No Dating God: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4

The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. – Lev. 6:13

 

We are fickle creatures. Our attention darts quickly from one activity to another. Our eyes are never satisfied, and we constantly crave new experiences. Staying in one place too long, listening to one person too long, reading one book too long, eating the same food too long—they all grow boring. We must have options. We must have big menus. We must have 100s of ice cream flavors. We crave variety.

 

As Americans, this desire for variety extends even to our love lives. We begin, when we’re young, to date. Essentially, we taste-test many people’s beauty, intellect, wit, skillfulness, interests, and moodiness. We usually even taste-test each other’s sexuality. Compatibility is the goal, and so we sample each other and reject many relationships in our search for the one person who might fit comfortably enough to endure or even enjoy for a lifetime.

 

And if, after marriage, we don’t like the flavor of their lives—if we get a bit of a sour aftertaste—many of us feel justified to pursue the search for our favorite flavor. Some stay married, but flirt with others. Some have affairs and commit adultery, just to “keep things fresh and exciting.” Some grow so tired of the original spouse that they divorce, rejecting one person entirely, essentially returning them to the potential spouse store to be put back on the shelves for display, picking out a newer or classier model and returning home.

 

Our fickle craving for variety is the stuff unfaithfulness is made of. In some areas of life it matters more; in some areas less. And we easily lose track of the boundary line between permissible unfaithfulness and impermissible.

 

With God, unfaithfulness is impermissible. You don’t cheat on God. You don’t flirt with other ways of doing life away from Him. You don’t marry Him and then allow Your attention to fall away. You keep the fire burning.

 

I think that’s what Leviticus 6:13 (see also verses 9 and 12) is talking about. We could easily suggest that the fire represents fervor and zeal; perhaps it does. But I think the command then might be “keep the fire burning strongly.” We want zeal to blaze brightly, right? A good picture for zeal might be a bonfire, a forest fire, something really intense.

 

But this is not a picture of intensity. It’s a picture of faithfulness. Through the day, keep the fire of the burnt offering going. It should always be ready for service to God. Through the night, don’t let it die. Keep your attention on your relationship with God. A fire that is already going can quickly be worked up into a blaze, but a fire that has gone out is a picture of neglect. We dare not neglect our relationship with God, even for a moment. We dare not allow our attention to linger long enough on anything or anyone else that our readiness to serve God is extinguished.

 

Keep the fire burning. Through the day, through the night. Fiercely burning or gently glowing. Faithfully. Constantly. Always ready. This is the LORD we are talking about, and there is no room for unfaithfulness toward Him.

 

Father, thank You. All throughout history, You have called people to Yourself. You have told us how to know You, how to find forgiveness, how to live in love and righteousness and truth. You have provided for us, saved us, protected us, guided us, put up with us, and even enjoyed us. You have committed Yourself to us, even giving Your Son to die for us. And yet we dare to allow the flames of our commitment to You to die out. You are gracious. You do not expect us to be always at full force, but You call us to be always ready, open, oriented toward You and Your will. May we not grow bored with You. May we find variety within You, rather than apart from You. May we find that You are constant, but that You are profoundly deep and that we could never reach the end of new, wonderful, living experiences with You. Make us faithful. Keep our fires burning.