Fire in the Bible Part 1 – God’s approval and disapproval

God created fire for a number of reasons. We can see one of those reasons by looking at the first few times fire is mentioned in the Bible.

The first time fire is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis chapter 3 and verses 22 to 24:

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Because of man’s fall to sin in the Garden of Eden he was being restricted entrance into that paradise.

The third time fire is mentioned in the Bible Genesis Chapter 19 verse 23 to 24:

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

Because of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah continued sinful and riotous living they were destroyed with fire.

We can see already that fire has established itself as a force by which man could be punished. Even though we have only gone 1 % of the way into the Bible we already know what one of the major uses of fire was going to be.

Introduction: Fire and men

When men had worked out how to start fire they still had a problem. It took so long sometimes to get the fire started that it got to the stage that once it had been started they wanted to keep it going so as to avoid wasting time in the future. So they had to think of ways of storing fire. They had many ideas for storing fire like transporting smouldering charcoal in earthen pots or in seashells. Another method was to bury smouldering wood. Yet another way was to maintain a slow- burning piece of wood. Genesis suggests this is what Abraham used to do.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. Genesis 22:6

Isaiah suggests that it was a common domestic practice to keep fire stored in earthen vessels. (Isa.30:14). So it can be seen that the Bible was consistent with the historians view as to how fire was stored.

Fire was used for many things down through the ages including warmth, cooking, light and ceremonial uses. Indeed all these uses are still in existence now in our modern age, only to a lesser degree. Let’s think of some of the uses of fire in modern society. We’ll take the ceremonial uses first. Here are some of the ceremonial uses of fire.

There is the eternal memorial flames used mainly for soldiers who died in the war,

there is the use of fire in cremations,

and there is the one which most of us have used once a year from exactly one year after we were born – that is, birthday candles.

So those are some of the ceremonial uses in modern society. What about cooking? The use of fire for cooking in modern society can be seen in most countries with that Bar-B-Que we like having on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Fire is also used in cooking for those of us who have a gas stove.

What about fire’s warmth? Fire is still used for warmth these days when the lucky ones of us sit around the fireplace in the loungeroom. Or when we go out camping on a cold night and form a tight circle around the campfire.

Industry still uses fire in the production of metals, glass and crockery. Some farmers still use fire to assist them in the production of their crop (for example, sugar cane growers). Indeed without fire, there wouldn’t be electricity which is ironical in that electricity has replaced fire as a source of warmth and light (the fire is used to heat water into steam, which then spins turbines connected to generators to produce electricity).

So fire in this age of electricity is still a necessity and still plays a part in most of our lives. Fire has always played an important part in people’s lives right down through history.

Chapter 1 Fire and Science

The three components of fire

What happened to create that fire which rained down onto the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah? The answer is that a chemical reaction would have taken place. God designed fire so that it would form with the combination of the following three things:

1. The first is fuel. This fuel can take the form of wood or paper or it can be alcohol or gas among many other chemicals.

2. The second component needed to create fire is oxygen. When there is a fire it is found that the fuel combines rapidly with oxygen. For example, when wood burns in bonfires or gas burns in stoves, the fuel combines rapidly with oxygen in the air making the fire burn more fiercely.

3. The third component needed to make a fire is heat. The first two components of fuel and oxygen do not of themselves create fire, they need heat. In other words, when you expose your weekend newspaper to the air it does not normally burst into flames. Usually you will need a burning match to make that newspaper catch on fire.

When the paper becomes hot enough, oxygen can begin to combine freely with it making the paper burst into flames. As to what temperature fuel, like this newspaper, needs to get to before it burst into flames depends upon the fuel itself. Each fuel has its own particular temperature at which it begins to burn. This temperature is called the kindling temperature or flash point of the fuel.

As a result of this combination of these three components, God has made it possible to create this thing which gives off heat and light. This is the thing which we know as fire.

To put a fire out it is necessary to take one of these three components of fuel, oxygen or heat away.

The first way then to put a fire out is by removing the fuel. For example, inside a forest, workers create a fire lane which cuts through the forest, so that when the fire gets to the lane the fire will burn out because of the fuel being removed (which in this case is the trees).

The second way to put out a fire is by removing the second component that creates fires, that is, oxygen. If you remove oxygen you will starve the fire and it will go out. You may remember in your old school experiments that if you put a glass jar over a burning candle you will eventually put the flame out. That’s why we have the fire blanket so that it will smother the fire by taking away the oxygen.

The third way to put out a fire is to remove the third component that can create a fire, that is, heat. You can remove the heat in a fire by applying water to it, as water will absorb the heat from the burning materials. The fire will continue burning until the water makes the temperature of the fire drop below the kindling temperature.

To be safe, some house owners have all three ways of putting out a fire covered. They have a fire blanket in the kitchen to suffocate a fire by removal of oxygen. They have a fire extinguisher to put out a fire by the removal of heat. They have cleared their roof gutter of leaves and cleared their yard of tree so that the fire has no wooden fuel to thrive on.

