What to do with all the Tomatillos! ** A consuming fire

Deuteronomy 4: 11 - 12 August 30 2018

 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.”

It was at the base of Mount Sinai, that the children of Israel had an unforgettable experience.

It was here that the Lord appeared to them for the first time, but they could not handle what they saw. …How the Lord appeared in smoke, fire and thick darkness.

With thunder and lightning that displayed the power of God…

And, the children of Israel were terrified!

Exodus 20: 18-21 tell us how the people responded to God's move towards intimacy… It says that…

The people "stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'"

How incredibly sad! God is seeking intimacy and Israel is seeking distance.

God comes… and the people turn away in fear. Their reaction is just the opposite of Moses at the burning bush. Moses drew closer, Israel backed up.

…We are told how God comes to meet the people that He has just saved, and they all back away… …all except Moses.

When you think about it… …it’s sad… …yet, how often do we back away?

Yes, Our God is a consuming fire… but not to harm or to destroy us…

But to transform us... and to reverence and worship Him.

And, His words to us are the same today.

The Lord wants us to know Him personally…

to love Him with all that we are…

Something to consider:

Israel backed up lest they die and they were right. They would die if they remained in the holy presence of God…

But like Moses it would not have been a physical death but transforming.

You see, something about Moses did die at the burning bush.

Before his experience Moses was running from Pharaoh and even his own people… Then after his experience he’s going back to lead his own people and standing before Pharaoh…

The fire of that bush was a transforming fire… doing something to the heart of Moses so that he became a servant to God and a vessel of His Presence.

And now Israel has the same opportunity… the Lord desired to meld them into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation… to purify them and make them vessels of His Presence. And Israel backed up, turning away from this treasured calling.

Dare we do the same?

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God bless... 💕