利九24　有火从耶和华面前出来，烧尽了坛上的燔祭和脂油；众民一见，就都欢呼，面伏于地。

　　代上二一26　大卫在那里为耶和华筑了一座坛，献燔祭和平安祭。他呼求耶和华，耶和华就应允他，使火从天降在燔祭坛上。
　　你要事奉神么？请记得，我们的神是烈火。祂到地上来，就是火到地上来。……祂进到人里面，就是火进到人里面。……神……不是冰冷的；神乃是火，是热力，是焚烧的。……你要亲近神么？你就定规被神所烧。神是烈火（来十二29），祂的眼睛像火焰（启一14），碰着祂的，祂都要焚烧（建造神家的事奉，三三页）。

　　Lev. 9:24 Then fire came forth from before Jehovah and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they gave a ringing shout and fell on their faces.

　　1 Chron. 21:26 And there David built an altar to Jehovah, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called on Jehovah, and He answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

　　Those who have a desire to serve God must remember that our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). When God comes to the earth, fire comes to the earth. When God enters into man, fire enters into man and burns in him....God is not cold. He is fire that energizes and burns. Those who draw near to God experience the burning. God is a consuming fire, and His eyes are like a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14). Whoever touches Him will be burned. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, p. 28)

　　铜祭坛上这焚烧一切供物的火，是从天降下的（利九24，参代上二一26，代下七1）。这火不是由人点燃，乃是从神来的。这火自从降下以来，就没有熄灭过；一天过一天，从晚上到天亮，这火常常烧着（利六9）。那火是圣火，不是凡火。
　　燔祭坛上的火在神面前将一切天然和消极的东西烧掉。……任何能升到神那里的东西，必须先在祭坛那里，用神圣的火焚烧。凡经过祭坛被神圣的火焚烧的东西，神才会悦纳。因此，在香坛那里在神面前烧香，需要从神那里降下的火。这烧去一切天然和消极东西之神圣的火，乃是我们事奉所需要的（李文集一九七九年第二册，一三二至一三三页）。
　　人对神一切的事奉，都必须根据于燔祭坛上的火。在旧约，所有到神面前事奉的人，都必须在神面前烧香；烧香代表人在神面前所给神的事奉，并且烧香的火必须取自燔祭坛（利十六12~13）。如果不是用燔祭坛的火来烧香，人在神面前的事奉，非但不蒙悦纳，反而要遭受死亡的审判（十1~2）。所以旧约清楚地给我们看见，所有在神面前的事奉，都是根据于燔祭坛上的火。
　　当以色列人跟着会幕在旷野行走的时候，他们在神面前的事奉，乃是开始于燔祭坛上的火烧起来时。……燔祭坛上的火是从神那里降下来的（九24）。当那火还没有降下之时，以色列人……还不能开始事奉神。他们虽然已经蒙神拯救，出了埃及，过了红海，也在西乃山下竖起帐幕，……他们对神还……不能事奉；因为他们还没有事奉的根据。他们事奉的根据，乃是燔祭坛和其上的火。光有燔祭坛还不够，必须有火降在燔祭坛上才可以。
　　到了利未记的起头，……神在他们对面，他们也在神跟前，……但他们还不能有事奉。……因为天上的火只能因着燔祭降下来。光有祭坛不够，还必须在祭坛上摆上燔祭才可以。把燔祭牲杀了，剥了，切了，洗了，然后摆在祭坛上，到了这个时候，天上的火才降下来。从那时起，神要他们借着这个火，到神面前事奉。……他们到神面前烧香，就是他们在神面前的事奉，而他们烧香所用的火乃是取之于祭坛上的火。……人在神面前所有的事奉，都必须源于燔祭坛上的火，都必须是燔祭坛上的火烧出来的（建造神家的事奉，一八至二〇页）。
　　参读：事奉的基本功课，第十四课。

　　This fire that burned all the offerings on the bronze altar came from the heavens (Lev. 9:24; cf. 1 Chron. 21:26; 2 Chron. 7:1). It was not a fire started by man; it was the fire that came from God. And that fire, from the time that it came, never ceased. The fire burned all the time, day after day, from evening until morning (Lev. 6:9). That fire was holy fire, not strange fire.

　　The fire on the altar of burnt offering burns out all the natural and negative things before God....Anything that can ascend to God must first be burned at the altar with the divine fire. Whatever has been burned on the altar with the divine fire will be accepted by God. Thus, to burn the incense before God at the incense altar, the fire that comes down from God is needed. This divine fire, which burns out all the natural and negative things, is needed for our service. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, "Basic Lessons on Service," p. 106)

　　Every service to God must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. In the Old Testament the priests burned incense before God. The burning of incense symbolizes the service rendered to God by man. The fire used to burn the incense had to be taken from the altar of burnt offering (Lev. 16:12-13). If a person did not burn incense with the fire from the altar of burnt offering, that is, if he offered strange fire, his service was not accepted by God, and he suffered the judgment of death (10:1-2). This example shows that our service to God must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering.

　　When the children of Israel followed the tabernacle in their journey through the wilderness, their service before God began with the burning of the fire on the altar of burnt offering. The fire on the altar of burnt offering descended from God (9:24). The children of Israel could not begin their service to God until the fire descended. Although they had been delivered by God out of Egypt, had crossed the Red Sea, and had raised up the tabernacle at the foot of Mount Sinai, they could not serve God, because they did not have a basis for their service. The basis of their service was the altar of burnt offering with fire burning upon it. It was not adequate to have the altar of burnt offering. The altar had to have the fire that descended from God.

　　At the beginning of Leviticus God was before the Israelites, yet they still could not serve Him....The offering of the burnt offering was the prerequisite for fire to descend from heaven. Merely having the altar was not sufficient; the burnt offering had to be placed on the altar. After the sacrifice of the burnt offering was killed, skinned, cut, washed, and placed on the altar, fire could descend from heaven. God wanted the service of the children of Israel to be based on this fire. The burning of incense was their service to God, but the fire used for burning incense had to be taken from the altar. Hence, the service that we render to God must originate from the fire on the altar of burnt offering, and our service must be the issue of the burning of this fire. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 19-20)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, "Basic Lessons on Service," lsn. 14