Turn to Ashes
Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the concept of sacrificing animals is an integral part of worshipping God. The straightforward procedure is to build an altar, put wood on it, light the fire, slay an animal, and then place it on the altar to be consumed. The worshipper thus demonstrates his desire to gain God’s approval by offering an animal sacrifice that cost him something. That sacrifice is consumed and lifted up to God, leaving only ashes behind. The scriptures call this a burnt offering.
The story of Noah provides a clue to the meaning of a “burnt offering.” Genesis 8:20, 21, “And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor.”
Jehovah was delighted with this burnt offering! It was a “sweet savor” to Him. His delight meant He accepted it! This is the basic meaning of a burnt offering, the acceptance of God! God accepts it wholly! “The burning of the offering on the altar shows how God accepts the sacrifice, as “a sweet smelling savor” (Tabernacle Shadows, page 45). “Its being burnt on the altar shows how God accepts this ‘as a sweet smelling savor’ or perfume” (R73).
A special class of burnt offering is recorded when God Himself consumed the sacrifice by sending down fire. This indicates something special, perhaps something new, the start of some event or process, or a significant requirement of God’s intervention.
Following are some examples where God miraculously consumed a sacrifice (not in chronological order!):
EXAMPLE 1: ELIJAH AT MOUNT CARMEL
1 Kings 18:38, “Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”
This was an undeniable manifestation of Jehovah’s acceptance of Elijah’s sacrifice! This event not only demonstrated God’s acceptance of the worship and offering of Elijah, but it revealed that Jehovah was truly the all-powerful God!
In the competition between the Baal worshippers and Elijah, there were some differences in their methods. The Baal worshippers:
- Took a long time! They started in the morning and went until noon! (verse 26). They continued until the time of the evening offering, about 3 pm.
- The Baal ritual included “leaping about,” dancing, as was the custom in pagan worship, dynamic demonstrations of their allegiance to Baal.
- By noon, with no response from Baal, they took out their knives and began cutting themselves, drawing blood that “gushed” in their effort to elicit Baal’s presence. By any standard this was very dramatic!
But Baal did not respond. By contrast the approach Elijah took was no less dramatic, but short and simple.
- He invited the people to draw close. This demonstrated that there was nothing hidden going on.
- The account says that he repaired the altar (Verse 30). While this could have been repairs from long ago, it is likely that the altar he had put together earlier in the day had been, in some way, damaged by the Baal worshippers and required attention.
- As he rebuilt the stone altar, he had a trench dug around it, large enough to contain “two measures of seed.”
- Then, after laying the sacrificial bullock on the altar, he instructed that four jars of water be poured on the altar and on the wood and into the trench. He repeated this three times!
- Finally, at the time of the evening sacrifice — about 3 pm, Elijah came near the alter and reverently uttered a simple prayer of two sentences.
Immediately, the fire from Jehovah came down and consumed not only the bullock on the altar, but the altar, the stones and the water in the trench in a stupendous firestorm. The identification of the true God and his full acceptance of the offering was irrefutable.
There are a few more gems in this narrative.
- The Time of Elijah’s Offering was about 3:00 pm, the time of the evening sacrifice under the law (1 Kings 18:29). It is no coincidence that this is about the same time of Jesus’ death on the cross! (Luke 23:44)
- The trench that was made for the water could contain about two measures of seed (1 Kings 18:32). Water is a symbol of truth. The two measures of seed may depict the seed of Abraham as the stars and sand — the two salvations which come from Jesus’ death on the cross!
EXAMPLE 2: AT THE CONSECRATION OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
Leviticus 9:24, “There came forth fire from before Jehovah, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9 describes sacrifices made that day, a bullock, a goat, an ox, and a ram. But why does Jehovah consume only the burnt offering?
Altar of burnt offering in the court
This ritual is the consecration of the office of the priesthood, not just the dedication of individual priests. It is the start of a new arrangement! In the finale of the service, God’s miraculous acceptance of that priesthood is revealed. God’s supernatural manifestation demonstrates that from henceforth the offerings of the Aaronic Priesthood are accepted by Jehovah.
Furthermore, all the people saw it! It was intended as an unambiguous public demonstration, similar to Elijah’s experience. What will be the unambiguous demonstration of Jehovah’s acceptance of the priesthood of Christ and the church?
The Day of Atonement provides a clue. The typical sacrifices of this day laid the foundation for the acceptance of the offerings of the people of Israel for the coming year. Likewise, the antitypical sacrifices of the Gospel age lay the foundation for the acceptance of the subsequent offerings of mankind in the Mediatorial phase of the Kingdom. But there were additional offering that followed immediately after the Atonement Day sacrifices. They were offered on the very same day!
Numbers 29:7-11, “And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish:”
In general, a bullock represents a perfect human being. After the sacrifices of the Gospel age are complete, in this case shown by the completion of the Atonement Day ritual, we look for some manifestation of perfect individuals!
The bullock here cannot represent Jesus or the justified church. The Atonement Day sacrifices happened earlier in the day. Antitypically, the church is also beyond the veil with Jesus — they are no longer men. This burnt offering followed after the Atonement Day ritual.
