and with fire." Luke 3:17
Amen!
LESSON 5:
The
languages are different, Hebrew and Greek.
The portions of Scripture are
too, Old Testament and New Testament.
Even the backgrounds vary, one
being Jewish and the other centering on the Church.
But the words mean the
very same thing!
Here's what I mean.
"And the
fire upon the altar shall be burning in it;
it shall not be put out."
Leviticus 6:12
Then, "Quench
not the Spirit." 1st Thessalonians 5:19
The first command is
specifically addressed to the Priests of Israel. The second, to
all the saints of God!
The Leviticus Passage uses "kabah"
for "put out." Do not let this holy fire, the one burning on the
brazen altar, ever be eradicated. "Kabah" is defined as the act
of "extinguishing" or "eliminating" something.
And in a parallel sense, maybe
even a synonymous sense, "quench," the Greek verb Paul uses,
also means "to suppress, to put out, or to extinguish!" It's
spelled "sbennumi."
So important was this Old
Testament injunction that plans were laid to transport this
burning fire, right along with the brass altar and all the other
pieces of the Tabernacle, whenever the Lord led the Jews forward
to another location! Literally, it was never to go out! Numbers
4:14 hints at the procedure God prescribed.
And so important is the New
Testament command that it, "Quench not the
Spirit," is nestled among some other critically important
verses. For example: "Rejoice
evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things. Abstain from all
appearance of evil." All these are from 1st Thessalonians
chapter five.
Of course the question remains, "Exactly how
does one quench the Spirit of God?"
The answer is probably manifold.
But, most likely, the proper responses to
that question are found in the very context where it occurs.
Not to rejoice ... quenches the Holy Spirit!
Not to pray ... does too!
Not being thankful ... that too!
And to dislike godly preaching ... a sure
Spirit quencher!
To lack discernment, thereby being careless
and worldly and lukewarm ... quenches the Spirit also!
And surely not separating from evil, from all
its appearances ... cools or suppresses the Spirit's fervency as
well!
It's true, we do not now live in the Old
Testament era.
Nor do we worship by a brass altar, offering
little lambs to the Lord!
But we are associated with the Spirit of God!
Ideally we are filled with His Presence and
Power!
And His very Being is often compared to a
gently flickering flame, one which we are to never reject or
hinder or extinguish or quench!
Christian friends, let's keep the fire
burning!
Let's live for Jesus!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6:
The fire was
never allowed to cease burning!
It was primarily fueled by the
sacrifices themselves, little lambs and doves and occasionally
goats. Some big animals too, oxen included!
From morning to night blood was
shed. Thousands of times a day, at least!
But, according to Leviticus
6:12, something else was needed to keep that fire burning too!
Something unexpected. "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 "wood!"
Apparently when an animal
burned on the altar, or certain parts of that animal, it was
consumed rather quickly. The sacrifices alone would not have
kept the fire burning incessantly.
Therefore God called for wood,
wood on the altar!
We are not specifically told
what kind of tree was to yield that wood, maybe that depended on
Israel's given location from time to time.
I have been thinking about this
wood, this tree, for a day or two now.
What does it perhaps represent?
Remember, we are studying the
brass altar and the fire that constantly burned upon it. It
pictures, as clearly as anything in the whole Tabernacle, the
Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. His dying for you and me, the
innocent for the guilty! His Blood being offered on our behalf,
to save us from Hell!
Is there any Bible reference to
wood or trees that might link this altar to the life and death
of our precious Saviour?
How about this one?
"Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
hangeth on a tree." Galatians 3:13 is referring to the
Cross on which Jesus died!
Then,
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged
on a tree." Or, "And we are
witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the
Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree."
Then again, "And when they had fulfilled
all that was written of him, they took him down from the
tree, and laid him in a sepulchre." All these
Verses are found in the Book of Acts, the New Testament Book of
history.
That wood pictures the Cross!
There can be no Holy Ghost Fire
in my life, on the altar of my heart, apart from the fact of the
Cross of Calvary! Apart from the Blood Jesus willingly shed!
Apart from the Atonement Jesus made!
There just must be wood on the
altar, wood that fuels the Fire!
Also quickly notice that
someone had to gather that wood! We are given no specifics here
either. "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 ...." Each day thought must
be invested in collecting the wood.
I know another great New
Testament hero who gathered wood one day, wood to provide fire.
After the shipwreck, Paul the prisoner was cold. A fire was
needed there on the island of Melita. "And
when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them
on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on
his hand." Acts 28:3 shows us a principle.
