God as Fire

Is fire good?  It’s good under my cooking pot (I like a gas, rather than electric, stove) but not inside a pan of grease.  It’s great to have as a campfire, but not loose in the forest.  Fire is awesome, powerful, purifying, destructive, fearful, enlightening….

In Exodus, God appeared as fire several times.  First to Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3), commanding his attention and obedience as He commissioned him to go to Egypt to rescue his people.  Imagine listening to a fire and even arguing with it, as Moses did!

The next time Moses encountered God as fire was when the Israelites left Egypt (13:21-22).  God led them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day which turned into a pillar of fire at night.  This fire guided them and gave them light, comfort and protection.  God’s presence was actually visible to them.

Thirdly, God appeared as a fearsome, blazing fire that came down onto Mount Sinai (19:16-18) producing thick, black smoke and causing the whole mountain to quake.  The terrified people were forbidden to come near, nor did they want to.

Is God a tame God whom we can control like a campfire or a flame under our cooking pans?  As the writer of Hebrews says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”  No, I can’t control God, nor would I want to.  My prayer is that He will control me! 

Here’s an article that has more on this topic:  http://www.gotquestions.org/consuming-fire.html

Stay tuned for another post on the other side of God’s character which was revealed on top of that fiery mountain.