After Christ and the church complete their antitypical Atonement Day sacrifice, it is time for the mediatorial phase of the Kingdom to begin. The New Covenant will be inaugurated and begins its blessings. But the opening stage is the time of Jacob’s trouble. Deliverers will be needed resulting in the Ancient Worthies being raised.
Isaiah 1:26, “And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, a faithful town.” The Ancient Worthies will be resurrected as perfect human beings, and as such they are represented by the bullock, that immediately following the Atonement ritual.
Israel’s deliverance will be an astonishing miracle witnessed by the world. This is similar to the event concluding the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood (Leviticus 9:24). All the people will see that God has accepted the Priesthood of the Glorified Christ!
EXAMPLE 3 – KING DAVID, 1 CHRONICLES 21:26
“And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he called on the Lord: and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.”
In 1 Chronicles 13 David tried to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Uzzah was killed for touching the ark (1 Chronicles 13). David tried a second time and finally brought the Ark to Jerusalem with much rejoicing (1 Chronicles 15, 16).
A short time later David, influenced by Satan, decided to number the people. This was likely a sin of pride or even fear.[1] God judged and brought pestilence on the people, resulting in the death of 70,000. The angel had been slaying the people and worked his way to the threshing floor of Ornan. David was told to build an altar there. The narrative is quite interesting:
1 Chronicles 21:20-22, “And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. Then David said to Ornan, ‘Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto Jehovah.’”
1 Chronicles 21:23-25, “And Ornan said unto David, ‘Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.’ And king David said to Ornan, ‘Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.’ So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.”
1 Chronicles 21:26, 27, “And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and he called on the Lord: and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. And Jehovah commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.”
This is certainly a dramatic and emotional narrative. It ends with Jehovah manifesting his acceptance of David’s offering. There are two reasons for this acceptance:
- David’s heartfelt repentance.
- This place was a location of acceptable sacrifices!
This second reason has profound significance! Of all the places on earth, this location was special.
- This is the area where Abraham offered Isaac! (Genesis 22)
- This is the area where Solomon’s Temple would be built. (1 Chronicles 23)
- This is the area where Jesus was to be crucified!
Consequently, it is clear why Jehovah chose to accept and consume this burnt offering with his own fire![2] This was to be holy ground where vital elements of God’s plan were carried out.
EXAMPLE 4 – KING SOLOMON, 2 CHRONICLES 7:1
“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.”
Solomon offering to God
As soon as Solomon’s prayer was finished, Jehovah consumed the sacrifices and “fire came down.” This is a simple and yet profound indicator that Jehovah considered the Temple an acceptable place of worship! It was constructed in the same area where Jehovah had accepted David’s offering with divine fire.
The significance of Solomon’s Temple is described by Bro. Russell. “The Church will be the great Temple through which all the world of mankind may have access to God and return to harmony with Him. Thus, eventually, this glorified Church, or Temple, will be the House of Prayer for all people, all nations-not that they will pray to a house, but that they will approach God through the glorified Church, in which His Presence will be manifested and His mercy will be available to all. From this viewpoint, the Temple with its Shekinah glory represented the Church in the glory of the future, in association with Christ; and God will dwell in and operate through that glorious Church for the blessing of the world” (R5713).
The number of animals sacrificed during the dedication ceremony was around 142,000 (2 Chronicles 7:5). This was far too many to put on the altar. So, some were offered in the middle of the court (1 Kings 8:64) because the brazen altar was insufficient to accommodate all of the offerings.
EXAMPLE 5 – GIDEON, JUDGES 6:18-21
Verse 21, “Then the angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight.”
The situation Israel was experiencing at the time is helpful when endeavoring to understand the circumstances under which Gideon was called.
- Israel was under the severe domination of the Midianites.
- The Midianites had taken everything and were a great trial to the Israelites (Judges 6).
- The people cried out to Jehovah for deliverance. (Judges 6:6). So, Jehovah chose Gideon as their Deliverer.
- The angel consumed Gideon’s offering with miraculous fire! This indicated God’s acceptance and authorized Gideon to be Israel’s deliverer.
There was a reason for this miraculous display. Gideon understood the difficulty of this commission. There was no practical way to deliver Israel. They were forbidden to possess weapons and all blacksmith shops had been shut down. The people were generally in unbelief, not yet converted back to the Lord. Gideon needed a special demonstration of his acceptance in order to be convinced. Gideon brought an offering to God to indicate his own acceptance of God’s commission. God showed his acceptance of Gideon by the miraculous fire which consumed his offering.
Gideon has great reason to question the validity of Jehovah’s commission. Jehovah was asking him to do what seemed impossible in the current circumstances. The people were still in unbelief and had been rejected by God for years. So, Jehovah demonstrated the acceptance of what could have been considered impossible. The fire from God was an undeniable witness that what seemed impossible would be accomplished with God’s help. This is a wonderful example of the grace of God making up for what His people may lack!
EXAMPLE 6 – ABEL (GENESIS 4:3-5)
The next example requires a bit of conjecture. But assuming our surmise is correct, the same elements of God’s acceptance seen in the previous examples are again manifested.