When one gathers wood for the
fire, Holy Spirit fire in his or her life, get ready! The devil
will fight you! That old "snake," Satan will oppose the fires of
God every time! Anywhere a Christians seeks Holy Spirit Fire,
expect opposition!
But God can, and will, give the
victory!
Today, as you live in the
conscious awareness of the Holy Spirit's Presence and Power,
remember the "wood" too!
Think about the Cross where
Jesus died!
Gather those thoughts
reverently!
After all, apart from that old
rugged Cross, no Holy Spirit could have ever come to fill us
with His blessed Person!
John 7:39, interpreting a
sermon Jesus preached, tells us: "For the Holy Ghost was not yet
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." No
Death and Resurrection and Ascension ... no descending,
convicting, saving, indwelling, filling, empowering Holy Spirit!
Thank God for the "wood!"
Keep the Fire burning today,
dear friend!
If so, your heart will be
flooded with "love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance," and a whole lot more! That's a Bible
promise, Galatians 5:22-23.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
The
"ever burning" fire, most clearly mentioned in Leviticus
6:12-13, is situated in the "teaching" section of Moses' third
Book. There the five offerings, five sacrifices, that Israel
used in their worship of God are enumerated and detailed.
But of those five, only two are
specifically mentioned in our "fire" Text.
"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." Those two Offerings have
been capitalized for easier identification.
But why are the meat offerings,
the sin offerings and the trespass offerings not mentioned? In
fact, they are found in the nearby context, but not in
our specific two-verse Bible Text. Not in regard to the fire
that "shall not be put out," that "shall ever be burning" upon
the altar.
There is a reason, assuredly
so, why the Holy Spirit exclusively chose the Burnt Offering and
the Peace Offering, listing them in relation to the supernatural
divine fire.
The Burnt Offering is so
interesting!
Basically it shows God's desire
for total dedication from His subjects. This
offering was completely given to God! None of these animals,
whether oxen or sheep or doves, was to be eaten by anyone but
God! God's fire consuming them, there at the brazen altar, was a
picture of God's acceptance of the offering.
Of the Burnt Offerings, unlike
the Meat Offerings or the Peace Offerings, the Priests got
nothing! Not a single meal! Again I say so, it was totally
God's!
Here three different
categories, three levels of giving, were possible. One could
bring an ox, a "bullock." If not able to do this, cost being the
issue, a lamb would suffice. But if extremely poor, the
worshipper could bring a little dove!
However, the more one gave to
God, the more generous he had been, the more he was allowed to
participate in the Offering! God blesses whole-heartedness! God
loves zealous dedication! Remember Jesus' trait,
"The
zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," John 2:17 quoting
Psalm 69:9.
If a man bought an ox, he was allowed to kill
the animal himself! The he could even sprinkle the blood around
the altar and cut the animal into pieces too! He had to stop
short of laying the pieces on the altar, that being the priests'
duty.
But if a man only brought a lamb, he could
still slay the little animal but that was all! The priests did
the rest!
And if the man only brought a little dove,
the cheapest gift of all, he was not even allowed to kill the
innocent little thing, the priest doing it all!
The more you give ... the more you
participate!
Also the more expensive the gift, the better
it portrayed the character of the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom it
pictured anyway!
The ox is by far a greater picture of Jesus
than merely the lamb. And as lovely as that little dove is, the
lamb is a fuller type of Jesus. That's for sure!
Here now, the more one gives ... the more of
Jesus one appreciates!
Such are a few of the principles of the Burnt
Offering!
And it is associated, specifically and nearly
exclusively, with the brass altar and the FIRE that burned
thereon, burned incessantly!
If I want to enjoy Holy Spirit "Fire" in my
life, I must be willing to live in such a way that harmonizes
with the "Burnt Offering!"
Total dedication!
"All on the Altar" we sang years ago!
"I surrender all!"
"Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord
to Thee!"
Or to make things more Pauline,
"Present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service." Romans 12:1
Are you withholding something from God?
Have you given Him your feet, but not your
eyes?
If so, you know nothing of Holy Spirit zeal
and fire and earnestness!
The more you give ... the more you will sense
His warmth and power and love!
This is not giving or working to be saved.
That's a Gift! By Grace through Faith! By Jesus' shed Blood!
This is giving to express our love and
adoration to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Yes, no doubt, the whole Burnt Offering
belongs near that Fire that never goes out! Both back then in
Old Testament days, and now just before Jesus comes again!
