Deuteronômio 4

Deuteronômio 4

Phillips - It is God's holiness which is the basis of all punishment, for God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. His holiness is a consuming fire, a blazing quality that makes even the shining seraphim hide behind their wings and chant, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord." Herbert Lockyer - Jealousy is a part of the divine nature, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 5:9). James reminds us that the Holy Spirit indwelling us "loveth us to jealousy" (4:5 Revised Version). There are, of course, two brands of jealousy— • Divine jealousy—"I am jealous over you with godly jealousy" (II Corinthians 11:2). This is the jealousy of a true lover who will not brook a rival. And the Spirit is a possessive Lover, He wants us all for God, and is jealous to maintain His rights. • Devilish jealousy—"Jealousy is the rage of a man" (Proverbs 6:34). It is also as "cruel as the grave." Alas, there is too much of this wrong kind of jealousy among Christians! How grievous to the loving Spirit it must be when one believer is so conspicuously jealous of another! True jealousy guards what is its own—Envy covets what is not its own. Vance Havner - GOD NEVER COMES NEXT Suffer me first.... Luke 9:59. Seek ye first.... Matthew 6:33. The prospective disciple thought he must first take care of his father. "After that," he was saying in effect, "You will be next." But our Lord never comes next. He does not play second fiddle. God does not take second place. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Jesus is not only first but also last, Alpha and Omega. Attending early church services to celebrate the Lord's Day only to desecrate the rest of that day is not putting God first, it is only a way of getting rid of Him! God is a jealous God. Seek Him first and all else we need will be added. Ray Pritchard - God’s description of himself: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” The word is very strong, having the idea of burning, passionate love. In fact, it is used of the love of a husband for his wife. Some of you may be put off by the idea of a jealous God, but jealousy in the right context is a very healthy emotion. I have every right to be jealous of my wife’s affection and she has every right to be jealous for my undivided attention. Jealousy in marriage can be a very positive emotion because it means, “I am fully committed to you and I expect you to be fully committed to me.” In that sense we might say that if you are not jealous for your husband/wife, you’re probably not fully committed. True love is jealous. If the love is right, then the jealousy is right. So what is it that God is jealous for? Our undivided attention, our exclusive focus on him. Seen in that light, idolatry is a terrible sin because in reality it is a form of spiritual prostitution. Good Turned to Evil "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire"—Deut. 4:24 A glass inkstand was placed on the table so that the sun's rays fell upon it. Brightly and cheerily, no doubt, they played upon its facets and angles; but that inkstand affected these beautiful sunbeams in such a way as to extract from them heat in sufficient force to set the table upon which it stood on fire, reducing it, and all it came in contact with, into ashes. What is there more beautiful than the sunbeams? How they cheer and cherish and inspire nature all around! yet there are some objects which can convert this thing of beauty and health and life into a consuming fire. So there are moral characters which extract death out of life; transform the loving, life-giving gospel into an instrument of destruction; in short, cause the God of love to become to them a consuming fire. (Clerical Library) Kent Hughes on God a Consuming Fire - Satan will always try to separate these two aspects of God’s character in our thinking. If he can persuade us that the Lord is all love and mercy and will not judge anyone, he will do so. But the moment it becomes clear to us that there is indeed a reckoning for sin, Satan immediately switches tack and tries to push us in the opposite direction, to make us believe that the Lord is hard and judgmental and that there is no forgiveness to be found with him. As the Puritan Thomas Manton put it: Satan labors to represent God by halves, only as a consuming fire, as clothed with justice and vengeance. Oh no! It is true he will not suffer his mercy to be abused by contemptuous sinners; he will not clear the guilty, though he waits long on them before he destroys them; but the main of his name is “his mercy and goodness.” The true fear of the Lord flows out of an understanding of the whole character of God as both holy and merciful. (Preaching the Word: Numbers) James Smith (in Handfuls of Purpose) - OUR GOD A CONSUMING FIRE Here are a few striking words used in Scripture to describe the essential character of God. (1) God is Spirit (R.V.., margin). Herein is seen His indivisibility and greatness. (2) God is Love. This reveals His unfathomable and unchangeable goodness. What a privilege to dwell in such an abode (1 John 4:16). (3) God is Light. And this, because He is Love. In Him is no darkness at all. No uncertainty. No unrighteousness. (4) God is Fire. Not in figure, but in reality—a consuming fire. This solemn, dreadful, aspect of God's nature is frequently overlooked. Herein is the death of sin and self; herein is the life of holiness. This is the God with which we as Christians have to do. It was as fire God first appeared to His servant Moses; this made the place holy ground, and although the bush was not consumed, we may be assured that everything unclean within the bush would be burned up. We carry about with us daily the mystery of the burning bush "Know ye not that God dwelleth in you?" Yet the frail bush of our bodies is not consumed. We have this treasure in earthen vessels "that the excellency of the power may be of God. I. As a Fire our God Consumes. On the altar, the fire, as a symbol of God's presence, was ever burning. On the altar of our heart, as on the throne of our being, there still dwells the Spirit of burning. This holy fire cannot suffer the approach of that which is unclean. The Nadabs and Abihus of pride and self-conceit are instantly devoured (Num. 10). It was a self-crucifying revelation Paul received, when it pleased God to reveal His Son in him (Gal. 1:15, 16; 2. 