Respect the Flame of Love
God sent the Christ in fulfilment of their rebuilding Jerusalem. The true God is Love. He is our heavenly Father, and whom a father loves he disciplines. Discipline is not an easy process to experience. Very often we are as disappointed in ourselves, if not more so, than individuals providing us with discipline. (God Says, "Alright, that actually describes a bygone generation, and mac.")
In the Bible, love is allegorically a flame. Two scriptural accounts of priests; sons of Eli and sons of Aaron who did not respect the flame of love, consuming fire of the true God, ended with their deaths. These sons disrespected the duties their roles and service God required. They often used the implements wrongly, ate portions of the sacrifice that were not theirs to eat, and they got very close to the flame of the true God.
The fire of the true God consumed the sacrifices of Israel. Israelites brought livestock to the priests for sacrifice as an act of worship to their God, YHVH. When the fire consumed the sacrifices, it meant the approval of the sacrifice the individual was making and what it represented in their life. The sacrifices were consumed on behalf of those that were faithful to the true God. He always had a remnant of individuals who had not sacrificed to Satan's stand-ins, gods of the day. The remnant of Israelites not even faithful Elijah knew.
Love is not a free ride of approval that says, "Everything you do is praiseworthy, and everything about you is wonderful." Love from the true God means discipline because we are filled with sin. We are always being moulded and shaped. We will have growing pains. Even in grievous moments when we're feeling a bad spirit of correction we still know we're growing as an individual, and we're becoming a better person as the true God is helping us through that process relieving that depth of emotion with heavy spirit when necessary, so that we can move forward as we need to.
At times God will give us confusion amid a process. This is so we stop. Assess our actions and go about things a little differently with Him in mind, and with a prayerful mind and humble heart. Serving Him means excepting His discipline, it will challenge us. Then we benefit.
An interesting thing about the garment of the Levi priest; they were linen and flammable -- eventually (unlike wool.) The priest had to be respectful of the flame of the true God or their garment caught fire. They needed to respect the entire process of being around the copper sea (cauldron of sacrifices.) By contrast wool is not flammable. (There are many academic papers on this subject.) Tents and other goods were woven wool. Putting the priests in linen was cooler for enduring the heat but required respect (discipline) on their part.
When Ahab was king in Israel and Jezebel was his queen; consuming sacrificial fire put Ba'al to test. (Jezebel's evil is legendary.) Israel was in a sickened state spiritually from its fornication with false gods. (The Ba'als of the nations.) They were in a three-year drought.
Elijah, prophet of the true God, constructed a test. He assembled the Ba'al worshipers to a mountain. Each side built an altar. For hours Ba'al worshipers dramatically called him. Ba'al did not consume his altar. The true God consumed with fire the altar prepared by His profit and brought down rain on Israel with one petition.
The people were reminded of the true God. They had forgotten. The profane celebrations and fornication to Ba'al blinded them. What about today? You may not identify yourself as worshiping Ba'al but if you practice fornication you are. If you are addicted to narcotics and alcohol, you are. The true God wants you to stop doing things that align you with the gods that Satan has created for people to worship. Respect the flame of love.
Are you in the presence of an individual you admire and who you want to please? Perhaps someone you physically crave and lust after? Do not fornicate. If it is your spouse wonderful! Find reasons and ways to please your spouse and give them extra care. Draw close to the true God. Frequently and often pray to keep yourself free from fornicating. When spending time with a potential mate keep yourselves in a public place. (Until you see the Justice of the Peace - the true God will bless a marriage that means avoiding fornication - and yes, love at first sight He blesses when there is no fornication.)
The sacrifices, animal flesh, were the provision that nulled prayers of heart in Biblical Israel so YHVH was not a Ba'al, but Himself in His Love and Justice.
Now, what else is different about our day? Everyone wanted the Ba'al to have power to consume the sacrifices. Basically, Elijah's time was the point when flesh -- collectively -- realized, we fucked up and had not powered our god. So you got even shittier. Ba'al is consuming you to hell. Congratulations, you built with prayers of heart a mega Ba'al and the Ba'al has power to rain fire down and consume you as a sacrifice.