Fire – Lamentations 1:13

“From on high he sent fire,
    sent it down into my bones.
He spread a net for my feet
    and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
    faint all the day long.

Lamentations 1:13 (NIV)

Fire is one of those ambiguous words when used in symbolism. For Elijah on Mt Carmel, the God who answered with fire was to be regarded as the true God. The fire, in one sense, showed an acceptance of the sacrifice as well as the power of the God to whom that sacrifice was offered. (1 Kings

Jeremiah spoke of a fire in his bones: “But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9 NIV, emphasis added). It’s hard to tell if we are to see this fire as positive or negative. I’ve heard many speakers use the phrase “a fire in my bones,” with varied emphasis. It may be used to claim a divine source for the message.

Hebrews 12:29 describes God as a consuming fire. If you read this entire passage, you’ll find that it has a positive and a negative side. It’s a fire that removes impurities and even weaknesses, but what remains is what is pure and lasting. (Note the related use of “shaking” in the same chapter.

There are many references to fire in scripture, and they vary from the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites to the fires of hell that consume all evil.

Here, the fire is a subject of lament. It is part of the judgment that has come on Israel. This lamentation speaks of God’s actions. We often argue about whether God does one particular thing or another. If you feel that you are suffering a form of fire of God’s judgment, is this something God is doing, or that God is permitting and using?

I find it unhelpful to be concerned about what precisely is an intentional act of God. We like to place logical layers between us and God so as to absolve God of some portion of the responsibility for what happens in the universe. I see God as responsible, and on reading a verse like Isaiah 45:7, I don’t see God as unwilling to take that responsibility.

In fact, understanding that God is fundamentally sovereign, and by extension responsible, is a critical aspect of monotheism. Instead of pacifying demons or various forces, we look at God as the one in charge.

Does this always make us comfortable? Not even close! I don’t think it’s supposed to make us comfortable. In fact, I see very little evidence that God is working for comfort in this life. Rather God is working toward righteousness.

And that is an enormous goal. And thus we lament. As strangers and wanderers here, our jouney isn’t always easy.

God’s fire is refining (Malachi 3:2-3). Refining is rarely fun!