Fire from the Lord

Thousands of people stand in the desert sun, perfectly still. Every eye is fixed on one bronze altar. Then a blaze of fire leaps out from nowhere, and a great shout goes up from the whole camp.

The people of Israel are camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. They have built the tabernacle, God's tent, exactly as he described it: the curtains, the golden lampstand, the bronze altar in the courtyard. For seven days Aaron and his four sons have stayed at the entrance of the tent, being set apart as priests. They have not gone home. They have waited. Now it is the eighth day. The waiting is over. Today the priests will begin their work, and Moses has told everyone something that makes their hearts beat faster. Today, he says, the LORD will appear to you.

Moses calls Aaron, his sons and the elders of Israel. He gives careful instructions. Aaron must bring a young calf and a ram for himself. The people must bring a young goat, a calf and a lamb, a bull and a ram, and grain mixed with olive oil. Everything is gathered. The whole community comes near and stands in front of the tent. “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do,” Moses says, “so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” Then he turns to his brother. Aaron, go to the altar. Notice what comes first. Before Aaron can offer anything for the people, he must offer a sacrifice for his own sins. The high priest is not better than everyone else. He needs God's mercy too.

So Aaron steps up to the altar. His sons bring him the blood, and he touches it to the horns, the four corners of the altar, just as he was taught. Then he offers the people's sacrifices, one after another. The sin offering. The burnt offering. The grain offering. The peace offerings, which were shared meals of friendship with God. Some parts he lifts up and waves before the LORD. It is slow, careful work, done exactly as God asked, with nothing added and nothing left out. Imagine the smell of smoke, the crackle of the fire, the sun climbing higher, and the crowd watching every move. When it is finished, Aaron lifts his hands toward the people and blesses them. Then he comes down from the altar.

Moses and Aaron go into the tent together. For a moment, no one can see them. Then they come out again, and they bless the people. And the glory of the LORD appears to all of them. Fire comes out from the presence of the LORD and burns up everything on the altar, the burnt offering and the fat, in an instant. God himself has answered. He has accepted the worship of his people. And when they see it, the people shout for joy, and they fall down with their faces to the ground. The God who brought them out of Egypt is not far away. He is here, living among them.

A little earlier in Leviticus, God gives the priests a striking instruction. The fire on the altar must be kept burning continually. It must never go out. Every morning the priests were to add wood and lay the offerings on it. Many Jewish and Christian readers have connected that command with this day, seeing the altar's fire as a fire God himself had lit, which the priests then had to tend with care.

Fire from the Lord. You'll find this story in Leviticus chapter nine. A whole people did exactly what God asked, and God came near, and their answer was a shout of joy. So here is a question to carry with you. When you notice that God is near, how do you respond?