“It came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”[3]
Abel’s offering was accepted by God.
The manner Jehovah used to show his acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice is not declared. However, probably God demonstrated His acceptance in some visible way. How else could Abel have known? The suggestion of divine fire is not unreasonable. The previous examples reveal that Jehovah has demonstrated His acceptance of offerings by a supernatural fire. Such an explanation here then is consistent. Thus Abel is included in our list of examples.
All six examples revealed God’s acceptance in special circumstances. They also indicated a pattern for accepting future sacrifices.
EXAMPLE 7: YOU AND I
We have seen how Jehovah God manifested his acceptance of sacrifices by sending supernatural fire to consume them. He did so in extraordinary times and in each case, there was a special lesson to be learned.
We are now in the process of offering our consecrated lives to God through Christ. We began at our initial consecration and continue the offering each day of our lives. How can we know that Jehovah has accepted our offering? Remember the principle being demonstrated in the above examples, Jehovah accepts offerings by consuming them with divine fire. It is the same for us!
Psalms 20:3, “Remember all thy offerings, And accept thy burnt-sacrifice; Selah.” This Psalm is, of course, our prayer. We want to have our offering accepted. But this text has another rendering which is very enlightening!
Psalms 20:3, “He doth remember all thy presents, And thy burnt-offering doth reduce to ashes. Selah” (Young’s Literal Translation). Albert Barnes’ commentary here is very interesting:
“And accept — Margin, turn to ashes, or make fat. The Hebrew word dashen (H1878) — דִשּן — means properly to make fat, or marrowy, Proverbs 15:30; to pronounce or regard as fat; to be fat or satiated, or abundantly satisfied, Proverbs 13:4. It conveys also the notion of reducing to ashes; perhaps from the fact that the victim which had been fattened for sacrifice was reduced to ashes; or, as Gesenius supposes (Lexicon, see דִשּן deshen), because “ashes were used by the ancients for fattening, that is, manuring the soil.” The prayer here seems to be that God would “pronounce the burnt-offering fat;” that is, that he would regard it favorably, or would accept it.”
Thus Jehovah will manifest his acceptance of an offering by ‘turning it to ashes.’ This means that God shows his acceptance of our offering by using us! He turns our sacrifices into ashes, lifting up the sacrifice!! Being turned into ashes requires constant contact with the fire! We cannot back off because the fire is hot! Of Jesus it was said: “The zeal of thine house has consumed me.”
A question now posed to each of the Lord’s people: “Is Jehovah using you?” If you are laying down your life daily in the service of Jehovah, the truth, and the brethren, and are being a blessing in so doing, then God is certainly using you. He is turning your offering to ashes and thus showing His acceptance of your sacrifice.
The seventh fire from heaven then is the acceptance of your consecration. As Jehovah uses you in his service, He demonstrates that you are accepted by consuming your offering. You must always have a burning desire to give to Jehovah what you have promised Him. “Daily seek to renew your consecration and daily seek to fulfill it” (Brother John Edgar).
May each of us labor without ceasing in the service of Jehovah through Jesus Christ; making an offering of our small service in the hope that Jehovah will accept it and turn it to ashes. And out of those ashes may we hope for the beautiful crown of glory, the final acceptance of our offering and the proclamation from God — “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”
Isaiah 60:1-3, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them, the oil of joy instead of mourning a crown of beauty instead of ashes, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
— Br. David Stein
[1] Another possibility was that he wanted to know his military strength. This is evidenced by the fact that when Joab returned with the numbers, he only mentions how many men could use the sword (1 Chronicles 21:5). So the reason may have also been fear. If David wanted to know how many men could use a sword he seemed to be interested in the strength of his army. This may have been caused by a fear of his enemies, and thus a lack of trust in God.
[2] Application Note: David would not accept Ornan’s offer to give him his threshing floor without cost. David said he would not offer to God what did not cost him anything. The lesson is that we are not to offer to the Lord that which costs us nothing!
[3] Abel we are told brought “firstlings” of his flock, and the text has the word bekorah which means female firstborn, of either sheep or goats. Dr. Young’s translation says that Abel brought “the female firstling of his flock.” “Even from their fat ones.” In other words God should have the first and the best of his flock, he chose the fattest and the best of the firstborns as his contribution. But Cain did not bring the best of his produce. This is shown by the Hebrew words used in Genesis 4:3. The “firstfruits,” in the sense of the earliest to ripen in Hebrew, is bikkar (Numbers 13:20). The firstfruits in the sense of the best produce is reshith (Leviticus 2:12, 23:10). The term for fruit in general is peri, and this is the very term used in Genesis 4:3 for Cain’s sacrifice. So it appears that Cain did not bring firstfruits of his labors as did Abel. He brought of the fruit of his labors but it was not of the best or the choicest or earliest, and that is why his offering was rejected. That was why “Abel offered unto God a far more excellent sacrifice than Cain” in Hebrews 11:4. The Almighty can only accept of our best, and sadly, Cain failed to give of his best.