A Fire From the Presence of God

The inspiration for the song of that title on our Songs page came from noticing how often God’s will makes itself known by fire from heaven in the Old Testament. This post will explore the theme of fire from God’s presence in relation to His acceptance or rejection of priests, temple, and repentance. We’ll also see how these relate to the events of the day of Pentecost and how they may have shaped the Apostle Paul’s view of the church.

A Fire of Acceptance
The book of Leviticus tells the story of the establishment and functioning of the Aaronic priesthood of the Israelite Covenant. When the time came for the priests to be set apart for holy service for God, they went through a seven-day purification ritual that culminated with a burned offering as a sacrifice to God. The priests and Moses entered the Tabernacle to present the priests before…