Verse of the day: Exodus
3:2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a
bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
We
spoke previously of Moses turning his attention toward the burning bush, and
God calling out to him once Moses set his eyes on it. Next, we saw that God
commanded Moses to approach with reverence because the ground he was going to
step on was holy ground. It became holy because God set it apart for His use.
Here, we take another look at this fire that appeared, but did not consume the
bush. The Angel of the Lord appeared in the flame. This fact is one that is
often overlooked, but of great significance in understanding who our God is,
and what He was about to do. Hebrews 12:29 tells us, “For our God is a consuming fire.” This the writer expresses to
emphasize what he wrote previously, in verse 28, in that we are to serve the
Lord with reverence and fear. In Deuteronomy 4:23-25, God is referred to as a
Consuming Fire, who is a jealous God, in reference to resisting the temptation
to worship idols. Moses also refers to God as a Consuming Fire in Deuteronomy
9:3, in reminding the Israelites that God was going before them to destroy
their enemies who were already occupying the Promise Land. Although our God is
love, He is also a God of wrath. He is a consuming fire in that He destroys
sin, and the wicked. For us, the Christian, this should bring us comfort, but
at the same time should cause us to reconsider whether or not we fear and
reverence God as we should. Fire can be both destructive and beneficial. The
sinner who rejects the Gospel, and rejects Jesus, is in danger of Hell-fire,
and eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire. The Christian, like precious metals,
will be purified by God’s fire. Like a precious metal, God will turn up the
heat in our lives in order to bring the impurities that exist in our character,
to the surface. The Scripture tells us that it is by fire that God will test
our works when we go before Him. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 reads, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will
declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each
one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be
saved, yet so as through fire.” One commentator wrote that every one of
God’s children “must be subject to the scrutiny of God’s righteous judgment.” God
appearing in the fire, and calling Moses to His service, is significant in that
we later see God, by the use of the plagues, prove Egypt’s heathen gods
worthless; thereby bringing judgment upon those who worship worthless idols. We
also see God leading His people by day as a Pillar of Fire, protecting them
from the Egyptian army, and later destroying them as they pursued His people. The
bottom line is that we, as God’s children, should find comfort, and confidence,
in God’s protection in our lives, and God’s working in us, and through us,
knowing that He consumes all that is wicked. Yet, at the same time knowing that
He works to purify us, and make us more like Jesus, even in the midst of the
fiery trials we face here on earth. For the unsaved, and the rebellious, it is
a warning that today is the day to accept Jesus as Savior (2 Corinthians 6:2).
For us, the born again believer, it is a reminder that the last place we want
to find ourselves is in a place where God has to discipline us for being
rebellious, and stiff-necked, in our walk with Him. Hebrews 10:31 warns, “It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” God can deliver
us from the hands of man and the devils, but who can deliver us from the hands
of God?
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