In today’s Scripture reading, Moses reminded Israel of the importance of obeying Yahweh’s commandments. Included in this reminder is a description of Yahweh as a jealous, consuming fire. This corrects a misconception about God which is very common in the 21st century.
The first three chapters of Deuteronomy are a review of how Israel arrived at the banks of the Jordan River. The fourth chapter is the beginning of a review of Israel’s law. Moses started by stressing the importance of obeying God’s commandments.
Deut. 4:7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is Yahweh our God whenever we call on Him?
This was a rhetorical question. The answer was that no nation had a god near it. In fact, Yahweh is the only living God; therefore, Israel was the only nation with a real God.
Deut. 4:8 Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?
All the other nations had man-made laws and a man-made religion; therefore, only Israel had righteous statutes.
Deut. 4:9 ¶ “Only keep yourself and keep your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. But make them known to your sons and to your grandsons.
Look at the words “lest you forget”. The Israelites who were listening to Moses had seen many miracles during the years they wandered in the wilderness. Moses warned them to remember what they had witnessed and to tell their descendants about it.
Deut. 4:10 Remember the day you stood before Yahweh your God at Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may cause them to hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
Notice the words “cause” and “fear Me”. Yahweh deliberately made the Israelites fear Him. Yahweh wanted Israel to be afraid to disobey Him.
Deut. 4:11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud, and dense gloom.
Deut. 4:12 Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice.
Deut. 4:13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to do, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Deut. 4:14 And Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it.
Notice the emphasis upon obedience. Yahweh’s top priority was not that Israel would sing about Yahweh or say wonderful things about Him. Instead, Yahweh wanted obedience.
We see something similar in the New Testament. The greatest commandment is to love God (see Matthew 22:37). Obeying God is how we love God (see John 14:15). Therefore, obeying God should be our highest priority.
Unfortunately, modern Christianity fails to grasp this concept. Many Christians, or so-called Christians, erroneously believe Biblical love is an emotion. They think our highest priority should be singing emotional songs and having emotional experiences when we go to church. However, God’s top demand is that we obey Him.
Deut. 4:15 ¶ “So keep your souls very carefully, since you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,
Deut. 4:16 lest you act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Deut. 4:17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,
Deut. 4:18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth,
Deut. 4:19 and lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which Yahweh your God has apportioned for all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Take note of the word “serve”. This verse did not merely prohibit them from worshipping images or heavenly bodies. It prohibited them from serving images and heavenly bodies. Serving is an integral part of worship. Worship is not merely having an emotional experience. Worship is devotion, loyalty, priority, and obedience.
Deut. 4:20 But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own inheritance, as today.
Deut. 4:21 ¶ “Now Yahweh was angry with me on your account and swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Deut. 4:22 For I will die in this land, I shall not cross the Jordan, but you shall cross and take possession of this good land.
Deut. 4:23 So keep yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God which He cut with you and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which Yahweh your God has commanded you.
Deut. 4:24 For Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Don’t miss the impact of this statement about Yahweh. Yahweh is a consuming fire. Yahweh is jealous.
Here is an illustration to understand God’s jealousy:
Arthur worked the night shift at the municipal water treatment plant for twenty-three years. He was the kind of man people forgot was in the room—thin, soft-spoken, with a habit of staring at gauges longer than anyone else thought necessary.
One spring the city’s aging filtration system began failing. Contaminants were slipping through at levels just below the legal limit. Arthur noticed the trend weeks before the official sensors did.
While others slept or complained about overtime, he stayed after his shift, running quiet tests with equipment he had repaired himself. He mapped the microscopic cracks in the main membrane, calculated the exact pressure adjustments needed, and designed a low-cost retrofit using spare parts already in the warehouse.
It worked. Within days the readings returned to clean. The crisis that could have poisoned half the city never happened.
The plant manager, a polished man named Harlan, called an emergency meeting the following Monday. He presented Arthur’s solution as his own “swift executive action.” The mayor shook Harlan’s hand for the cameras. The local paper ran a front-page photo of Harlan standing beside the repaired filters. Arthur was not mentioned.
Arthur would have been quite justified if he were jealous. Arthur fixed the problem. He deserved to get the credit for it.
Yahweh is the Creator of everything. He is the most powerful force in the universe. He deserves to be acknowledged as the all-powerful Creator. When He doesn’t get the credit He deserves, He is jealous.
This is contrary to how many people view God. They think God is all love, patience, kindness, and generosity. They refuse to believe that God is a fire that will consume those who do not give Him the credit and recognition He deserves.
However, since God never changes (see Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8), that means today in the 21st century God is still a jealous, consuming fire. He is jealous when anyone in the 21st century does not acknowledge Him as the all-powerful Creator who deserves to be obeyed.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”