“And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.” ~ Jeremiah 32:29
REFERENCE:
Fire purifies and refines. In scripture, it speaks of the refining judgment of God. Israel provoked God to anger by their many idolatries, and He decided to judge them by sending the Chaldeans to ravage the land and take them into captivity. In addition to their imprisonment, Jerusalem would be burnt with fire as punishment. Although meant for judgment, it is a purifying fire.
At first, the fire judgment seems harsh, but it is remedial; it is an omen that the land will be inhabited again, so it must first be purged and purified of the former atrocities and idolatry committed on the flat roofs of the houses that burnt by the fire. The fire will burn away and rid the land of bloodshed and injustice just as fire removes impurities from silver.
On a closer look, the fire judgment is a prophecy of Israel’s return to a purged land; else, the city unburnt will be overgrown by weeds – made a house for owls and jackals, until its foundations rot and sink into oblivion. God promised, “I will gather Israel out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger… I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.” God purged the land with fire so they would not return to their idols and sin.
‘Chaldeans’ may have set ‘fires’ of trouble around you. You may wonder why things are so heated up for you. Your support system is giving way, and you lose some things that once gave you comfort and pleasure. Have you been disappointed by trusted friends lately, or do you find it difficult to afford something you once could? That sounds like fire, but one thing is that ‘fire’ often prepares you for where God is taking you. The fire won’t burn for long.
I pray that the fire will burn away pride, shame, low self-image, anger, impatience with people, self-reliance, etc. so that you will be purified and qualified. The fire is not intended to destroy you but to prepare you for your coming glory. I can confidently tell you that the fire of trouble forged me into the man I am today(a story for another day). But for God’s purifying fire, I am confident that my wife and children would not have had the kind of husband and father they have. I know the trajectory my life was on before the fire. You will end better than you started, Amen.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Isaiah 43:2, II Corinthians 4:17, and I Peter 5:10
DECLARATION:
+ God loves me, and His plans for me are good. I am not moved by what I see or am going through. Underneath me are God’s everlasting arms. The fire of trouble will not burn me; the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is with me. I will come out of every ‘fire’ with a testimony; I will come out stronger, better, wealthier, wiser, and more like Christ, in Jesus’ name.
