Consume us, O Lord, is a cry for God to swallow up or absorb our fleshly nature that His divine nature might be revealed through us.

God’s Word mentions Him as a consuming fire:

God requires complete devotion and His consuming fire helps sustain purity in His people by helping them refuse idolatry. God will not share His glory with worthless, powerless, and empty idols.

 ‘So be on your guard and watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He has made with you, and make for yourselves a carved or sculpted image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; He is a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His].” ~Deuteronomy 4:23-24 AMP

God protected His people by going ahead of them and destroying their enemies as they journeyed to the Promise Land.

“Know therefore today that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you.” ~Deuteronomy 9:3 NASB

God’s consuming fire represents His holiness, glory and majesty.

“Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe; for our God [is indeed] a consuming fire.” ~Hebrews 12:28-29 AMPC

“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days (God) took His seat; His garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was flames of fire; its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; a thousand thousands were attending Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand were standing before Him; the court was seated, and the books were opened.” ~Daniel 7:9-10 AMP

“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, on the clouds of heaven One like a Son of man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him (the Messiah) was given dominion (supreme authority), glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language should serve and worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” ~Daniel 7:13-14 AMP

We cannot approach God’s holy consuming fire in our own righteousness, or His fire will consume us.

“For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment: we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction].” ~Isaiah 64:6 AMPC

We can approach God humbly, crying out to Him for clean hands, a pure heart, and a right spirit.

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” ~Psalm 24:3-5 NASB

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.” ~Psalm 51:10 WEB

We Have Hope in Jesus Christ

By the Blood of Jesus Christ, we stand before the Living God, pure, spotless, and blameless.

 “[God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  ~2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB

“Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.” ~Isaiah 1:18 AMPC

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” ~1 John 1:9 NASB

“In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” ~Ephesians 1:7 AMP

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” ~Ephesians 2:13 NASB

“Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.” ~Colossians 1:12-14 AMP

Recommendations

How to Find God – Strength with Dignity

How Do We Cultivate Our Faith and Prayer Life? – Strength with Dignity

References

100 Bible Verses about Jesus Cleansing Us White as Snow. Published by Open Bible. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from What Does the Bible Say About Jesus Cleansing Us White As Snow? (openbible.info)

100 Bible Verses about the Color White. Published by the Open Bible. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from What Does the Bible Say About The Color White? (openbible.info)

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631.

Amplified Bible, Classis Edition (AMPC) Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB 1995), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

What does it mean that God is a Consuming Fire? Published by Got Questions. Retrieved February 8, 2024, from What does it mean that God is a consuming fire? | GotQuestions.org

World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We receive a one-word prompt and write whatever comes to our mind. The one-word prompt this week is consuming.