The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being. A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out (verse 5-6). 

This verse is most known nowadays as the source of the ner tamid  – the eternal light – placed above the ark in shuls. We will see later that the fire on the altar actually had divine origin. In fact, the two eldest sons of Aaron are thought to have died because they attempted to start the fire on the altar instead of waiting until the fire descended from heaven. Why would God command the people to keep the fire burning if the fire had a divine origin? It would have been easier for God to simply have this fire stay alight. 

God must have been trying to provide a special message to the people, and one that continues a theme that began from the moment of the Exodus. God does not want the people to be reliant on miracles. Miracles may be necessary at certain moments, but not as a part of the service of God. God specifically wants people to be partners in life. 

Adding “logs to a miraculous fire” is the perfect metaphor for this. Seeing such a miracle could make someone complacent. Why should people work toward worship and devotion of God when there’s an eternal divine flame just sitting there? Every day the priests had to bring wood to the altar as a reminder of this partnership. The Midrash even says that there was a special weather protective dome that the priests would place over the altar to protect it from the harsh weather of the wilderness.

The Midrash’s tale of the iron dome over the fire is not about the ingenuity of the Israelites in the wilderness. It is about the care that the people took to protect something that should not have needed protecting. God could simply keep his fire lit without any help, but it is God’s wish that people partner with God to keep God’s flame alight eternally.