Who shall dwell with The Consuming Fire?
Daniel 3; Isaiah 33:14-17
Most of us know of the incident of the fiery furnace that occurred in the lifetime of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego. Amazing story of courageous men who faced certain death by fire, but would not bow down to the demands to worship an idol at the command of the king, who was their boss and held, or so everyone thought, their lives in his hands. The fire ended up burning the people who threw them into the fiery furnace and the three men, their clothes were not even singed ! To make matters even better, The LORD HIMSELF was in the fire, in Person! Wow! And the idol making and worshipping king saw HIM. Read the story for yourself in Daniel 3. Talk about the great deeds of GOD in the past.
We all know what fire is. There are types and levels of fire. Now, The Fire of The LORD is at another level. Words may not suffice to describe HIS Fire. We read that The HOLY SPIRIT came down at Pentecost like tongues of Fire. Ok.
Scripture tells us that The MOST HIGH is a consuming fire. You ask , “ How is our GOD, a Consuming Fire?” I don’t know Hebrews 12: 29 describes HIM as such. The NLT translates it as follows, “ For our GOD is a devouring fire”.
Exodus 24:17 And the sight of the glory of The LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Psalm 97:3 Fire goes before HIM and consumes HIS foes on every side.
There are numerous scriptures that mention the fire of The LORD and describe this Fire. Deuteronomy 9:3 and 2 Samuel 22:9 to name two.
Let us keep all these scriptures in mind as we narrow down on the two scriptures in our title. Daniel 3 and Isaiah 33:14-17.
In the latter scripture the question is asked then: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning? In my opinion, in simplicity, the question asked is, who can walk with The LORD? Who can remain in HIS presence without incurring HIS wrath but instead experience HIS love, care protection, provision, promotion and above all HIS Presence?
The next verse not only answers this question but also gives us insight into the character of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego. Remember, they were able to walk out totally unharmed from the fiery furnace. Not only that, they were also able to spend time in the presence of The Consuming Fire within the fire.
We know that all scripture is profitable. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “ All scripture is given by inspiration of GOD and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of GOD may be complete , thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
So what is my point? My point is that the great power of GOD that was demonstrated in Daniel 3 is also capable of being demonstrated today provided that we also be people of integrity and people with the heart and mind of GOD at the core of our existence and as the very purpose of our existence.
Daniel 1 describes the virtues and abilities of the three men and Daniel in detail. Isaiah 33:15 goes on to point out the following characteristics of those who shall dwell with the Consuming Fire , the Everlasting burning without , of course being devoured and/or consumed? I paraphrase in the brackets.
i. They walk righteously. (Come on Beloved, walk in righteousness. We all have a conscience and it acts as a compass to what is acceptable and what is not. Some have seared their conscience by willful and continuous participation in evil and claim to no longer be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. But beloved, the line is there, no matter how thin. Even the thieves on the cross knew where the line was drawn, one humbled and was saved, the other remained in pride and arrogance and perished.
You know the right thing to do. Start by repenting and changing your ways. If you do not know what the right thing to do is, don’t do anything first, identify children of GOD who know The LORD and ask them to pray for you as you make a decision. You can also do this for yourself. Ask The LORD to show you HIS ways.
Remember, the SPIRIT of GOD is ever present at least for now. 2 Chronicles 16:9 “The eyes of The LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to HIM.” Other translations say “….The eyes of The LORD run to and fro the whole earth, to give strong support, to those whose heart is blameless towards HIM.” So, beloved, it starts with what you think about GOD, if your heart is blameless towards HIM, HE will strengthen you and give you strong support.
At this point, I caution those who are always blaming GOD and questioning HIM about what HE does. Psalm 145:17 is clear, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all HE does. Further, whether you like it or not, Psalm 146:10 tell us that The LORD reigns forever, your GOD , O Zion, for all generations. Praise The LORD. Beloved, just eat humble pie and toe the line.
ii. They speak what is right. (If you do not know what to say. Say nothing. As is often quoted, “A wise man once said nothing”. Enough said. )
iii. They reject extortion. (Self explanatory)
iv. They do not accept bribes. (Self explanatory)
v. They do not participate in murderous plots and schemes. (Beloved, when you come across those planning to steal, kill and destroy, flee! Be it aborters, online killers who instead of being called murderers are called trolls and bullies, flee from these people who steal, kill and destroy in whatever manner the nature of mankind, the image of GOD in man.)
vi. They shut their eyes against contemplating evil. (There is so much evil in the world. Even if you lock yourself in your house, we have all sorts of media and contraptions manufactured which the enemy has used to bring evil to our lives. Beloved, close your eyes to such. Switch it off. Block that media. There are all sorts of content blockers out there. In my country, when you use public transport, you will undoubtedly find evil in the vehicle, in terms of the musical content that will be played and the videos that will be displayed. How does one deal with this? Beloved, when in your home and whenever able to, saturate yourself with the things of GOD, saturate yourself such that there is no space for anything else. When the evil music is played, the righteous music and or tongues of fire will just overflow from you.
What do they get? Yes, what do the Shadracks, Meshacks and Abednegos get ? In addition to not being consumed by the fires of this world and the everlasting Fire, they will also:
i. Dwell on the heights.
ii. Their refuge will be the mountain fortress.
iii. Their bread will be supplied. They will not lack.
iv. They will not lack water. They will not wither.
v. They will see the KING in HIS beauty. Wow! Double wow!
vi. They will view a land that stretches afar. Their ways will not be darkened before them. They will be guided and not confused. They will see the fruits of their works and good.
vii. They will wonder where those who made life difficult for them disappeared to.
viii. They will see arrogant and strange people no more.
ix. They will live in peace and not be uprooted.
x. They will not be enslaved by evil and evil people.
xi. The LORD will be their Judge, Lawgiver and KING.
xii. The LORD will save them
xiii. They will carry spoil and plunder ( They will be blessed with the wealth of their enemies and the enemies of GOD. Scripture tells us that the wealth of the wicked will be transferred to the righteous)
xiv. They will not be ill.
xv. Their sins will be forgiven.
Beloved, what is described immediately above speaks of good and pleasant things. Some are found on this earth, others in this earth and in the world to come which CHRIST went to prepare for us. It is profitable to serve The LORD. We do not serve HIM in vain.
We all want to go to heaven. In other words, one way or another, we want to dwell with The Consuming Fire, The Everlasting Burning, The LORD , The MOST HIGH. The criteria set out is clear. The examples of this are clear and well documented. If you want the good and pleasant , comply. If you don’t want or think it was a fairy tale, you are most likely on your way to hell fire where it is the most unpleasant and terrible place whichever way and whichever dimension you choose to look at it from. A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Beloved, the scripture informs us, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15.
Do you want to know JESUS as your personal Lord and Savior? Your eternity is at stake! JESUS has opened the door of salvation to every person. But there is coming a day when the door will be closed. Today is the day of salvation. Choose to be in the family of GOD. JESUS died so that we can spend eternity in Heaven with HIM. Don't delay! And if you want to begin a relationship with GOD or resume a broken one, say this: O GOD, I come to YOU today. I know I am a sinner. I believe that JESUS died on the cross to save me and HE resurrected on the third day. I repent of my sins and forsake them. I confess JESUS as my LORD and SAVIOR . I invite JESUS into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank YOU JESUS for saving me and making me a child of GOD. Amen
