The Lord came from Sinai …. From His right hand came a fiery law for them. (Deuteronomy 33:2)
When God presented the covenant to Israel, it was amidst a display of fire, lightning and thunder. It was so overwhelming that the people, standing at the foot of the mountain, began to tremble. From the midst of the fire and billows of smoke, God spoke to the people and gave them, through Moses, the tablets of the law written by the finger of God. The scene must have been spectacular as well as frightening and it is with this back drop that God’s Right Hand delivered to them a fiery law. Thus comes to mind the word given to Jeremiah: “Is not my word like a fire? says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:29).
This connection between God’s Law and fire is actually hinted at from the very beginning, and I do mean that quite literally. In the Hebrew Bible, the very first word is בראשית b’reshiyt translated as “in the beginning.” The six letters forming this word provide a multitude of interesting interpretations and observations to those who study the intricacies of the Hebrew language. One of these interesting observations has relevance to our topic, today. A permutation of the Hebrew letters forming the word b’reshiyt results in the phrase ברית אש brit esh –- “covenant of fire.” This intriguing tidbit conveys the idea that, from the beginning, God’s Word has always been a revelation of “fire” given to those who would heed His Voice and obey His Word.
Taking all of this into consideration, I find it fascinating to consider what happened on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. First of all, you should know that Judaism believes the first Pentecost (Shavuot in Hebrew) was when God spoke to the people from the midst of the fire on Mount Sinai. In fact, they believe that His Voice divided into seventy tongues of fire so as to speak in every language under heaven — sound familiar? Centuries later, tongues of fire lighted upon those early believers who assembled in Jerusalem at the behest of Messiah, empowering them to be His witnesses. This is, in fact, what John the Baptist had prophesied:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I. … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11)
The point is that His Word, which is truth, has always been associated with fire, and therefore, it makes perfect sense that the Spirit of Truth would also be symbolized by fire. Like fire, the Word of God penetrates and purifies and His Spirit, like a fire within, enables us to declare His Word with power and authority. Therefore, all of us need to be filled with His Spirit so that His Word, which He said is to be fire, might burn brightly in our lives. This is the will of the Messiah: it’s why He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem and it is why He compels us be filled with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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