20). The Holy of Holies was such, because the pillar of fire abode there. Hence there was no way of entrance without blood. May the Blood of Jesus so guard the way of access into our inmost soul, where the Holy Spirit dwells, and may this holy fire consume all that would approach without the blood. II. As a Fire our God Purifies. The presence of God was the purifying and the sanctifying of the Temple. It is true now, that when the Lord the Spirit suddenly comes into the temple of our body He is like a refiner's fire. "Who shall stand when He appeareth?" (Mal. 1:3). There must be no other authority when He appeareth; every power of our being must become subject to Him, and in the submitting they are purified. As every vessel of the Tabernacle was given to God, and claimed and used by Him, so the members of our body are to be yielded to Him as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:13). III. As a Fire our, God Empowers. What a real power fire is. Think of the fire-driven engines that push the mighty ironclads like ploughshares through the deep. Wherever fire is, its power is felt. "Our God is a consuming fire." Can He be in us without a Divine power being seen and felt? When the disciples were baptised with the Holy Ghost and with fire it could not be hid. "These men," they said, "are full of new wine." When the live coal touched the lips of the prophet, how quickly the power was seen in him. "Here am I, send me" (Isa. 6). The indwelling fire is the remedy for all formality and coldness in the Lord's service. It is the eternal enemy of the chilly, freezing breath of unbelief. "He shall baptise you with fire." Are you willing to be baptised with this baptism? Ian Paisley - Consuming Fire and Consuming Love When I open this Book I find out that God is a consuming fire. When I read on in this Book I find out that God is love. That seems to be a terrible contradiction, does it not? God—a consuming fire, God absolute unlimited, everlasting love! If you are in Christ you will know the answer, for in Christ God is love. Outside Christ He is a consuming fire. That is the very heart of the Gospel. Oh, let me say to you that our God is love in Jesus Christ. There is nothing more wonderful, more majestic and more glorious than John's Gospel chapter three and verse 16, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.' God is love! The Great, the Terrible, the Majestic God of Heaven loves men, loves women, loves boys and girls, loves the world. That means that He loves you Ray Pritchard - Four Pictures of the Holy Spirit - FIRE “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). Fire is one of the most frequent biblical images for God’s presence with His people. The connection is made in such passages as Exodus 3:1-5 (Moses and the burning bush); Exodus 13:21 (the pillar of fire); Leviticus 9:24 (fire from the Lord consuming the burnt offering); 1 Kings 18:24 (“The god who answers by fire-He is God.”); Isaiah 6:1-8 (coals of fire from the altar in heaven); Matthew 3:11 (“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”); Acts 2:3 (“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.”); 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”); and Hebrews 12:29 (“for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’ “). God sent the “tongues of fire” on the day of Pentecost as a sign that He was about to pour out the Holy Spirit in a new and powerful way. Just as the fiery pillar represented God’s personal presence with His people, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in all believers. But now God’s presence will be personal and individual-thus the “tongues of fire” rested on each person individually. Whereas God’s presence came to the nation as a whole in the Old Testament, today each believer has the great privilege of having the personal presence of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And just as the fiery pillar gave clear direction outwardly, even so the Holy Spirit gives each believer inward direction. This represents a tremendous advance in God’s program for His people. Where once He worked primarily in and through a nation, now He works in and through individuals. In reference to the Holy Spirit, fire represents: * God’s presence with His people. * God’s protection of His people. * God’s cleansing of His people. * God’s judgment of His people. * God’s divine enablement of His people. * God’s gracious activity in the assembly of His people. The Holy Spirit spreads like a flame. Some applications quickly suggest themselves from this theme. First, the Holy Spirit is God’s divine cleansing agent, burning away the dross of sin and purifying us for service. Second, when we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He fills us with the fire of God’s presence. Third, during times of revival, the Holy Spirit spreads like a flame, igniting families, churches, communities, and entire nations. Finally, the Holy Spirit is the “fire” we need to let our light shine brightly for Jesus Christ. When I was growing up, we often talked of being “on fire” for Jesus. It means to be so passionate about the Lord that he was constantly in our thoughts. Back then we would sing a song called Pass It On that began this way: It only takes a spark to get a fire going, And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. The song then says “That’s how it with God’s love, one you’ve experienced it. You want to spread the love to everyone. You want to pass it on.” Though the song is not deep, it actually makes an important point. When the Holy Spirit begins to burn within, we will be caught up in a holy zeal to share Jesus with everyone we meet. A few days ago I spoke with a friend who ministers thousands of miles away, on the other side of the world, in a land where Christians are not always welcome. One week ago as he gathered with his congregation for a prayer meeting, a police officer came to the meeting and began to ask questions. “What are you doing here? Who is in charge?” Later he sent word that he wanted to meet with the pastor. So in a few days my friend will meet with the police officer. Is he afraid? He told me that recently God has given him a burden to share Christ with everyone he meets. “I have led 3 people to Christ since the Lord gave me this burden.” Speaking of the police officer he said, “I am not worried, not afraid. I want to go and share the gospel with him for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes." Have you ever thanked God for the Holy Spirit? If you stand back and look at these four pictures of the Holy Spirit, they all lead in the same direction. As water, the Holy Spirit becomes a stream within us, overflowing to the people around us. As wind, the Holy Spirit blows across the land, awakening people to God in every nation. As wine, the Holy Spirit fills us with new power. As fire, the Holy Spirit burns away the dross of worldliness and fills us with a holy zeal to let our light shine for Christ. How simple it is. And yet how profound. So we pray to know the Holy Spirit more deeply for He is . . . Living Water, New Wine, Refreshing Wind, Blazing Fire from Heaven. He brings Christ to us and gives us all that we need. Have you ever thanked God for the gift of the Spirit? Why not do it right now? Gracious Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May streams of living water flow through us so that others may be thirsty to know you. Grant that the new wine of the Spirit would empower us today. May the wind of God blow through your church. Set us on fire, Lord, with holy passion for you. Lord Jesus, fill us more and more with the Holy Spirit so that we can make your name famous throughout the earth. Amen. F B