Consuming Fire

Today I’m going to take a slightly different approach to our study. I encourage you to read Exodus 21 – 23 to understand the practical guidelines that God gave to the Israelite people on Moses’ first trip up the mountain. Not only did God impart the 10 Commandments, or the big picture rules for living, he also discussed practical matters like how to deal with workers, how to handle property disputes, and how to treat an enemy.

The focal chapter for today’s study will be Exodus 24. This chapter describes God’s second invitation to Moses to meet him at the top of Mount Sinai.

Exodus 24:15-18 says:

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain. And he stayed there forty days and forty nights.

We’re specifically going to focus on verse 17:

To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

The phrase consuming fire is used throughout the Bible in several different contexts. It appears first here in Exodus 24:17. The Israelites saw God settle on the mountain as he came to meet with Moses. To them, the presence of God looked like a consuming fire. There is no explanation of what the Israelites thought or felt about this event. But certainly, in this instance the phrase consuming fire is meant to be taken very literally. There was what looked like real fire at the top of the mountain.

If we look over to Deuteronomy, we will see another use of this phrase. Deuteronomy is the summary of the Old Testament law. All that was learned through the journeys of the Israelites through the desert is summarized in this book. Deuteronomy 4:23-24 says:

Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Here, we’re not being told about the physical characteristics of God, but of his nature. This verse comes in the middle of warnings about idolatry, about putting anything on earth above God. God’s person, His nature, His characteristics, and His love should consume us. He desires to be the center of our being. That is his rightful place. God says that He is a jealous God. But God’s jealousy is not like ours. When we are jealous, we typically want something that rightfully belongs to someone else. We are jealous of what they have earned. God is jealous for us because we actually do belong to him. Yet, he will not force a relationship with us. He leaves that decision up to us.
A markedly different reference to God as a consuming fire can be seen in Psalm 18. This Psalm was written by King David and is first seen in 2 Samuel 22. David is honoring God after he was delivered from King Saul and his enemies. However, the reference to God as a consuming fire here is quite different. In Psalm 18:7-8, David describes God’s response when he cried out against his enemies:

In my distress I called to the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

My cry came before him, into his ears.

The earth trembled and quaked,

And the foundations of the mountains shook;

They trembled because he was angry.

Smoke rose from his nostrils;

Consuming fire came from his mouth,

Burning coals blazed out of it.

Psalm 18:14-15 goes on to say:

He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies,

Great bolts of lightning and routed them.

The valleys of the sea were exposed

And the foundations of the earth laid bare

At your rebuke, O LORD,

At the blast of breath from your nostrils.

Here we see that the consuming fire of God is not always a good thing. David cried out to God, and on David’s behalf, He scattered enemies and rescued David from his foes. What is the difference between the consuming fire of God’s presence and the consuming fire that overtook David’s enemies? We find the answer to this question later in Psalm 18:25 – 27:

To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

To the blameless you show yourself blameless,

To the pure you show yourself pure,

But to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

You save the humble

But bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

God reveals himself differently to us depending on the condition of our hearts. God’s desire is for us to be rightly related to him. If we are seeking to be faithful, God will honor that by showing us His faithfulness. If we are proud and arrogant, he will allow us to stumble so that we can truly see how great He is.

Our final look at God as a consuming fire is in Hebrews 12:28 ? 29, where the author says:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

The author here makes a direct reference back to Deuteronomy 4:24. He is saying that because God is so all consuming, we must be thankful, and worship God with reverence and awe.

Thought Questions

1. Have you had a time or experience in your life when God was to you like a consuming fire? What special characteristics do your remember about that time?
   
2. Do you have a burning desire to know God more? If not, have you asked him to give you that kind of desire?
3. What can you do today that will cultivate a deeper desire in you for the things of God?
   

Related posts:

1. Listening to God
2. God’s Desire for Relationship: Exodus 19 – 34
3. Does God Really Provide?