Beloved, the first time we see fire used in the Bible is in Genesis 3. It is after Adam and Eve
have been expelled from Eden. The text says in verse twenty-four (24) of the third chapter of
Genesis that God set a cherubim with a spinning flaming sword to guard the way to the tree
of life so that Adam and Eve could not eat from it. Can you imagine being kicked out of Eden
and there guarding the gate is – a winged guard with a spinning flaming sword? What a
strange introduction to fire! It was used to separate us from Eden. It was used to set a
boundary that symbolized we were no longer holy enough or trusted enough to enter.
Fire has a way of doing that.

The next major moment in which we see fire comes in Genesis 15 when God uses fire as a
sign of the covenant made between Abraham and Himself. God passed through Abraham’s
sacrifice as a smoking fire pit and a blazing torch. Fire here becomes representative of
covenant, of consecration. Fire used here in Genesis 15 shows that not only does fire
create division, but it also confirms covenant.

During Moses’s reign of leadership, we saw fire as a medium to hear God’s voice in the
burning bush, a covering that went ahead of Israel at night as they walked in the
wilderness, and even as a symbol of God’s presence on mountains and in temples.

Throughout the Old Testament, in some way, fire has always had an external relationship
in the lives of believers. Whether it was as a boundary setter, a covenant indicator, a
medium for God’s voice, a symbol of God’s presence, or a covering for God’s mercy, fire
has always been used to represent an external relationship between God and
believers.

This is what makes Pentecost so special! While the disciples were gathered together in
the upper room that morning, in Acts 2, the text says that what had been external now
became internal. The fire did not lead them, did not separate them, did not speak to them,
or light their path; instead, Acts 2 says the Holy Spirit, like tongues of fire, rested on each of
them. What was external was now resting on them, in them, moving and working on the
inside of each of them.

The good news is this: that same fire, that same Holy Ghost, does not have to be external
for us either. If we are willing, the Holy Spirit will rest on each of us, fill us, and remind
us that every day in Jesus is Pentecost. In Jesus name, Amen.

Rev. Dr. Ronald Bell, II