Fire shall be kept burning on the altar
continually; it shall not go out. (Vayikra / Leviticus 6:6 [English:
6:13]; ESV)
By D. Gordon E. Robertson (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0]
My family and I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. We love to
take visitors on tours of the Parliament Buildings. We always begin
just inside the grounds at the Centennial Flame (pictured above). One
of the things that makes this structure so impressive is that it is
actually a fountain, with the flame on top. It was built in 1967 to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Canada as a
country. It includes the shields of the provinces and territories of
Canada as of the centennial, with the dates when each joined the
federation[1]. But what is the meaning of the
flame?
The Centennial Flame is commonly called the "Eternal
Flame," but technically it is not since it is shut off for
maintenance four times a year, sometimes for a full day. Elsewhere in
the world, there are all sorts of eternal flames, commemorating one
thing or another[2]. You will also find them in
churches and synagogues. In synagogues it is called "ner tamid"
(eternal light) and hangs by where the Torah scrolls are stored[3].
The ner tamid has several meanings, including symbolizing the
metaphorical light of the Torah and the presence of God, which is
often associated with fire in the Bible. It also harkens back to the
menorah, the seven-branched lamp in the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle)
and the Temple. It may also refer to what I read at the start, that
the fire for burnt offerings "shall be kept burning on the altar
continually; it shall not go out." (Vayikra / Leviticus 6:6
[English: 6:13]; ESV).
There is something about the command to ensure that the fire on the
altar never goes out that begs for speculation, to discover meaning
that isn't explicitly stated in the context. I do the same thing every
time I take people to see the Centennial Flame. What a wonderful
image. Is it a symbol of hope, of enlightenment? Or how about peace? I
am not sure how fire and light symbolize peace, but everyone likes
peace!
So I looked it up. The Centennial Flame was originally designed as
a temporary structure, scheduled to be extinguished at the end of the
centennial year[4]. So any eternal aspect
associated with the flame is unintentional. Besides marking the
special year, the flame helps keep the water in the fountain from
freezing in the winter. Makes sense in one of the world's coldest
federal capitals[5].
So what about the everlasting fire on the altar? Does it have any
special meaning? Well, the passage doesn't say it does. But a note for
Leviticus 8-13 in the ESV Study Bible makes this observation:
"This requirement would in turn serve as a special exhortation to
the priests to be faithful in their duties so that the worship of the
Lord could continue without interruption." The fire on the altar
had to always be ready. Therefore it was the priests' job to keep it
burning-simple and practical; like the Centennial Flame.
I am not saying that there is never deep metaphorical meaning to be
found in Scripture, but we should be careful not to read in meaning
that's not there. More importantly, let's not let our hunger for deep
meaning distract us from the practical things God is calling us to do.
I don't know what fire you are responsible to tend, but is it still
burning?
1 http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/collineduparlement-parliamenthill/
batir-building/terrains-grounds/flmm-flm-eng.html
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Flame
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ner_tamid
4 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/centennial-year/
5 http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/coldcapital.htm
Comments?
E-mail: comments@torahbytes.org,
or
leave a comment on TorahBlog.com.