The Call to the Altar of Fire
Text: Genesis 49: 1,2
Jacob has twelve sons and he prophesies over them what it would be like for them in last days.
I believe this text can be spiritually applied to the body of Christ in the last days. The literal Hebrew is the "end of days".
I want to combine it with another text, because I think the two are related.
1 Kings 18:30-39
I have a message I have preached in many places on this text, it is entitled: The Contest on Mount Carmel; a Biblical Pattern for Revival.
In it I list 9 elements that were part of Elijahs plan to rock a nation back to God, I’m not going to preach that message today, if you are interested in reading the text of that message you can find it on Sermoncentral.Com.
Today quickly I will address 3 parts of that message, one of which I want to key in on. Those three elements of Elijah’s plan to bring his nation back to God are:
1. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain.
2. He reminded them prophetically of who and what they were to be.
3. Spiritual restoration led to financial restoration.
1. He prayed earnestly for financial ruin of his nation, as a means to their salvation. He said God do whatever it takes. It is said there are no atheists in the fox holes. The times they are a changing. Re 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. I have great concern about the day in which we live, the plagues are coming and the blasphemy is increasing. What is coming out of you in this financial plague? In a storm a child should hold his parents hand tighter. Is that what you are doing? Or is the spirit of Job’s wife attacking you? Curse God.
2. He reminded them prophetically of who and what they were to be. Talk about that in a moment.
3. Spiritual restoration led to financial restoration
Financial restoration didn’t lead to spiritual restoration, financial devastation led to spiritual restoration, which led to financial restoration, that is God’s pattern.
1Ki 18:41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a [heavy] shower." With the renewal of rain, came the renewal of crops and it was an agrarian based society, meaning the economy got rolling again.
All right now, let me get to my message:
The call to the altar of fire
Let’s look at our text in 1 Kings again.
1Ki 18:30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.
1Ki 18:31 And Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
1Ki 18:36 Then it came about at the time of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word.
1Ki 18:37 "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that Thou, O LORD, art God, and [that] Thou hast turned their heart back again."
He reminded them of their prophetic destiny. By that I mean he was telling them God had a plan for their life. Letting people know God has a plan for their life connects with that part of them that knows something is missing in their life.
God is calling people back to the altar of fire, calling us back to the first love, saying forget about the finances, forget about wars and rumors of war, press in, go into your secret closet for secret fellowship
Notice in verse 31, and 36 Elijah takes pains to call them the Israel of God. In verse 31 he calls them the Israel of God, and in verse 36 he uses the very unusual phrase the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel," (4x in scripture) instead of the more common "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (28x in scripture)
He was reminding them of who and what they were prophetically called to be. Letting people know and helping them to connect with their destiny in God is a strong tool in evangelism. You have a purpose, a destiny, a calling. Part of which will be fulfilled in this life, the vast part of it will not.
They were called to be the Israel of God. Israel means Prince with God, not cheater which is what Jacob means.
At the time Elijah was calling them Israel, they were more Jacob like than they had been in any other time in their history.
Even when they had sinned their worst, even when they had gotten as far from God as possible, in that at the all Israel prayer meeting 450 preachers for the false God showed up, and only one for the real God. God was still saying you are my Israel, come back to the altar of fire, come back to fellowship with Me.
In reminding us prophetically who we are to be God is saying the fire of first love shall ever be burning it shall never go out. Go back to the place where you first got the fire. Seek first the kingdom of heaven.
The twelve stones represent 12 tribes, I also believe it represents 12 groups of people in the church that will always be present in the church. I’m going to go out on a limb here, but work with me, everything will be all right.
Turn back to Genesis 49, picture it now Elijah has the twelve stones to build an altar and as he picks each one up he is speaking to that tribe and saying come back, come back to the altar of fire. This broken altar represents your prayer life, your zeal for the Lord, your worship, your bible reading, your passion for the presence of God, your love for the lost and witnessing, come back and rebuild your altar of fire...
Ge 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall you in the last days.
I see in the destinies of these 12 sons, 12 people groups that will make up the church in the last days, and I remind you as we look as these groups God is saying I am calling you warts and all back to the altar of fire.
First out the gate is Reuben.
Genesis 49:3,4 (NLT) Jacob said he was going to talk about their future but he starts out talking about their past???!! No what he is doing is showing what was in the past will also be in the future.
