Treeoflifehouston

Leviticus 6:5-6 The fire on the altar is to be kept burning on it—it must not go out. Each morning the kohen is to burn wood on it, laying the burnt offering in order upon it, and burning up as smoke the fat of the fellowship offerings. ( LEV 6:6 Fire is to be kept burning on the altar continually—it must not go out. The title for today’s drash is “Keep the Fire Burning.” Many times you hear someone say, “That church is really on fire.” Or, maybe they say, “That person is really on fire for the Lord.” We want to consider words from the Bible that should encourage us to keep the fires burning in our life for always. We can keep that fire burning with God’s help. And not just in our individual lives but in the life of this congregation, also.

Sacrifice is not meant to be easy If it was easy, we would not think of it as sacrifice. One of my favorite sayings is “if it was easy, anyone could do it.” An Israelite who wanted to bring a sin offering had to go through some steps.

• Israel had adopted pagan customs of planting trees as an appeasement to the gods • Israel had turned away from the true God • They planted exotic plants • No amount of horticultural expertise would produce crops The conquering nations will sweep over Israel and Judah like a stormy ocean • God will rebuke them and they will dissipate quickly • The conquerors will themselves be destroyed

• Isaiah is putting words in the Moabite neighbor’s mouth. • Looking forward to the end of the oppression • V 5 Messianic prophecy • The Messiah will offer security and justice not available through any man

• This is a sequel to Chapter 13. • Babylon will win for a while, but Israel will ultimately triumph • The nations will want to attach themselves to Israel • The tables will be turned • Israel will be the head of the nations

• The judgment of God will be so harsh as to destroy much of humanity and disrupt nature • Even the sun moon and stars will be affected • Pride and arrogance are once again in thecrosshairs • V.13 God is still sovereign Isaiah contrasts Babylon with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

When Torah was given to Israel, a man could become a slave or servant for a variety of reasons. For instance, a man could invest all he had into buying a field and planting a vineyard. But before his grape vines mature and produce grapes, there is a hailstorm, and then locusts and finally, drought. He borrowed money to keep afloat through all the disasters but to no avail. He lost his entire investment of money and time. There were no welfare systems in those days. His only choice was to sell himself for a period of time and take the money to pay off his debts. At the end of his time of service he could then go free if he wanted. But if on the other hand, he assessed his situation and saw that he had a good master, a roof over his head, plenty to eat, and clothes to wear, he could make the decision to stay with his master forever. He became a permanent slave.

One of the most important Chapters to us :Isaiah 9:5 • For to us a child is born, a son will be given to us,and the government will be upon His shoulder.His Name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God My Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. • His reign will only increase through time • It will be everlasting • Justice and righteousness will be His hallmark • This will be a literal, physical reign

The earth and all its inhabitants are God's, but Torah says that we are something special. If we live in covenant with God, then we are God's סְגֻלָּה / segulah -- precious possession or treasure; we are מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹ / mamlechet kohanim v'goy kadosh -- a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. What can we make of this, and how does this relate to the story of Yitro with which the parsha began?

The provision that God gave them came with instructions. They were to gather it every morning after the dew dried up but before the sun got too hot. They were to gather an omer for everyone in their family. Gather twice the daily amount on yom shishi, Friday, and it would last through Shabbat. Any manna left over must not be kept overnight or else it would spoil. But not on Erev Shabbat because the manna would not spoil during Shabbat. Israel would eat manna for 40 years until they crossed over the Jordan into Canaan. It had a taste like wafers made with honey. Whenever I read that I think of graham crackers. This bread was heavenly miracle food. It was nutritious. It could be prepared in a variety of ways. It was amazing stuff. But note. God said this was a test for the Children of Israel. It was to see how they could follow His instructions. Have you ever noticed that there are some people that just can’t or won’t follow instructions? They always know better than anyone else how to do things. Well sure enough, there were some who just could NOT follow what they were supposed to do. It really was such a pain the tuchis to get up early every morning and gather the manna. It is just so much more efficient to gather twice as much as they needed. They tried to keep it overnight so they would not have to gather it in the morning. It did not end well.