Hearth מוֹקְדָה

We are moving into chapter six of Leviticus with our word for today. מוֹקְדָה  hearth, on the hearth. It is used just this one time in the Old Testament. It is used in the sense of an open recess where a fire could be built and used for cooking. Let’s look at our one use. Leviticus 6:8-9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the מוֹקְדָ֨ה hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. The idea is that our word describes a place that can handle fire burning on it continually. Another form of our word מוֹקֵד is used twice in the Old Testament in the sense of a furnace, an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced for various reasons. Here are the two uses. Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting מוֹקְדֵ֥י burnings?” Again notice the idea of continual burning. The other use is in the context of a prayer. Psalm 102:1-5, 12-13, 18-20 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn כְּמוֹקֵ֥ד like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh … But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations. You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come … Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die. Notice how our word is used to describe the condition of suffering. That it was like burning in his bones in a place of continual burning. We would say today in a fireplace. But also notice the hope that one has in God’s deliverance using the ideas of favor and setting prisoners free. This description sounds a lot like what Jesus said he came to do. I’ll close with Jesus quoting from Isaiah 61 and applying it to himself. Luke 4:17-21 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”