Shavuot is a special time! The Jewish people connect Shavuot with the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai and their establishment as a nation, betrothed by God as His people. And we also celebrate the outpouring of Ruach ha Kodesh upon the first believers almost 2000 years ago marking the birth of the Church! Through Yeshua our Messiah we as Jew and Gentile are united in Him as one family awaiting the rapture when He returns to gather His bride to Himself.
At Shavuot we reflect on many things but today I want to focus on one thing – the fire of God. John the Baptist told his disciples: “I baptise you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worthy to untie—who will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
We love being baptised in the Holy Spirit but are not usually so keen about baptism with fire – that is what we shall be considering. God seeks to burn up any sin that tarnishes our lives that we might shine with His glory not our own but it comes with a price tag that few are prepared to pay – allowing God’s searchlight into the deepest recesses of our being. There are many times when we have talked with God in conversation, and when He has challenged us to surrender more of our lives to Him, we may have responded nonchalantly “Go ahead! I’ve nothing to hide!” And then God goes to work and we freak out…
We need to look in the right place to find buried treasure but there is only one place to find the Treasure of Treasures. The sages say that: “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.” The glory of God is surrounded by fire and those who guard His throne day and night are the seraphim – the ‘fiery ones.’ God dwells in the ‘fire that consumes and transforms’ lives.
Maybe your ‘fire’ is all but burnt out and turned to ashes? Many people have been discouraged at this point and allow the winds of adversity to cast away their hope. Instead, we must patiently allow God to rekindle it; and strangely the embers are positioned so close, directly beneath the ashes. Many start off serving enthusiastically in God’s kingdom but become burnt-out.
One reason why the Israelites failed was due to the impossibility of keeping the Mosaic system perfectly as required. God’s solution was to provide humanity with Someone not something who would stands in for us because of our flawed nature. “Yeshua who knew no sin yet became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Cor. 5:21)
The fire of God was manifested at the consecration of Solomon’s Temple but also in contrast when He swallowed up Aaron’s sons for offering up “strange fire.” When God expressed His desire to dwell among the children of Israel, He concealed Himself within a cloud and fire, so fearful was it to enter His presence. So it is for anyone who encounters the holy presence of God. And because of this many believers worship Him only from afar just as the Israelites did many times. Many are called but few are chosen because few are willing to choose that path. Yet, for those who dare to invite a holy God unreservedly into their lives will discover other aspects of His character – His infinite love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness, and be ruined for life.
Those who truly love God do not fear being destroyed by the fire but embrace it because His fire produces ‘first love’. And the closer we grow to Him, the more earnestly we long to be saturated with His presence. Paul expressed this in his letter to the Philippians: “I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection and fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death…!” (Phil. 3)
God cloistered Himself in fire when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3:2-4): “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.”
The sages provide several reasons why God selected a thorn bush for this encounter. It was ‘clean’ and undefiled, for the heathen were unable to use the wood to make their idols. And the stunted thorn bush conveyed the message that God suffers along with Israel as with each and every believer. He demonstrated that nothing in nature, not even the insignificant thorn bush, can exist without Him.
And God displayed His Divine humility to Moses by descending from Heaven’s throne and spoke to him from a humble thorn bush. And as the thorn bush is the lowliest of all species of tree, so the condition of Israel in exile was the lowliest compared with all other nations. Yet, as the thorn bush lacerates the wings of every bird who alights upon it, so every nation who persecutes Israel will likewise be punished.
And as a garden hedge is made of the thorn bush, so Israel forms a hedge for the world which is the garden of God. Without Israel the world could not exist yet even so they consistently seek to annihilate her.
And the leaf of a thorn bush consists of 5 leaflets, the number representing grace, to indicate that God had resolved to redeem Israel by His grace.
We read in (Ex. 13:21) that, “…Adonai went ahead of (the Israelites) in a column of cloud during the daytime to lead them on their way, and at night in a column of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both by day and by night.” It portrays a beautiful picture of the ‘Shekinah Glory’ who covered, protected and led the Israelites through the harsh desert places at all times as they followed His leading which, despite all the shortcomings and failures of Israel they succeeded here in this respect throughout their 40-year sojourn, maybe something the Church throughout the ages has not been so good at doing?
The cloud and fire is representative of the throne room of God seen in the visions of the prophets such as Ezekiel: “Beyond the solid surface above the heads, (of the living creatures) there was what seemed like a sapphire, in the form of a throne. High above on the form of a throne was a form with the appearance of a human being. I saw a brilliance like amber, like fire, radiating from what appeared to be the waist upwards; and from what appeared to be the waist downwards, I saw what looked like fire, giving a brilliant light all round. The radiance of the encircling light was like the radiance of the bow (rainbow) in the clouds on rainy days. The sight was like the glory of Yahweh.” (1:26-28)
God answered Elijah by fire (1Kings.18:24) in his confrontation with the false prophets of Baal. Elijah confronted them with the challenge: “You, call on the name of your god; and I will call on the name of Adonai; and the God who answers with fire, let him be God!” that ended in dismal failure for the false prophets of Baal. This is also the victory we have through Yeshua. May God arise and His enemies be scattered! (Ps.68:1) The fire of God devours and utterly consumes our enemies! In God, “No weapon formed against us will prosper but every tongue that rises up against us we condemn in His name, for our righteousness is in Him!” (Isa.54)
The prophet Isaiah spoke about a “… highway called ‘the way of holiness.’ The unclean will not pass over it, but it will be for those He guides.” (Isa 35:8)
The highway of the Lord is not for the fainthearted. It is a narrow path strewn with many obstacles. It is a pathway we walk by faith, with the certainty that it will lead to a spacious place, well-watered, full of nourishment and blessings. This path is one well-travelled, and none who have walked it arrived at its destination disappointed! It is a way of holiness for those with the courage and fortitude to put aside all else for the reward that lays before them. It is one which He will guide us through: across the discouragements and obstacles, the bruises and defeats – whatever we may face – God is faithful and will never forsake us!
