Last week I started sharing my thoughts on Hebrews 12: 26 - 29: 'At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”'
Today I want to continue my train of thought (I hope you'll click over to Part 1 if you haven't already read it, so you'll see where I started this) ...
Verse 27 of this passage really struck me ... In contrast to the world’s message of “do what feels good, whatever makes you happy”, I believe that God wants to remind His church that we belong to Him, that we were bought at a great price, and that He desires us to pursue holiness. Verse 27 speaks of “removing those things which can be shaken, as of created things”, so that only those things which cannot be shaken will remain behind.
What are those things that can be shaken – it’s like when the wind shakes a tree ... only the bad fruit and the dead leaves fall down, while what’s healthy remains attached to the branches. Anything that is not pleasing to the Lord must be shaken free, so that we can live a life that is acceptable to Him.
Then verse 29 ... this verse makes me feel really uncomfortable in my own skin ... In the same Bible where God is described as a kind, merciful, gentle and full of grace (and He is!), we find that He is also identified as “a consuming fire”!
There’s nothing mysterious about the original Greek and Hebrew words used here and in Deuteronomy for “consuming fire” ... they mean exactly that – a fire that utterly destroys or devours anything in its path.
In Deuteronomy 9, Moses refers to God as a consuming fire who would go ahead of the Israelites into the Promised Land, destroying and subduing their enemies before them.
Take a look at Leviticus 10 verses 1 – 3: 'Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when He said:
“‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’”
Aaron remained silent.'
Aaron’s sons, Abihu and Nahab were literally destroyed by fire when they offered an unacceptable sacrifice to the Lord in the tabernacle. Their disregard for the utter holiness of God led to their destruction.
Is anyone else cringing a little at these images of God? Isn’t He supposed to be kind and cuddly and daddy-ish?
God’s holiness is the reason for Him being a consuming fire, and it burns up anything unholy. Our sin is an offense to God’s holiness.
Turn with me to Isaiah 33 verses 14 – 16:
'The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
Those who walk righteously
and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail them.'
Those who walk righteously and who speak what is right are those who can stand in the presence of this fire ... and this righteousness can only come from our Saviour Jesus Christ – it cannot be found in any of our own deeds.
Now I’d like us to look at another passage from Hebrews, this time Hebrews 12 verses 14 – 17: 'Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy;without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral,or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.'
This passage is a good reminder for all of us who are seeking to be true disciples of the Lord ... DON’T BE LIKE ESAU!
In the Genesis 25, Esau gave away his birthright – his inheritance – in exchange for a single meal – a bowl of stew, to be exact.
The warning for us as New Testament believers is “Don’t be lured into the death trap of short-term pleasure” – don’t bail out of what God has called you to, don’t turn your back on the grace of God, for something that seems important or fun or attractive now, but has no long-term value in God’s Kingdom.
The warning is given again in Hebrews 12 verse 25 ...
"See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks.If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven?
That’s what Esau did – he considered what God had promised in the form of Isaac’s inheritance, and all that that life offered, and he said “No deal! Give me the plate of food. You can have the inheritance of God!”
It’s easy to look at this story and say “Well, I would never be so foolish!” ... but is that true?
So many of us, when the topic of sin comes up, think, “Well, I’m not murdering people, I’m not robbing banks, and I’m not having an affair, so my life is fine.”
Hawk Nelson have a song with a line that goes “I’m walking in a straight line...”
Instead of thinking about whether we’re walking what people call the “straight and narrow”, think about this: if you were to walk through Checkers, and everyone you know, from work, church, the gym, SARS, your family, everyone who knows you, was in Checkers at the same time – could you walk in a straight line?
If there’s anything going on in your life that would make you duck into the toiletries aisle to avoid your colleague, anything that you’re doing that would make you hide your head in the freezer when teacher walks past, anything that you’re involved in that would make you unable to walk in a straight line past all of those people – then you’re involved in something that is causing you to refuse God’s voice.
If you or I have anything that we have to hide under our mattress, or that we hide on our phones, our tablets, our computers, in our filing cabinets, in our diaries– then we’re rejecting God’s grace and choosing soup over a royal inheritance!!
Don’t be like Esau – short-term thrills and passing flirtations lose their shine quickly – but the losses we suffer can be permanent.
Join me again next week, won't you, as I share some more thoughts on Our God, a Consuming Fire.