12/09/2023
GOD's CONSUMING FIRE
Fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence. Examples include the burning bush, the Shekinah glory, and Ezekiel’s vision. Fire has many times been an instrument of God’s judgment and a sign of His power.
The fire on the altar of burnt offering was a divine gift, having been lit originally by God Himself (Leviticus 9:24). God charged the priests with keeping His fire lit (Leviticus 6:13) and made it clear that fire from any other source was unacceptable (Leviticus 10:1-2).
The altar can serve as a picture of our commitment to the Lord. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called upon to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices, engulfed by the divine gift: the inextinguishable fire of the Holy Spirit.
Fire is a wonderful picture of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is like a fire in at least three ways: He brings God’s presence, God’s passion, and God’s purity. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God as He indwells the heart of the believer. God showed His presence to the Israelites by overspreading the tabernacle with fire. This fiery presence provided light and guidance. Today, God guides and comforts us with the Holy Spirit dwelling in our bodies—the “tabernacle” and the “temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 5:1; 6:16).
The Holy Spirit creates the passion of God in our hearts. After the two traveling disciples talk with the resurrected Jesus, they describe their hearts as “burning within us” (Luke 24:32). After the apostles receive the Spirit at Pentecost, they have a passion that lasts a lifetime and impels them to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).
The Holy Spirit produces the purity of God in our lives. God’s purpose is to purify us and the Holy Spirit is the agent of our sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11). As the silversmith uses fire to purge the dross from the precious metal, so God uses the Holy Spirit to remove our sin from us (Psalm 66:10; Proverbs 17:3). His fire cleanses and refines.
In the altar of burn offerings, the fire should never burn out, and will consume every offering laid on the altar. God will only accept an offering burned on the altar only through and by His fire. If we want God to accept us as an living sacrifice, allow His fire to consume us, and to refine and purify us that we may be pure, holy and acceptable to Him.
Consume us Lord with your Fire.