You may encounter some people in your journey who have been strewn by the wayside who have caved into the enemy’s lies and intimidations; those who have chosen to believe distortions, half-truths or even facts that are beyond dispute. You might pause and wonder, “How could this be?”
When faced with a dilemma must choose to believe the facts or the reality that God is greater than any obstacle presented? Now, in the midst of a crisis of unimaginable proportions, would we still take the ‘highway of holiness’ and trust in God’s deliverance, or succumb to the devastation of an enemy’s alluring intimidation?
In these days where we are facing barrages of demonically inspired onslaughts of evil manifestations throughout the world, manicured to perfection, where unprecedented waves of deceptions are digging their claws causing many a person’s arms to hang limp in the face of impossible odds – God is seeking out those whose eyes remain steadfast in the face of impossible odds and place their trust in the Living God who always has the final word and whose eternal purposes prevail, unveiled in the fullness of time.
The primary purpose of God’s fire is to transform lives but sometimes circumstances take a different course and people throw in the towel as the challenges of life simply become overwhelming. How can someone who is struggling in their relationship with God become reignited? Using the analogy of a piece of damp firewood there are several things one can do.
One can dry it out depending on the weather conditions that represent the trials of life. God knows us better than we know ourselves and treats us individually as uniquely precious in His sight and draws us to Himself in His perfect way and in His perfect timing.
But a second method is to place a damp piece of firewood into a blazing fire. Then the damp wood is soon vaporised and becomes dry. This is akin to throwing a ‘damp’ person who is resistant to God into a group of people who are burning with love for Yeshua and one another. The closer one puts a piece of damp wood to one that is burning, the quicker it will dry out and ignite.
The fire that Yeshua kindles is poured out as burning coals upon the heads of our enemies. How so? In Rom 12:20 Paul wrote that “…if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.” This refers to an ancient Egyptian custom in which someone who had just repented carried a bowl of burning embers on his head to show his shame and guilt. Yeshua commanded us to pray for our enemies and bless those who persecute us. This is the character of agape love that is an impossibility that becomes possible through Yeshua.
The fire of God is entirely pure and holy and I want to share something here because of its vital importance in every believers life. Scripture urges us to “…pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb.12:14) And, Yeshua Himself pronounced those who pursue holiness as greatly “blessed:” “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,” that is, to know Him in His fullness with our spiritual eyes or even in visions and dreams and Heavenly encounters.
God’s holiness does not conform to any standard because He is that standard. He is absolutely, infinitely, incomprehensibly holy to whom all creation must bow the knee. He is “Holy, holy, holy.” His holiness defines the character of our holiness displayed in the fire of God.
Let’s not limit the unlimited God by closing the door of our hearts to these things. Ultimately, the fire of God is one of the deepest and important gifts to embrace and treasure at Shavuot.
God is seeking a bride desperate for Him who are consumed by the fire of His love – those whose strength is made complete in the knowledge of their own inherent weakness! Thank you Lord for Your constant provision and for Your Spirit in us and upon us!
So we invite the Holy Spirit to fill us afresh once again – to help us seek Him as never before – to come again in power and great Glory and release in us His fire and holy fear together with the knowledge of His infinite love.
Holy Spirit, we need You now more than ever to experience the fullness of Your Pentecost fire which we long to experience in greater measure! 🕊🔥
Let’s not allow anything to deter us from pursuing these things. And I want to close by sharing with you a heartbreaking story. I may have told it before but I do not apologise for repeating it because it resonates so strongly how deeply God views us despite our all flaws and shortcomings. How we respond is what determines the defining moment in our lives.
There was a young Chassidic man in Cracow, who was engaged to a very beautiful girl. When the Germans came, he was taken away and he didn’t know where his bride was.
In Auschwitz, the men and women were separated, but, somehow, from afar, they could see each other. Sometimes they broke through the gates. One night, close to the end of the war, suddenly he saw his bride on the women’s side. Unbelievable. They were blessing each other: “Hold out! The end is near. Please, hold out until the end.”
One way or another, they sent food to each other. When the Russians came and freed them, somehow they met, and they went off together. Everything was bombed. Finally, they found one house and they were, for the first time, alone. They were so happy to be alone. He had not seen himself in a mirror for years. He didn’t know what he looked like.
He had no hair, no payot (side curls). He was full of scars and covered with blood. But, even more heartbreaking, she was clean-shaven. She had no hair. She had no teeth. Her face was full of scars. They had not seen themselves for so long. They came into the house and suddenly, they looked into a mirror. They were shocked, especially the girl. She said: “This is the way I look! Not even the Angel of Death looks so bad. Tell me two things. How did you recognise me? And, how can you love somebody who looks like I look?”
You know what he said to her?
“You never looked more beautiful to me than right now.”
This is how God views us, wounded and wretched – all of humanity. How much more so those who know and love Him? God’s fire provides for us a mirror that burns away all the dross that reveal how He created us to be, pure and undefiled, precious beyond price for every moment of our lives He is gathering us in His arms of love and focusing our attention with these words: “You never looked more beautiful to me than right now.”