Ge 49:3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Ge 49:4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
There will always be people from the tribe of Reuben in the church. These are people who have blown their life and lost things they cannot get back. Sexual immorality has ruined them in many ways. It ruined them, their family, and caused them even to lose their inheritance from their father.
Here’s the good news: Reuben, Israel shall be thy name. Reuben even for you, especially for you there is a place at the altar of fire. Don’t let what you lost, keep you from losing what is still available to you.
Next is Simeon and Levi, verses 5-7.
Ge 49:5 ¶ "Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Ge 49:6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Ge 49:7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
Two men full of anger, the fact that two tribes are mentioned indicates that this is a widespread problem; 16% of a nation that is primarily known for their anger. These tribes speak of people with problems with their temper and they have sinfully given vent to it.
They resort to violence.
They strike their wives. 16 % of the men of Israel were identified by God as physical abusers.
The National Violence Against Women Survey (Tjaden and Thoennes 2001) found that 20.4 percent of women, were physically assaulted by their intimate partner at some point in their relationship;
Last year my son Luke told me of a schoolmate who couldn’t go to the school party, his family has no money, dad is always drinking it up, and the boy often has bruises on his body. One of his best friends in NY his parents are divorcing and the son is beside himself he doesn’t know who to choose to live with. Children shouldn’t have to make that kind of choice.
Reuben didn’t restrain his lust, these do not restrain their anger.
Simeon and Levi let me tell you what God thinks about your anger. It is cursed.
Levi is the priestly tribe, you mean there are even angry and violent preachers? Just ask Juanita Bynum if Bishop Weeks ever whomped her.
First pastoral visit I made was to a deacon’s house. The police were there.
I am going to tell you a horrible story. Me and my dad.
Bethel, I prayed every day for my dad to die.
Heres the good news: Simeon and Levi, Israel shall be thy name. There is a place at the altar of fire for you. He took the sword out of my hand. (Ben Hur)
Next is Judah. Ge 49:8 "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. Judah is an overcoming Christian, one who’s life is hallmarked by victories for the King. Judah has your walk with God been dry and stale? God is calling you back to the altar of fire. Even the Judah’s of God need fresh fire.
Zebulon Ge 49:13 ¶ "Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.. is a harbor for ships. Zebulon are those with the gift of hospitality. They welcome, encourage, and host guests. Another tribe whose life is not marked by sin, but by its gracious lifestyle. This message of the call to the altar of fire is not just for the wife abusers, and sexually immoral, God is calling even those who are laborers in the house of God back to the altar of fire.
Issachar Ge 49:14 "Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. Ge 49:15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. This describes people who are always in trouble financially. They borrow too much because they are enamored by things that sparkle. God calls this tribe to the altar of fire not to condemn but to reconnected with the thought seek first the kingdom of heaven.
Daniel Ge 49:16 "Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel. This speaks of the spirit of legalism, as is evidenced in verse 18 "For thy salvation I wait O God!" Legalism melts away at the altar of fire, you become less condemning and more merciful.
Gad Ge 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. It is not how you start out but how you end up. Gad speaks of those who have stumbled and had a comeback in God. Where are you in that process? The altar of fire is the place where you get the strength to make your comeback.
Asher Ge 49:20 "As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. This speaks of those gifted in bringing forth gems from the word of God. Asher come once again to the altar of fire.
Naphtali Ge 49:21 "Naphtali is a doe let loose, He gives beautiful words. This is the dancing, flag waving, jumping up and down Christians. God is calling every group and people to the altar of fire.
Joseph Ge 49:22 ¶ "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; [Its] branches run over a wall. Ge 49:23 "The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot [at him] and harassed him;Ge 49:24 But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
This speaks of those involved in evangelism, outreach, and the attacks they suffer, and the rewards they will earn for that. Sometimes those who do the mose for the Lord, suffer the greatest attacks. Ge 49:27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil." Come back to the source.
Benjamin Gen 49:27 This speaks of those who are brought forth out of darkness into his marvelous light. Paul was of this tribe, early in life he was a ravenous wolf, but later he broke the bread of God that the Lord had poured into his spirit. This speaks of those who have wasted much of their life, but the rest they redeem. Even Paul’s, especially Paul’s need to come back to the altar of fire.
Close: Time of prayer around the altar, salvation altar call
