Tyranny sent them there, so the fire didn’t hurt them ( Daniel 3:16-28). First, in Elijah’s confrontation with the priests of Baal ( 1 Kings 18) and later when King Ahaziah sent a captain and soldiers to arrest the prophet ( 2 Kings 1:1-14).įire as judgment also appeared in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s story when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Fire’s destructive force also played a big role in Elijah’s ministry. A fire goes before God, consuming people in his path ( Psalm 50:3).
Generations later, during the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, the first sacrifice was accepted by fire from Heaven and thick smoke ( 2 Chronicles 7:1-16).Īlong with God’s presence, leading, and speaking, fire represented ways that God punished and judged people. Speaking of the Tabernacle, its instructions included a burning incense in front of the Holy of Holies ( Exodus 30:9) and a lampstand with burning oil to be lit day and night ( Exodus 27:20-21). It must have been a continually miraculous sight to see a pillar of fire hovering in the air above the Tabernacle, then moving when God decided to move. God led and protected them at night with a pillar of fire ( Exodus 13:21). Moving forward as a people, the Israelites were led by a cloud during the day. There is also smoke because God descended in a “form of fire.” God spoke to the people from that fire “face to face,” according to Deuteronomy 5:4, just like he did with Moses at the burning bush. God descends upon the top of the mountain in a dark cloud, with thunder and lightning. The next time God comes to make a covenant is with the whole nation of Israel at Sinai ( Exodus 19:16-19). Abram goes to sleep, and God passes between the sacrificial pieces, an ancient sign of covenant agreement ( Genesis 15). God tells Abram to bring animals, cut them into two pieces, and leave them on the ground. Abram questions God’s promise-that he will have a son in his old age and his descendants will have a promised land. Scripture compares God to fire early in the narrative, in one of the Bible’s central events that matters deeply to God’s redemptive story: the covenant to Abram (Abraham). But how is the Holy Spirit like fire? Where Does the Bible Compare God to Fire? What about the Holy Spirit? We sing songs and use the idea of flame to refer to the Spirit.
#LIKE A FIRE BALL FULL#
Fire is full of mystery and wonder, causing both comfort and fear. The most consistent, however, is flame and fire. Scripture speaks of God and uses all natural imagery to describe his nature – mountains, thunder, lightning, and water. People remember witnessing or experiencing fires. A crowd gathered for the same reasons.įires draw a crowd. We weren’t the only ones that had walked over, though. Firetrucks and responders had arrived, and the house’s family was on the street, safe and unharmed.
Whose house was it? Did we know them? Is everyone okay? With the column of smoke as our guide, Mom and I made it to the burning house. Motivated by care and questions, we walked from our house toward the smoke. My mom and I went outside and watched while black smoke billowed from a different part of the neighborhood in a dark plume into the sky.
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