God’s Consuming Fire Over Modern Idolatry
Our God is the one true God, a consuming fire.
I stepped into the oversized paws and pulled the furry costume over my legs and inserted my arms.
An excited group of pre-schoolers gathered around me to meet Smokey Bear. My son, Caleb, three-years-old at the time, hugged one of my legs.
While I patted his head, he remained clueless Mom stood underneath Smokey’s fur, blue jeans, and forestry hat.
Smokey spent the last 75 years telling kids not to play with matches and how to prevent wildfires.
Although my bear-costume-wearing days ended, I still possess a healthy fear of fire.
Consuming Fire From Heaven
A favorite Bible story describes a showdown of epic proportions involving fire from heaven.
King Ahab reigned over Israel. Sent by the Lord, the prophet Elijah told Ahab he troubled all of Israel because he “abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.” 1 Kings 18:18b (ESV, emphasis added)
Elijah called for all of Israel to gather at Mount Carmel along with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (verse 19).
Then, Elijah spoke on God’s behalf.
“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.’” 1 Kings 18:21-22 (ESV, emphasis added)
Now, for the showdown details.
The prophets of Baal and Elijah each prepared an altar with wood and a bull by cutting the animal in pieces—with no fire put to it. Instead, Elijah gave instructions to “call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” (verse 24, ESV, emphasis added)
Though the prophets of Baal began by preparing the altar and offering. And calling out to their god from morning until noon, there was no voice, and no one answered. (verse 26, ESV)
Calling Down Fire
It was Elijah’s turn. He took twelve stones and built an altar in the name of the Lord. Also, he made a trench around the altar. Elijah placed the wood and prepared the bull. Three times he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood” until “the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.” 1 Kings 18:33-35 (ESV)
The crowd gathered to watch. Spoiler alert: Baal never had a chance against the Almighty.
Look at 1 Kings 18:36b-39,
“‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.’” (ESV, emphasis added)
Wow! Even box office movies pale in comparison to the imagery here.
God’s a Consuming Fire
These Scriptures describe God as a consuming fire:
- When Moses warned against idolatry, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24 (ESV)
- When God went before the Israelites overtaking the people living in the Promised Land. “Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 9:3 (ESV) And not because of the Israelites righteousness. But because God is a righteous God (verses 4-5).
- And worshipping the one true God. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12: 28-29 (ESV)
God’s Fire in Our Lives
What about us? Sometimes idolatry is present in our lives. No, we may not worship Baal. Yet something takes precedence over God. God’s holiness is a consuming fire ready to devour everything we place before Him.
As God’s children we can strive to walk in obedience to righteousness. Because the world becomes more steeped in idol worship of people, things, and other gods.
God’s waiting for us to:
(1.) Hit our knees and fall on our faces. We recognize God’s righteousness and holiness to cover our sins, transform us, and intervene in our messed-up world.
(2.) Raise our hands and reset our hearts. We posture ourselves before a Holy God who is worthy of awe, reverence, and worship.
(3.) Know God and call on Him. We quit limping between two different opinions—the world and the Word. We know who God is and call down His fire so hearts—ours and others—are turned back to Him. “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 1 Kings 18:39b (ESV)
How can you make God a consuming fire in your life?
Featured photos from our YouTube Channel, Friday’s Forever.
Last week’s article, God Calls us to Trust: He Does the Rest.
Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Tell His Story/Recharge Wednesday/Let’s Have Coffee/Tune in Thursday/Embracing the Unexpected (Grace & Truth).
© 2023 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Great post! When I think of God’s “consuming fire”, I am awed at its dual purpose. His fire from heaven both consumes the evil it encounters and refines those who are His in the process, if we will yield to it. So enjoyed your take on things ma’am, as I so often do. Thank you.
Hi JD, how I like what you said here, “His fire from heaven both consumes the evil it encounters and refines those who are His in the process, if we will yield to it.” A thousand Hallelujahs! I want to yield to God’s refiner’s fire to make me more and more like Jesus!
Wow, Karen, such powerful and memorable imagery here! Yes, we must remember that God is an all-consuming fire demanding our full attention and worship. He desires to turn our heads away from useless idols and focus solely on Him and His will for us.
Blessings! (I’m really behind on Friday’s Forever, but will try my best to view all that I can!)
Hey Martha, thank you. I like how you said, “He desires to turn our heads away from useless idols and focus solely on Him and His will for us.” Yes! Help us, Lord! God bless and thanks for watching our adventures!
Before I retired, I was a senior manager in a multi-billon dollar company and one of the things God taught me was, “Always be willing to set aside what you are doing when someone needs help or needs to talk to you”. It made some days longer for me and occasionally increased my stress briefly, but I believe it taught me a lot about trying to live more like Jesus. Too many times, too many people claim to have too little time to help someone else (even brothers and sisters in Christ). I have had it happen to me whenever I asked another believer to help briefly in the ministry where He has called me to serve (and in all honesty, it would have taken 5-15 minutes). I’m afraid that this attitude carries over into their relationship with the Lord. They become too busy to spend time with Him. I am thankful for all that He has taught (and is still teaching) me.
Good message, Don. Thanks for sharing your expereince. If God is a consuming fire, that should be seen in our lives as we spread the message of Christ and become more like Him as we do life with others. God’s holiness is a consuming fire ready to devour everything we place before Him.
God is so amazing and awesome. May He light fire in our hearts to shine His light to the world. Thanks, Karen, for this message. God bless!
Nancy, I pray we posture ourselves before a Holy God who is worthy of awe, reverence, and worship.
I pray I will always be on fire for the Lord. I want to share His love and glory in every moment. I pray I will never be afraid or too shy to share His message. Great post Karen.
That’s good, Melissa, this is my heart’s desire and prayer as well. We quit limping between two different opinions—the world and the Word. We know who God is and call down His fire so hearts—ours and others—are turned back to Him.
I love this summation of your blogpost, wrapping up all of your wise words to give us guidance about how we should life: “As God’s children we can strive to walk in obedience to righteousness. Because the world becomes more steeped in idol worship of people, things, and other gods.” Now is the time to stand with the Lord, making clear that our allegiance and our affection are with Him.
Thanks, Melinda. I pray we recognize God’s righteousness and holiness to cover our sins, transform us, and intervene in our messed-up world.
An amazing message that we all need to hear often. I try to walk in obedience daily and seek Christ’s forgiveness when I fail. Thank you Karen.
Me too, Yvonne. As God’s children we can strive to walk in obedience to righteousness. Because the world becomes more steeped in idol worship of people, things, and other gods.
We need God’s cleansing and righteous fire, a fire that burns in our hearts and ignites likeminded hearts across the globe for all eternity! Idols can’t touch one ounce of our Almighty God.
Amen, Jessica! No other god or idol stands a chance against our God, the one true God!
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“How long will you go limping between two different opinions?” That question always stops me. As long as we waver in our opinions, rather than walking in truth, we will limp. That is a sobering image. When limping, we are going through our days with faltering, making very little progress, if any. May we posture ourselves before God, in His Word, every day so that we run our race making strides in the faith. Karen, thank you for sharing this post!
That’s so true, Joanne. We often fail to realize just like in this passage and Bible story, we too, can follow the world’s opinion, which in essence is calling on another god. The Lord showed me years ago how sometimes “other gods” is ME. Like you, I pray to stay true to His holy Word and know Him intimately in every way! God bless!