The different kinds of burning

There are different kinds of burning. In some kinds of burning, no light is given off. This is the case when fuel combines slowly with oxygen, for the only thing that will be given off in this case is heat.

An example of this type of burning would be when iron rusts. Rusting is simply a very slow kind of burning. As matter of fact the burning is so slow that you can’t even feel the heat being given off.

So fire and rusting are two different types of burning. Scientists actually use the word combustion when they talk about burning. So we have seen that there are two types of combustion or burning.

1. There is firstly fast combustion which comes from a Latin word meaning “to burn up”. Fire is what is known as fast combustion for both heat and light are given off.

2. Rusting is what is known as slow combustion, where only heat is given off. The heat is in such small proportions that you wouldn’t feel it.

Sometimes this slow combustion speeds up and becomes fast combustion or in other words a fire. This is known as spontaneous combustion. Spontaneous means that the fire starts by itself.

All the way across America people were finding that they were experiencing spontaneous combustion first hand. For a lot them would one day look up to see there attic burning up before their eyes. They would say to the police that they couldn’t understand it, for there attics had been closed up for years with no one going anywhere near it. The police would usually answer back to them the simple words “Ah, there lies your problem”. The resident would respond  “What?”. The police would say “Your problem is that your attic has been closed for many years”.

The fire came about because the resident had left oily rags or papers in the attic where there is little movement of air. The heat would build up in these piles because of the combination of small amounts of oxygen with small amounts of oil particles in the paper or rags. As there was no movement of air in the attic, the air would not carry away the heat that was building up. The paper and rags would continue to heat up until one day that heat would reach kindling temperature where the rags and papers would burst into flames.

Combustion can also be extremely rapid. As matter of fact it may be so rapid that an explosion will occur. This explosion occurs because most of the fuel available all burns almost instantaneously.

Chapter 2 Fire as a tool

The tool of man

How would fire have occurred over the past 6000 years since creation? At first there would have been only natural fires. There would have been the lightning bolt that struck a tree and started a fire. Or maybe there was a volcano erupting spewing out the molten lava.

However, eventually the men of those times worked out how to create fire by rubbing two sticks together which would create enough heat to reach kindling temperature. Eventually this method became outmoded when it became easier to create fire by the striking together of rocks like iron pyrites or the rock flint which would create sparks.

By creating fire, men could then start using fire to their own benefit.

1. Light. One of the first benefits of fire was that it could give light at night time or inside dark shelters.

2. Cook food. Another benefit derived from fire was the ability to cook food. The first instance of cooking of food mentioned in the Bible was at Genesis chapter 18 verse 6.

And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.”

Whilst it doesn’t explicitly mention fire, it would have been needed to make the cakes.

3. A source of warmth. Men also used fire to warm themselves like as is found in Isaiah 44 verses 14 to 16. In these verses the prophet Isaiah is talking about making idols and then worshipping them.

He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”

After these basic uses of fire the men of those times began to get clever realising that they could use fire to melt metal. They would pour the melted metal into moulds and then after it had cooled sufficiently, beat the soft metal into objects that they could use as tools. In some cases it was used to make idols as was the case when the golden calf was made by the children of Israel in the wilderness.

Men also used fire to make bricks for their buildings. This is what it says in Genesis chapter 11 and verse three.

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

The tool of God

As well as fire being a tool of man it was also a tool of God. Fire is represented as the symbol of God’s presence and also as an instrument of his power in that he will either show approval through it or he will destroy through it.

It is obvious from what we have seen so far that God could not have chosen a better symbol to represent him for within fire’s immateriality and mysteriousness, it is visible, warming, cheering and comforting which are all characteristics that he uses as representative of his approval. But fire is also terrible and consuming and it is these characteristics that God will use as symbols of his disapproval.

Fire as a tool of destruction (or God’s disapproval).

God gave fire the characteristics of heat and light so that fire could be used as a tool for man. However, God also used fire as a tool for himself.

As we read at the start of this article the first time fire was mentioned in the Bible it was used as a tool of punishment. Adam and Eve were kept from the Garden of Eden by a flaming sword because they had transgressed the commandment of God.

These are some other instances of fire being used as punishment:

Sodom and Gomorrah

Because the people at Sodom and Gomorrah were extremely evil in God’s sight they were destroyed by fire and brimstone coming down from Heaven. Why did God choose the rock Brimstone to accompany the fire when it rained down onto the towns? It was because Brimstone is known to us as sulphur, which is a rock that is easily melted and one that is very inflammable. Obviously this rock would go hand in hand with fire to create a visually terrifying scene.So this rock is on numerous occasions associated with fire.

Egyptians

God used fire to punish the Egyptians, because they wouldn’t let the children of Israel go. Because they refused to listen to Moses they had a plague of hail and fire thrown at them:

Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. Exodus 9:23-24

Dathan and Abiram

Also in the wilderness with the children of Israel we are told that because Dathan and Abiram envied Moses and Aaron that they were swallowed up into the earth and their company was burned up with fire.