Paul could even say,
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
That's whole dedication! And, "In Him we
live, and move, and have our being." Wow, that's
powerful!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8:
The Peace
Offering, unique among all Israel's acts of worship, is named in
Leviticus 6:12-13. "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."
The "fat" of the Peace Offering
is particularly mentioned.
What's the relationship between
this Old Testament ritual, beautiful as it is, and the God-sent
Fire we've been studying, fire "that shall never go out?"
First we must examine the Peace
Offering as it is taught in Leviticus chapters three and seven.
A variety of animals could be sacrificed, from a big "bullock"
or ox ... to a little lamb ... right down even to a goat.
Basically speaking, with this Offering only, God gets something.
So does the Priest ... and then the worshipper himself!
Yes, the "fat" belongs to God!
It is to be burned on the altar, consumed by the Fire! But the
meat of the breast and right shoulder belongs to the Priest, to
eat! God so ordained it this way, providing for His servants!
Then the remainder of the animal could be eaten by the
confessing sinner himself, by the worshipper at the Tabernacle
that day!
Particularly in the Peace
Offering ... God is satisfied, so is the Priest and also the
worshipper, the repentant sinner!
Thus we have all three parties
here, once alienated from each other, now in close communion and
fellowship!
That's the "heart" of the Peace
Offering's implication here, fellowship and harmony and love and
oneness of spirit with Almighty God!
Here's the point.
If the ever burning "Fire" of
the Holy Spirit's Presence and Power and Fruit is to be
consistently glowing in my heart and soul ... I must maintain
constant fellowship with God!
Consciously aware of His
Existence and Love and Salvation and Peace and Indwelling
Presence!
Just as the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit have eternally coexisted and been in perfect
communion, so in a lesser way and with occasional failures due
to my flesh, I can live in nearly constant delight and fervent
love with God!
Folks "on fire" for God will be
people who live the spirit of the Peace Offering! In harmony
with their Lord!
Somehow I believe that today
those of you who know what's being discussed here, who know by
experience, have an ever growing warmth burning in your heart
right now!
The Spirit of God bearing
witness to these words!
Like a fire, the Holy Spirit
purifies us and melts us and thaws us and comforts us and
delights us too!
Dear friend in Christ, let that
fire ever be burning in your heart!
Don't allow the wild winds of
the world to put it out!
Yes, even the Holy Spirit can
be grieved or quenched according to the great Apostle Paul!
And if that happens, the embers
will quickly grow cold!
Yes, in Revelation 3:15 the
Lord did tell the Laodiceans that He would rather they be hot or
cold, rather than lukewarm! But, obviously, His first choice was
HOT!
Hot, like fire!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9:
Today
several little things about our Text, Leviticus 6:12-13, need to
be discussed. The "drawing power" of this whole Pericope is
found in that little Fire that could "never go out!"
"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."
Leviticus 6:12-13
While we know that the brass altar, the one
highlighted in our Text, hosted offerings all day long, two of
those were enumerated in some detail. "Now
this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two
lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb
thou shalt offer in the
morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer
at even."
Then Exodus 29 continues, "This shall
be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the
LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee."
Yet it's that morning worship that our Text
Verses so clearly emphasize! "Burn wood on
it every morning,
and lay the burnt offering upon it ...." It just seems
that the Fire, the never-to-be-quenched Fire, must be carefully
tended, regularly! Twice daily really. But certainly every
morning! If one's relation with God is to be cultivated and
maintained and nourished and cherished it will necessarily take
time! Much time! Early-in-the-morning time!
"And Abraham gat up
early in the morning
to the place where he stood before the LORD." Genesis
19:27
"And Jacob rose up
early in the morning,
and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and
set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of
it. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall
be God's house." Genesis 28:22
"Moses rose up
early in the morning,
and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him."
Exodus 34:4
"And Joshua rose
early in the morning,
and the priests took up the ark of the LORD." Joshua 6:12
"O God, thou art
my God; early will I
seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth
for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."
Psalm 63:1
Be "early" tending to your walk with God!
Then notice again that the Priest was to lay
the wood for the offering "in order" upon the grate of the
altar! I am impressed by those words, "in order." Read it for
yourself: "And lay the burnt offering in
order upon it ...." Anything done for God must be pursued
"decently and in order" according to the Apostle Paul!
