When Moses dedicated the tabernacle and the first sacrifices were made, we are told in Leviticus 9:43-44 that “the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering.” Fire is a common symbol of God’s presence throughout Scripture. God had spoken to Moses from a burning bush and had led the Israelites by a pillar of fire. This pillar of fire would be a constant sight over the tabernacle when it was constructed. Now again, as Solomon dedicates the temple and offers the sacrifices, we again read that “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple”. The temple of Solomon however was provisional, just as the tent-tabernacle of Moses had been. The fire of God would enter one more temple, a temple that these solid ones were simply foreshadowing. That happened on the Day of Pentecost when the gathered followers of Jesus “saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them”. We are then told that “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit”. So, the true habitation of God, the vessel of God’s glory on earth, is the people of God themselves. “Do you not know,” Paul says, “that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are a sacred and holy dwelling of God. You are a vessel of God’s glory. You are a lamp in the darkness. Live your life accordingly.
Ask God to fill you afresh with his Holy Spirit and pray for opportunities to shine in dark places.
Read 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 and Acts 2:1-4
