God's Eternal Fire

4/6 Reading Portions: Leviticus 9; Psalm 10; Proverbs 24; 1 Thessalonians 3

And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24

The fire which came out from before the LORD is the wrath of God. The offerings were consumed by God’s holy anger against sin. This is why God commanded that the fire upon the brazen altar was never to be extinguished:

Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out. Leviticus 6:13

The eternal, unquenchable fire of God’s holy anger is what my every sin deserves; yet I often view my sins with callous disregard. My attitude toward my own sin is oft times casual, even careless. Moreover, when this attitude toward sin comes to the forefront of my mind, there are times when I should be weeping over my frail condition, yet I do not. Jeremiah decries the frailty of our flesh to be moved appropriately for sins against a holy God when he says,

Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Jeremiah 9:1

Why are we like this? Jeremiah reminds us of the plight of our fallen condition when he says,

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9, KJV

There is only one cure for this ailment and corrupt condition so saturated with sin— Jesus Christ, and Him crucified!

Christ’s cross “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16; also 1 Cor 1:18). When we, with spiritual eyes, view the eternal wrath of God poured out upon Jesus Christ for sins He did not commit, its power bestows the mercy of God upon the heart, breaks the obstinate will, binds the flesh in fetters, bows the mind in godly fear, and bends the knee in obedience. May we fall down upon our faces before the truth of the consuming fire of the LORD poured out upon heaven’s priceless Son, Jesus Christ!

The fire sent out from the LORD
Was His wrath pour’d on Christ;
He suffer’d for a debt not ow’d,
Yet Jesus paid that price.

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash

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