"Let all things be done decently and in
order." 1st Corinthians 14:40
Each day should contain, for the real
Christian, certain activities or disciplines that aid in
attaining a better walk with God! A "stirring" of the fires of
the Holy Spirit's Presence! In order, too! Bible Study and
prayer and witnessing as the Lord leads! Loving one's family
too! Weekly faithful Church attendance, giving of one's income,
worship and praise as well!
In order!
Even Bible Study, when standing alone, should
be "in order!" Book by Book! Chapter by Chapter! Verse by Verse!
Then, lastly, that precious fire was "never"
to "go out!" It was that important! Picturing the Holy Spirit in
our lives, as it so clearly does, we assuredly are never to
grieve or quench Him either! Always dote over His Presence and
His Person and His Power!
Welcome Him!
Commune with him!
Love Him, The One Who will always teach you
to love Jesus!!
Never let your conscious awareness of His
Indwelling of you and His Filling of you wane!
God gave such details to the Jews, specifics
about living for Him day by day! Even to their bathroom habits
and other points of daily hygiene! Also including what to do if
they found a bird on her nest, "If a
bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or
on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and
the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not
take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise
let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well
with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days."
Deuteronomy 22:6-7
Every area of godly human
living!
Including which fires could be "put out," and
which could not be "put out!" For example,
"Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the
sabbath day." Exodus 35:3
But, "The fire upon the
altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out."
Leviticus 6:12, our Text!
That detail, as far as it concerns the Holy
Spirit, certainly continues into the New Testament!
"Quench not the
Spirit." So cautions 1st Thessalonians 5:19. In other
words, do not let His Fire ever go out!
Stir up the warmth of His Presence always!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10:
We have, for
several days now, been studying the possible relationship
between the "fire" always burning on the brazen altar of Israel
... and the "fire" that is always to be burning in the hearts of
us Christians!
We've been comparing that fire,
indicative of the Presence and Power and Holiness and Approval
of God, to our fire, indicative of the Ministry of the Holy
Ghost in our lives!
This is called "parallelism" by
some teachers.
It's "typology" too, the Bible
study of emblems and pictures and "shadows," as Paul called them
in Colossians 2:17.
The Old Testament Fire ... the
New Testament Fire, both indicate the Glory and Grace and Beauty
of our great God!
The Old Testament Fire ...
"And the fire upon the altar shall be
burning in it; it shall not be put out. The fire shall ever be
burning upon the altar; it shall never go out." Leviticus
6:12-13
The New Testament Fire ...
"Quench not the Spirit." 1st
Thessalonians 5:19
Both are commands!
Now today, in our penultimate
Lesson, next-to-last in other words, we shall further study that
New Testament verb, "quench," as in
"Quench not the Spirit."
The root verb is spelled "sbennumi."
Here, due to its imperative present active form, it's "sbennute."
Accent the first syllable, sben'-noo-mee.
It's etymology is
interesting! "Etymology" means "the study of" (spelled "logy" in
Latin) that which is "true" ("etymos," again Latin of course).
Learn to trace the accurate history of a word, a Bible word
especially, as it develops through the years, often many years!
Our verb today, "sbennumi," is
most often used of fire and burning objects. It's basic meaning,
as the King James Bible so beautifully expresses it, is "to
quench."
But occasionally in ancient
history it has been found to be used of liquids. Then it means
"to be dried up!" See the comparison? Should the Holy Spirit be
likened to Water, do not let Him be "dried up" in your life!
Keep things in your heart conducive to His precious Moisturizing
Presence! Dehydrated Saints, spiritually speaking, are not
normal!
A few times "sbennumi" has been
found to mean "to still, to restrain!" Especially of emotions or
moods! When the Holy Spirit gets "excited" in your heart, which
He often does as He glorifies Jesus, what do you do? Encourage
Him? Or try to slow Him down?
The word several times in
ancient history was used of the wind, then meaning "to abate or
to calm!" When the winds of the Holy Spirit begin to blow,
"rushing mighty Winds" in Acts 2:2, do you spiritually "open the
windows" or pray for "tranquility?"
Several Greek sophists,
so-called "wise" men, used "sbennumi" as "fading" or
"disappearing" in several contexts. Then
"Quench not the Spirit," would have meant do not let Him
go away! Do not allow His Influence to fade! Beg His Presence!
Pray for His Favor!
Once I found it meaning "the
influence of personality!" This surely applies to the Third
Person of the Godhead! He is a Person indeed! His Personality
can be summed up in nine glorious words too:
"love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance."
Galatians 5:22-23
In the New Testament, still
using our same verb, the fiery darts of the devil can be
"quenched" by the shield of faith! That's a good quenching! When
the Holy Spirit is quenched, that's not good at all! It's a sin,
a dangerous one!
