FIRE!

Fire. The first time we see it in the Scriptures, it is not a campfire warming a man’s hands, nor a torch guiding a wanderer’s feet, but it is the flame of the Holy One Himself. Exodus 3:2 tells us that the Angel of YHWH appeared to Mosheh “in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” Fire that burns without devouring—that is not natural flame. That is divine presence. Already, from the very beginning, we see that fire is not just heat and light. Fire is revelation. It is YHWH choosing to show Himself in a way that cannot be ignored.

But that moment at the bush is only the start. Go back further, to Genesis 15:17 when YHWH cut covenant with Abram. It says, “behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.” The fire was YHWH Himself sealing His covenant promise with Abram, marking that His word cannot fail, His covenant cannot be broken. Before there was Sinai, before there was Torah given in stone, fire had already testified that YHWH is faithful. That burning lamp was no ordinary torch—it was His presence, walking through the cut sacrifice, swearing by Himself because there was none higher to swear by.

Now step into Sinai. Exodus 19:18 declares, “Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because YHWH descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” When YHWH gave His Torah, He did not come in whispers of man’s philosophy or clever speeches. He descended in fire. The mountain burned, and the people trembled. They knew that to stand before such fire unprepared meant death. Fire revealed His holiness. Fire drew boundaries—“come no closer unless I sanctify you.” Fire demanded reverence.

And what about the altar in the wilderness? In Leviticus 6:12-13 YHWH commanded that the fire upon the altar must never go out. Priests had to feed it day and night, because it was not a fire they had started—it was fire that had fallen from heaven, from YHWH Himself. When fire fell in Leviticus 9:24, consuming the burnt offering, all the people saw it and shouted for joy and fell on their faces. Heaven’s fire came to earth, testifying that He had accepted their worship. But He warned them, too, because when Nadav and Avihu offered strange fire (on top of the fact they were drunk while doing it!) in Leviticus 10:1-2, fire from YHWH came out and consumed them. The point could not be clearer—fire from YHWH is life, but counterfeit fire, unauthorized fire, is deadly. Holiness cannot be mocked.

Now hear the words of Devarim (Deuteronomy). Deuteronomy 4:24 says plainly, “For YHWH thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Fire is not just an attribute He uses. Fire is what He is. Consuming, purifying, jealous for His people. His fire is not tame. It does not politely sit in the corner. His fire burns up idols, false worship, and every unclean thing. Yet at the same time, His fire purifies His chosen ones like gold in a furnace. This dual reality—burning away and refining—is what runs through all of Scripture.

Look at Eliyahu (Elijah) on Mount Carmel. In 1 Kings 18:38, when he prayed, fire fell from YHWH and consumed not only the offering but the wood, the stones, the dust, and even licked up the water in the trench. No one could deny it, Baal had no fire, but YHWH answers by fire. That moment split the people’s hearts wide open: “YHWH, He is God.” That is the cry of fire. Fire unmasks the false gods and declares who is truly Elohim.

The prophets saw fire again and again. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) cried in Isaiah 6 when a seraph took a burning coal from the altar and touched it to his lips, purifying him to speak the Word of YHWH. Fire cleansed him, prepared him for holy service. Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) described YHWH’s Word like fire shut up in his bones—he could not hold it in. Ezekiel saw visions of YHWH’s glory surrounded with fire and brightness. Daniel watched the Ancient of Days seated on a throne of fiery flames, with a river of fire flowing out before Him (Daniel 7:9-10). The fire of His throne is unending—it flows, it purges, it judges, it consumes.

When Meshiach came, He came with fire as well. Yochanan the Immerser said in Matthew 3:11, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.” Not only cleansing water, but fire—the fire that burns within believers, setting hearts ablaze with love for YHWH, zeal for His Torah, and boldness for His truth. On the day of Shavuot (Pentecost), in Acts 2:3, tongues of fire appeared and rested on each disciple, and they were filled with the Ruach HaKodesh. Just as fire once fell on Sinai and on the altar, now fire fell into the hearts of men and women. No longer did fire stay in one mountain or one temple, now the living temple of YHWH’s people burned with His Spirit.

This is the mystery. The fire that once killed Nadav and Avihu now dwells inside those redeemed by the blood of Yeshua. Why? Because His sacrifice has made us holy, vessels fit to carry His flame. The same fire that judged idols on Carmel is the fire that fuels a believer’s prayer life, the fire that cannot be quenched.

Sha’ul (Paul) spoke of this fire. In 1 Corinthians 3:13 he said every man’s work will be tested by fire, and the fire will reveal what is truly of YHWH and what is worthless. Fire discerns. Fire exposes. The same fire that fell on Sinai will one day judge the earth. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 says that Meshiach will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God. Fire in the end is both promise and warning. To the righteous, fire means glory, purification, union with YHWH. To the rebellious, fire means destruction, judgment, eternal separation.

And yet, the beauty is this: fire is love. Song of Songs 8:6 describes love as “a flame of YHWH” that many waters cannot quench. His love burns stronger than death, unyielding, unextinguishable. The fire of His Spirit within us is not a tool of terror but a witness of covenant love. Just as Abram saw the burning lamp sealing YHWH’s promise, so every believer carries that flame of promise inside—testimony that YHWH will finish what He has begun.

We cannot forget the Lake of Fire, either. Revelation 20:14-15 shows the final judgment where death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. This is the destiny of all rebellion. The fire that purifies and empowers His people is the same fire that forever destroys evil. YHWH is not divided. He is one fire. But to His people, it is life; to His enemies, it is death.

The fire of YHWH is woven through all Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is His presence at the bush. It is His covenant with Abram. It is His glory at Sinai. It is His judgment against false gods. It is His Spirit resting on His children. It is His eternal throne blazing in unapproachable light. And it is His love burning hotter than death itself.

This is why Sha’ul exhorted believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:19: “Do not quench the Spirit.” Do not smother the flame. Do not dampen what YHWH has set burning inside you. If the fire within is His Spirit, His Word, His love, then to quench it is to silence Him. The fire must be fed. Just as the priests in the wilderness fed the altar day and night, we must fuel the Spirit’s flame in our lives through obedience, prayer, worship, and surrender. Fire that is neglected goes out. Fire that is tended grows hotter, brighter, unstoppable.

So the question becomes: what fire burns in us? Strange fire—our own ideas, man’s traditions, counterfeit zeal? Or the holy fire of YHWH that purifies, empowers, and leads us to Meshiach? Scripture is clear—the fire of YHWH is not optional. It will touch us one way or another. Either it refines us now, or it consumes us later. Either it fuels our walk with Him, or it judges us for resisting Him.

YHWH is a consuming fire. His fire is holy. His fire is jealous. His fire is eternal. And through Yeshua, that fire has been placed inside His people to burn forever.

 

 image done by chatgpt at my direction.

I have so many images for this, but if i put them all in, there would be no room for words!  lol.