In 2 Kings Chapter 1 and verses 8 – 12 we are told how Elijah used fire to destroy the enemies of God.

They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king's order, ‘Come down quickly!’” But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

If God didn’t destroy directly with fire he would use his servants to do it for Him as in the following cases :

• Under the laws and ordinances of priests listed in Leviticus it says that should the daughter of any priest profane herself as a prostitute that she shall be burnt with fire.
• Under the Mosaic law if a man were to take sexually a wife and her mother then the whole three of them were to be burn’t to death.
• Moses used fire to destroy the golden calf which the Israelites had used as an idol.
• Joshua burned the chariots of the great multitude that came against him at the waters of Merom.
• Joshua also burn’t the city of Jericho once he had besieged it.

So we can see that many times fire was used as a tool of punishment against those who had been disobedient to God.

Our Heavenly Father is a tolerant God but at the same time He is one that hates sin. The fact that He uses such a terrifying force as fire to punish those who transgress His laws shows how seriously he sees the problem as.

We are told in the Bible that if we fall into the same traps of those of the past times, we also will see fire in the form of the lake of fire. Let us make a conscious effort to do those things that are pleasing to our Heavenly Father so that He will not be put into the position where He will have to punish us.

Fire as a tool of approval

God also used fire as a tool to show His approval of particular actions like at the establishment of some great principle, or new institution.

Abraham

This happened for instance just after the promises were made to Abraham. This is what is recorded in Genesis Chapter 15 verse 17 and 18.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,…

Aaron

There was also a fire from God at Aaron’s acceptance as high priest. God showed his approval by letting fire come down from heaven and consume the altar with it’s burnt offering.

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

David

God used fire on the altar of burnt offering to indicate to David the place that He had chosen to place His name there.

Solomon

Another time of God showing His approval was at the dedication of the temple by Solomon. For once Solomon had finished praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices. (2 Chron. 7:1)

Elijah and the prophets of Baal

Ofcourse one of the well-known stories of God showing approval by fire is the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In this story we know that Ahab and his people were wavering between God and their own idols.

Elijah realised he needed to do something to turn them away from their idols. So Elijah told them that they should build a altar to their god known as Baal. Once this had been done, he asked them to call on their god to light their altar with fire so as to prove that their god existed. They called to Baal but nothing happened. Elijah then said that it was his turn to call on his God. Elijah built his altar and dug a large trench around it and then poured so much water over the offering that the water flowed down and filled it the trench. Elijah then called on his and our God. God answered by letting fire fall from heaven and burn up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil and the water in the trench.

The object of this miracle was to demonstrate to the people of Ahab of the existence and power of God so that they might be more obedient to God’s will.

God used fire also in this instance to show approval of Elijah as a man who was truly faithful.

This sort of demonstration had been carried out not only with fire but with other materials numerous times through the Bible to show God’s existence and also his approval of those who were faithful unto Him. Let us also try to be one of those who God will be pleased to show His approval of through His son Jesus Christ.

Fire as a symbol of God’s presence.

Gos used fire quite often to show his presence among his people. Let’s briefly have a look at some of these:

The pillar of fire

There was the time when the Israelites left the land of Egypt. As they headed to the Red Sea they were guided by a cloud during the day and by a pillar of fire during the night. The pillar of cloud behind them made it dark so that the Egyptians would have trouble following them. The pillar of fire at the front of them gave the children of Israel a light which they could follow so that they would not lose their way to the Promised Land. And of course we likewise follow the light of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we might not lose our way to the Kingdom of God.

The burning bush

There was the also the time that God spoke to Moses in a burning bush. This is recorded in Exodus Chapter 3 and verses 2 to 4.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Why did God and the angel appear to Moses in a burning bush? It was because God wanted to get Moses complete attention. The attempt worked for Moses did notice the bush and came across to it. Of course the angel was not hurt in any way by being within the flames. Especially since the angel was a manifestation of God. Once Moses attention was grasped the relevant message was given to him.

Mount Sinai

God also showed his presence in Exodus Chapter 19 and verse 18 to 20.

Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Here we see God setting Mount Sinai on fire and then speaking to Moses through the smoke and fire. The smoky cloud made the mountain dark and the fire lit parts of it. So that it was very much like the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud that had led the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Darkness and fire were used frequently to show that God was in their presence, especially in great and important occasions. The presence of God on Mount Sinai was a magnificent and terrifying example.

Consider these words in Deuteronomy Chapter 4 and verses 11 and 12 that described the same scene on Mount Sinai :

And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

The same thing in God’s communions with the High Priests between the Cherubim on the ark of the covenant, in that we find that the thick darkness there indicated God’s presence.

This is verified even further when we will look later at some of the scenes described in Revelation.