FIRE AND ASHES – by Raphael ben Levi
“Fire hides in the ashes. If you dig deep, you’ll find it. Yet, one who seeks fire in the mountains will find only wind and air.”
Sometimes, our ‘fire’ can burn out and all that is left appears as ashes. Too many people have been discouraged at this point and have allowed the winds of adversity to blow them into the barrenness of the craggy mountains. In order to rekindle the fire, we should never forget that the embers lie directly beneath the ashes!
Fire divides. Yeshua warns us about this in Lk.12: 49: “I came to pour out fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! “ He sowed a seed (spark) of faith which broke the stranglehold of religious legalism. Some people were set free to serve in His kingdom. Others stubbornly refused to heed His words and became the ashes or remains of the Levitical system. The fire of God loosened a force that changed the course of history through Yeshua. Yet, even the ashes of this fire have found purpose in God’s eternal plan. ( Rom.11)
The fire of Yeshua kindles the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His followers, poured out as burning coals upon our enemies heads. (Matt.5:38-48, Rom 12:20) It is a fire that manifests as judgment against all unrighteousness.
Those who welcome the fire of God into the deepest recesses of their lives understand correctly His intentions. God desires for us to dwell in close fellowship with Him, but it takes His fire to accomplish this. Many are called but few are chosen because few choose to embrace it.
Those who truly love Him are not fearful of being destroyed by the fire, but allow Him to purify, correct and cleanse them from every hindrance and encumbrance. God’s fire produces first love which is a bridal identifier of those who truly belong to Him. In the Talmud (Gen Rabbah 32:3) we read that a potter does not test cracked vessels, for he need only knock upon them once and they break; but if he tests sound vessels, he can knock them about many times without them breaking.
On several occasions in the Bible, God revealed Himself in fire within a variety of forms. Here is one well-known example: “The angel of Adonai appeared to (Moses) in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moses said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” (Ex.3:2-4) Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, who is recognised as one of the greatest Talmudists of the 20th Century, commented that:
“…there were good reasons for selecting the thorn bush as the vessel for a Divine vision. It was ‘clean’ for the heathen could not use it to make idols. God choosing to dwell in the stunted thorn bush conveyed the knowledge to Moses that He suffers along with Israel.
Furthermore, Moses was taught that there is nothing in nature, not even the insignificant thorn bush, that can exist without Him.
To give Moses an illustration of His humility, God descended from the exalted heavens and spoke to him from a lowly thorn bush instead of the summit of a lofty mountain or the top of a stately cedar tree.
The thorn bush may be taken as the symbol for Israel in several respects. As the thorn bush is the lowliest of all species of tree, so the condition of Israel in the exile is the lowliest as compared with that of all the other nations. But, as the thorn bush releases no bird that alights upon it without lacerating its wings, so the nations that persecute Israel will be punished. Also as a garden hedge is made of the thorn bush, so Israel forms the hedge for the world the garden of God, for without Israel the world could not endure.
Furthermore, as the thorn bush bears thorns and roses alike, so Israel has godly and ungodly members, and as the thorn bush requires ample water to flourish, so Israel can only prosper through drinking in the Word of God (Torah).
And the thorn bush, the leaf which consists of 5 leaflets, was to indicate to Moses that God had resolved to redeem Israel by His grace. The numbers represented by the letters composing the Hebrew word for thorn bush (‘Seneh’) add up to 120, to convey that Moses would live unto 120.” (Legends of the Jews Vol.2)
