My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
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| GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE |
| 1 Kings 18:24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” |
| We know the story. Elijah takes on the prophets of Baal, and Asherah, a total of 950 prophets that are lined up against him. Image the intimidation, the shear volume of enemy, and yet Elijah stood. You know, it is an easy thing to say that with God, we are a majority, but when push comes to shove, to live that out in front of a hostile government (Ahab really hated Elijah) and a hateful religious society is truly an amazing feat! Elijah stood alone, without any support from those in Israel. His perception of the nation at this time was that he was the only one faithful to God. The Lord instructs him later, but God allowed Elijah to live in his perceptions of being alone at this time. And what type of test was offered by Elijah? A test that puts each prophets life to be dependent on the response of the Gods they trusted in. And beyond that, the fate of the national religious life hung in the balance, depending on the outcome of a miracle. You know, Elijah could have claimed the inherent truth of the message from God, or of the past miracles performed by God, reminding the nation of God’s guidance and protection over the centuries. But he didn’t at this time. No, it appears Elijah read his crowd, understood the situation, figgered this was a “do or die” situation. Years had passed where he preached and warned, but to no avail. No it was show time! By that I mean, the people had to have a very real, very personal experience of God. But this experience was not to be like that of Moses, who was able to talk to God face to face, nor like Samuel, where God whispered his name, calling him into the ministry of prophet as a young boy. The people were going to face fire! He is the God who answers by fire, and as I read this passage, and think of Elijah’s situation, facing a culture drowning in lies and idolatry, it seems this response speaks to the peoples condition more than simply defining the true God. The miracle certainly defined the true God, but it also communicated a message that was with fire, a message tinged with judgement and anger. And a message crouched in a miracle. A miracle for an idolatrous people. Centuries later, the Master also faced an idolatrous culture, who fought against God, and referred to signs in relation to their “faith”. Matthew 12:39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. A sign was provided for that generation, in that the sacrifice on the altar, before their very eyes was consumed (as it were by God), and by a far greater miracle, was raised from the dead. For both cultures, fire came down on the sacrifice. Though Elijah saturated his sacrifice, dowsing it with water, the fire consumed it all to communicate the “above and beyond” character of God. He was more than what the people may have expected. For the Savior, the sign was the resurrection. Though completely sinless and worthy of honor and esteem, Jesus suffered the worst of punishments, in all areas of His life, as the fire of God came down to consume Him into the realms of death. Elijah’s sacrifice was completely consumed to produce change in a nation for the short term, for they fell into idolatry again. The Messiah’s sacrifice produces life upon life as we look to Him for our daily needs. He is much more than what we could have expected. He is the God who answers by fire. May we bless Him and thank Him always for His never ending care for us! |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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