Life Walk Lesson 12 — God in the Fire
1 “AND God said let us make Man in our image, after our likeness, and God created Man in his own image. [Genesis 1:26]
2. And God formed Man from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul endowed with speech. 3. And the Lord said it is not good for a human to be alone; I will make unto him a helpmate. [Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7]
4. And the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and He took away one of his ribs, and He built flesh upon it and formed it and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his sleep, and behold a woman was standing before him. [Genesis 2:18, 21]
5. And he said, this is a bone of my bones and it shall be called woman, for this has been taken from man; and Adam called her name Eve, for she was the mother of all living. [Genesis 1:22-23]
6. And God blessed them and called their names Adam and Eve in the day that He created them, and the Lord God said, be fruitful multiply and fill the earth. [Genesis 1:28]
The Ancient Book of Jasher 8:1-13
1. “AND it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the servants of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with him on that night.
2. And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from the four sides of the heavens.
Cross References: Genesis 1:16, Genesis 15:5, 22:17, 26:4, 37:9, 32:13, Numbers 24:17, Deuteronomy 1:10, 10:22, Judges 5:20, Job 9:6-8, 1Chronicles 27:23, Nehemiah 9:23, Psalm 147:4, Matthew 2:1-2-10, Hebrews 11:12, 2 Peter 1:19, Revelation 1:16, 20
3. And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this matter, and they knew its import. 4. And they said to each other, this only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children forever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands. [Genesis 1:28]
5. And the wise men and conjurors went home that night, and in the morning all these wise men and conjurors rose up early, and assembled in an appointed house.
6. And they spoke and said to each other, behold the sight that we saw last night is hidden from the king, it has not been made known to him.
7. And should this thing get known to the king in the latter days, he will say to us, why have you concealed this matter from me, and then we shall all suffer death; therefore, now let us go and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the interpretation thereof, and we shall then remain clear.
8. And they did so, and they all went to the king and bowed down to him to the ground, and they said, may the king live, may the king live.
9. We heard that a son was born to Terah the son of Nahor, the prince of thy host, and we yesternight came to his house, and we ate and drank and rejoiced with him that night.
10. And when thy servants went out from the house of Terah, to go to our respective homes to abide there for the night, we lifted up our eyes to heaven, and we saw a great star coming from the East, and the same star ran with great speed, and swallowed up four great stars, from the four sides of the heavens.
11. And thy servants were astonished at the sight which we saw, and were greatly terrified, and we made our judgment upon the sight, and knew by our wisdom the proper interpretation thereof, that this thing applies to the child that is born to Terah, who will grow up and multiply greatly, and become powerful, and kill all the kings of the earth, and inherit all their lands, he and his seed forever. [Psalm 2:1-12]
12. And now our lord and king, behold we have truly acquainted thee with what we have seen concerning this child. 13. If it seemeth good to the king to give his father value for this child, we will slay him before he shall grow up and increase in the land, and his evil increase against us, that we and our children perish through his evil.” [Matthew 2:13-16]
The Ancient Book of Jasher goes on to record the events which took place in the life of Abram and his father Terah. Nimrod finds out that Abram lived, although he was thought to have been killed shortly after his birth, because at age 50, Abram visits his father Terah, and is subsequently put in a fiery furnace, along with his brother Haran. Haran dies, but Abram is surrounded by the dew of heaven and the fire does not touch him.
God’s Plans Have not Changed
Centuries later, in the Book of Daniel, God again deals with the Kings of that time-period and shows them Who is still God, and Whose plans have not changed. Nebuchadnezzar thought he could defy God’s plans, creating a statue to be worshiped, and whoever did not worship the statue was to be burned in the fiery furnace. [Daniel 3:1-6] But God was with the young men, just as He was with Abram.
Prayer of Azariah 1:1-4 [Daniel 3 (Septuagint) LXX]
1 “And they walked in the midst of the fire, praising God, and blessing the Lord.
2 Then Azarias stood up, and prayed on this manner; and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire said,
3 Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers: Thy name is worthy to be praised and glorified for evermore:
4 For Thou art righteous in all the things that Thou hast done to us: yea, true are all Thy works, Thy ways are right, and all Thy judgments truth.”
Isaiah 43:1-3 NIV
1 But now, this is what the Lord says — He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.”
Baruch 5:1-9 [Catholic Canon]
1 “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;
put on forever the splendor of glory from God:
2 Wrapped in the mantle of justice from God, place on your head the diadem of the glory of the Eternal One.
3 For God will show your splendor to all under the heavens.
4 You will be named by God forever: the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.
5 Rise up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights; look to the East and see your children gathered from east to west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
6 Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you carried high in glory as on royal thrones.
7 For God has commanded that every lofty mountain and the age-old hills be made low, that the valleys be filled to make level ground, that Israel may advance securely in the glory of God.
8 The forests and every kind of fragrant tree have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
9 for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with the mercy and justice that are His.”
Contrast: Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Holy Fire Within
Jeremiah 20:9 NIV
“But if I say, ‘I will not mention His word or speak anymore in His name,’ His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
Lamentations 1:13
“From on high He sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.”
Isaiah 10:17
“The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume His thorns and His briers.” [Acts 2:1-4]
Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” [Acts 2:3]
The fire that God gives us quenches every apposing fire just like Moses’ snake ate up all the snakes of the magicians of Egypt who came against him. The original work of the snake was to defy God’s commands, and get others to do so by whatever means was necessary. God always had a way of rebuking and devouring the devourer. [Genesis 3:1, Genesis 49:17; Exodus 4:3-4, 7:8-13; Malachi 3:7-12]
God is a Consuming Fire
The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to utterly consume us with God’s love, evident throughout Scripture, fills us, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The new birth of the new creation we become in Christ emerges, and we live for God in the Kingdom of God.
Hebrews 12:29
“for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” [Deuteronomy 4:24]
1 Peter 1:1-9
1 “Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last times.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
When the Fire of God Consumes
God destroys the wicked, and saves the righteous.
[Genesis 19:24-25, Exodus 3:1-10, Matthew 17:1-3, Mark 9:1-3, Matthew 28:16-20]
The fire sent by the devil cannot consume, for he has been defeated by Jesus Christ. Daniel’s three friends found this out first-hand, as did Abram, for whom God Himself stood in the gap and saved them by the Angel of the Lord.
Prayer of Azariah 1:26-34 [Daniel 3:25]
26 “But the angel of the Lord came down into the oven together with Azarias and his fellows, and smote the flame of the fire out of the oven;
27 And made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them.
28 Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, glorified, and blessed, God in the furnace, saying,
29 Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
30 And blessed is thy glorious and holy name: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
31 Blessed art thou in the temple of thine holy glory: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
32 Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubim: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
33 Blessed art thou on the glorious throne of thy kingdom: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
34 Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and above all to be praised and glorified for ever."
The Fire of God’s Love
Revelation 1:14
“The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire.”
Revelation 19:12
“His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crown. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself.”
Song of Solomon 8:6
“Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flames are flames of fire, the flame of the Lord.”
Encouragement:
No matter what your circumstance in life — because you love God, God loves you and He is your Shield, inside and out. [Genesis 15:1, Psalm 103:17]
