Scripture:
Exodus 24:15–18
15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites. 18Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (NRSVUE)
Observation:
Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. The people of Israel were already accustomed to God’s presence in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Now, the glory of God settled upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses from within the cloud.
To the Israelites watching from below, the glory of the LORD appeared like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain. They could see this manifestation of God’s glory from a distance, while Moses entered the cloud and went farther up the mountain. There he remained for forty days and forty nights.
What a remarkable picture of God’s presence! The fire was not something Moses created or controlled. It came from God Himself. The glory of God descended upon the mountain, and Moses was invited to enter His presence.
Application:
This week I was in the town of Herrnhut, Germany. I’ve wanted to go there for a long time because, in 1727, there was a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in that place. Some have called it the Moravian Pentecost, when God took a divided people and united them in divine love. This holy love compelled the people of this out-of-the-way place to become catalysts of the modern Protestant missionary movement.
When we think about Pentecost, we think about fire from above. These people in Herrnhut, many of them refugees from Central Europe, were united by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and something incredible happened. They experienced fire from above. The divine love that transformed their relationships also moved them outward, carrying the good news of Jesus Christ around the world.
But as I stood in the church in Herrnhut, I read about its destruction in 1945. The historical display in the church tells how, during the night of May 8–9, soldiers of the Soviet Red Army set the sanctuary on fire. The roof and interior were completely destroyed. Human fire, fire from below, had destroyed the church building—but not the church.
The church had been shaped by fire from above, and no matter what fire from below did to the building, it could not extinguish the divine life that had brought this community into being.
Fire from above creates life that reaches into eternity.
Fire from below can destroy what human hands have built, but it cannot extinguish the life that comes from God.
The glory of God surrounded Mount Sinai. Moses went up the mountain, and God came down, giving His commandments to His people. Those are commandments that we still read today. What God revealed on that mountain would continue to shape the lives of His people long after the fire was no longer visible.
But while Moses was on the mountain, the people grew tired of waiting. They had seen the glory of God like a devouring fire, and yet they wanted something they could see and control. So they gathered their gold, and Aaron fashioned a calf for them to worship. What they made with their own hands could never compare with the living God whose glory they had witnessed.
There is a difference between what comes from above and what we attempt to create for ourselves below.
Today, the Moravian church in Herrnhut has been rebuilt. It is once again a beautiful place of worship. But the people of God didn’t cease to exist when the building was destroyed. They continued as a worshiping community, even through the difficult years that followed. The building was a place where they gathered, but it was never the source of their life. The Holy Spirit had formed a people who could carry the faith even when the building was gone.
We, too, are invited into the presence of the living God. We cannot manufacture the fire of His Holy Spirit, but we can open ourselves to His transforming presence. When we live in dependence upon Him, He continues to form and sustain us, even when the things around us are shaken or destroyed.
The fire from below may be frightening and destructive, but it will never possess the life-giving power of the fire from above.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your graciousness and willingness to share Your holy presence with Your people. Help us not to be discouraged by the fires that threaten the things around us. May we continually seek the fire from above, allowing Your Holy Spirit to transform and sustain us. Amen.
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