Here's something else that
cannot be quenched, the fires of Hell! "Where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched."
Mark 9:48 is probably quoting Isaiah 66:24,
"For their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be
quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."
Here's a time when something was quenched.
The fires in the lamps of the five foolish virgins in Matthew
25:8. "And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps
are gone out."
As marked, the expression "are gone out" literally is "sbennumi."
And in Hebrews 11, God's great
"Faith" chapter, some saints ... "Quenched
the violence of fire ...." Daniel's three friends
presumably are meant. They just would not burn!
Then in Matthew 12:18-21 the
first Gospel, again quoting Isaiah, says of Jesus' kindness and
gentleness, "Behold
my servant (Jesus), Whom I have chosen; my Beloved, in Whom my
soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon Him, and he
shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor
cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not
quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall
the Gentiles trust." Amen! Jesus, when He finds a weak
nearly-extinguished soul, ready to die, will not squelch its
last indications of former fire! No! He will re-ignite it! Fan
the flames! Stock the embers! Add some Fuel!
Glory to God!
Some things are to be quenched!
Other things cannot be
quenched!
But One Thing is never to be
quenched, the precious Fire of the Holy Spirit of God!
The words to an old hymn come
to mind today, "Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me! Melt
me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall
fresh on me!"
Folks, live in the constant, to
use Paul's words again, "communion" of the Holy Spirit of God!
"The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the
Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. " 2nd
Corinthians 13:14
The warming, beneficial,
fruit-bearing, precious Holy Spirit of God!
Never let That Fire go out!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11, CONCLUSION:
We today reach the end of a
journey.
That is, our journey through
Leviticus 6:12-13. "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."
It is believed that the Jews
kept God's Command here. That this Fire never did go out ...
until Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem!
They overran the City and destroyed the Temple, even taking some
of its Furniture back to their home Country.
At this time, history says and
logic agrees, the Fire probably "went out!" After nine centuries
or so of burning fervently!
But God did not extinguish It!
Man did!
Specifically, the Babylonians
or Chaldeans, their army no doubt.
But really, it was the Jews,
their unconfessed and accumulated sins that brought upon
Jerusalem and its Temple such havoc!
The Fire ... no longer burning!
And what extinguished it?
Heavy winds?
Violent storms?
Torrential rains?
Lack of ritual worship?
Some individual priest, not
being on duty?
No, no, no ... to all of these!
Sin!
That's what ... sin!
Sin, rebellion, apostasy,
transgression, iniquity!
I once heard a Preacher call
sin "the most expensive thing in the world!"
He had it right!
And, skipping now to the New
Testament counterpart of this ever-burning Fire, what could ever
dampen or extinguish the Flames of the dear Holy Spirit of God?
What indeed?
Surely, very little, if
anything!
After all, the Spirit is God!
He is therefore omnipotent!
But still, something can
"quench" His Fire in our hearts!
It is possible to "hurt" His
Feelings! He is alive you know! He is a Person, a Divine Person,
the Third Person of the Unified Godhead! He can indeed be
"grieved," according to Ephesians 4:30.
Well, the answer is the same,
Old Testament and New, only SIN can retard that Fire!
Only sin, and unconfessed sin
at that, can have such disastrous consequences!
Friends, stay in touch with
Almighty God!
Constant unbroken communion!
Oh yes, this Fire may at times
burn more brightly than before, or flicker more dimly ... but,
if a man walks with God, the Fire will never go out!
All the way Home!
Listen to the two on their way
to Emmaus, the day Jesus was raised from the dead. These words
were spoken after Jesus had revealed Himself to them, the
post-resurrection Jesus, in His glorified Body!
"And
they said one to another,
Did not our heart burn
within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while
he opened to us the scriptures?" Luke 24:32 is describing
the Fire!
Glory to God!
The Fire was indeed still burning!
Jesus stoked it that day!
The Word of God intensified it too, preached
in an expository format!
It burns in the heart of every Spirit-filled
saint of God!
Paul picked up on this grand theme when
writing young Preacher Timothy.
"Wherefore I put thee
in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands." 2nd Timothy 1:6
That verb "stir up" translates the Greek word
"anazopureo." It means "keep the fire alive!"
The Fire "from above!"
That says it all!
Christian friend, stay "stirred up" when it
comes to the Warmth and Passion and Flaming Presence of the dear
Holy Spirit of God!
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will be
so glad you did!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
