Commentary - Leviticus 6:8-13

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Leviticus, the Lord shifts His focus from instructing the lay Israelite about what offerings to bring (chapters 1-5) to instructing the priests on how to handle those offerings. This is the procedural manual for the men who stood as mediators between a holy God and a sinful people. The specific focus here is on the burnt offering, or as the Hebrew can be rendered, the ascension offering. This was the foundational, daily sacrifice that was never to cease. The central command, repeated for emphasis, is that the fire on the altar must never go out. This perpetual flame was a constant, visible sermon preaching two fundamental truths: man's sin is a constant problem, requiring a constant atonement, and God's grace is a constant provision, the fire of His holy presence always ready to consume the sacrifice and accept the worshiper. The meticulous instructions about the priest's garments and the disposal of the ashes underscore the holiness required to approach God and the finality of the sacrifice. This entire passage is a shadow, a type, pointing to the unceasing intercession of our great High Priest, Jesus, and the once-for-all, yet ever-efficacious, fire of His perfect sacrifice.

What we have here is the rhythm of the gospel set in the daily grind of priestly work. It is a liturgy of constancy. Morning and evening, day and night, the work of atonement continued. This was not a religion for weekends and holidays; it was a totalizing reality. The fire that consumed the sacrifice was a holy fire, first lit by God Himself, and it was the priests' solemn duty to tend it. This was God's work, and man's responsibility was to participate faithfully. In this, we see a picture of our sanctification: God provides the fire of the Holy Spirit, and our duty is to continually offer ourselves as living sacrifices, tending the flame of our devotion and never allowing it to be extinguished by the cares of the world or the deceitfulness of sin.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 6:8 marks a significant transition in the book. The first five chapters detailed the five main types of offerings from the perspective of the worshiper who brings them. Now, beginning here and continuing through chapter 7, the instructions are directed specifically to the priests. This section could be considered the "priest's manual" for the sacrificial system. The Lord is not just concerned with the heart of the offerer, but also with the precise and holy conduct of the mediator. This passage on the burnt offering comes first because the burnt offering was the most basic and constant of all the sacrifices, offered every morning and every evening for the nation as a whole. It represented total consecration to God. The laws that follow will detail the priests' duties regarding the grain, sin, guilt, and peace offerings. This entire section establishes the solemn, orderly, and holy nature of the work done at the tabernacle, the place where a holy God condescended to dwell in the midst of a sinful people. It lays the groundwork for understanding that access to God is not a casual affair but must be done on His terms, through His appointed mediators, and according to His explicit commands.

Key Issues

The Unceasing Fire

The central theme of this passage is constancy. The offering is to remain on the hearth all night, the fire must be kept burning, wood must be added every morning, and the final declaration is that the fire shall be kept burning continually; it shall not go out. Why this heavy emphasis? Because this fire was first ignited by God Himself (Lev. 9:24). It was a piece of heaven on earth, a visible sign of God's holy presence and His acceptance of the sacrifices. To let it go out would be to treat the holy as common; it would be an act of high negligence, suggesting that the need for atonement was intermittent or that God's presence was not a constant reality.

This perpetual fire preaches the gospel. It declares that sin never sleeps, and therefore the remedy for sin must never sleep. The door to God's mercy, through the appointed sacrifice, was open 24/7. This stands in stark contrast to the pagan religions surrounding Israel, where the gods were capricious and had to be roused or appeased. The God of Israel is the one who never slumbers nor sleeps, and His altar fire was a testimony to His constant, wakeful holiness and His ever-available grace. For us, this points directly to Christ, our altar and sacrifice, whose blood speaks a better word, and who ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25). The fire of His atoning work never diminishes, and the effectiveness of His intercession never wanes.

Verse by Verse Commentary

8 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law for the burnt offering: the burnt offering itself shall remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it.

The formula "Yahweh spoke to Moses" signals a new divine communication. The command is not for the general populace, but specifically for Aaron and his sons, the priesthood. This is an in-house directive. The subject is the "law for the burnt offering," which here refers not to what the people bring, but to how the priests are to manage it. The first instruction concerns the evening sacrifice. It was not to be consumed in a quick blaze but was to smolder all night long. This slow burn through the darkness served as a constant reminder that even while the nation slept, their need for atonement and consecration continued, and God's provision for that need was active. The fire was to be kept burning on it, meaning the sacrifice itself was the fuel that kept the divine fire going through the night.

