Friday February 23rd, 2024
« For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God »
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out hishand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
The serious attribute of God that I have emphatically taught people not to overlook is divine anger.
Truly, the Almighty God is Love (1 John 4:8); however, we must never forget that He is also a Consuming Fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).
Any time I say this, some people argue that the Bible reference belongs to the Old Testament dispensation and we are now in the New Testament.
Amazingly, such people did not read their New Testament thoroughly enough to discover that even Hebrews 12:29 says “For our God is a consuming fire.”
This is one of the wonders of divine anger, because how can the God of love be a Consuming Fire at the same time?
We need to remember that it was divine anger against the devil that made way for man’s deliverance from satanic oppression (Genesis 3:14).
Divine anger against the devil after the fall is full of the wonders of God’s love for man – that the man may be redeemable, unlike the fallen angels.
He cast the man and the woman out of the garden so they would not have access to the tree of life in their fallen state, which would have made them irredeemable like the angels.
Thus, God cast them out as He embarked on a redemption process that was centered on Jesus dying for the sins of man, His resurrection and second coming to rapture the saints.
When a child of God falls into sin, “God does not spare the divine rod. Why? It is because God would not want him or her to miss the bliss of His Kingdom.
This is why God punishes His erring children. Hebrews 12:7-8NLT says
« As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all »
Whenever the Lord chastens you, accept it in faith, repent and amend your ways.
His fire refines us when we yield to His correction but consumes when we choose to remain in our sins.
Repent and forsake all your sins today, then confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior so as not to experience God as a consuming Fire.
Prayer focus – Father, please help me to receive your correction joyfully so that I can laugh at the end of it all in Your Kingdom, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it .
Spread the love of Christ by clicking on the ♥