10 And the priest shall put on his linen robe, and he shall put on undergarments next to his flesh; and he shall raise up the ashes to which the fire reduces the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.

The morning duties begin. Before anything else, the priest must deal with the results of the previous day's sacrifices: the ashes. But this is not a janitorial task to be done in overalls. He must be properly attired in his holy linen garments. Linen was the fabric of the priesthood, signifying purity and righteousness. He had to be fully and properly dressed, right down to the undergarments, to handle even the residue of the sacrifice. This tells us something profound about holiness. The ashes, the very end-product of a holy offering consumed by holy fire on a holy altar, are themselves holy. They must be handled with reverence. The priest takes them up and places them temporarily beside the altar, in a designated spot within the sacred court.

11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Now comes a change of clothes. To perform the next task, carrying the ashes outside the camp, the priest removes his holy linen garments and puts on "other garments," likely ordinary clothes. Why? Because the holy garments were for service within the sanctuary. To wear them outside would be to profane them by mixing the holy with the common. Yet, the destination for the ashes is not a garbage dump; it is a "clean place." The ashes are the legally accepted evidence that a substitutionary death has occurred and been accepted by God. They are, in a sense, the receipt for a paid sin debt. They are removed from the camp, signifying the removal of sin, but they are not treated with contempt. They are honorably retired. This whole process is a picture of Christ, who was crucified outside the camp (Heb. 13:12), bearing our reproach and removing our sin far from us.

12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it.

After dealing with the ashes, the priest's attention returns to the fire. The command is repeated for emphasis: it shall not go out. The first act of morning worship is to feed the fire with fresh wood. This prepares the altar for the new day's sacrifices. The priest then lays out the morning burnt offering, the daily act of national consecration. Upon this, he also burns the fat portions of the peace offerings. The burnt offering was wholly consumed, representing total dedication to God. The peace offering was a fellowship meal, where portions were burned for God, given to the priest, and eaten by the worshiper. By burning the fat of the peace offering on top of the burnt offering, the law taught that fellowship with God is predicated upon total consecration to God. You cannot have communion with God until you have first surrendered all to Him.

13 Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it shall not go out.

One more time, for the man in the back. The command is given as a concluding, absolute summary. This is the bottom line for the priests concerning the altar: keep the fire burning. No excuses, no interruptions, no vacations. Continually. The Hebrew word is tamid, which signifies perpetuity, an unbroken continuum. This was the heartbeat of the tabernacle. As long as that fire burned, Israel knew that the way to God was open. The moment it went out, the system would collapse. It was a constant, visible reminder that their entire relationship with Yahweh depended on a continual, atoning sacrifice.

Application

For the Christian, the altar is the cross, the sacrifice is Christ, and the priest is Christ. The fire of God's holy wrath against sin was not just kindled, but utterly satisfied and exhausted on our substitute. The fire of God's holy favor now rests upon us in Christ. The work is finished, and so we do not need a literal, perpetual fire. However, this passage has potent application for us as we live out our faith.

First, we are called to be "living sacrifices" (Rom. 12:1). This is not a one-time decision but a continual state of being. We are to be constantly on the altar. This means the fire of our devotion, our zeal, our love for God and neighbor, must never go out. We have a priestly duty to tend this fire. We must "burn wood on it every morning" through prayer and the Word. We cannot live on the spiritual warmth of last week's sermon. We need fresh fuel daily. The Holy Spirit is the one who lights this fire in us at regeneration, but we are responsible to tend it, to fan it into flame (2 Tim. 1:6).

Second, we must learn the lesson of the ashes. We must regularly deal with our confessed and forgiven sin. We are to remember that it has been dealt with fully by the fire of God's judgment on Christ. We then carry it, in a sense, outside the camp to a clean place. We put it away. We do not keep it in the sanctuary, dwelling on it, nor do we treat it lightly. We recognize its filth, but we also recognize that it has been consecrated by the sacrifice of Christ. This allows us to serve God with a clean conscience, not because we are sinless, but because our sin has been reduced to ashes by a holy fire.

Finally, the constancy of the fire should give us immense comfort. Our great High Priest never slumbers. His intercession is perpetual. The effectiveness of His sacrifice is continual. The way to the Father is always open. The fire of God's love for His people in Christ never flickers, never wanes, and shall not go out, world without end.