Ex 24:17, And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
In this passage, we are given a view of the glory of God that is often repeated in the scriptures. We will trace some of the examples in the various accounts of how God and His glory are represented in the terminology of fire by those who witnessed it. This will allow us to, Lord willing, ascertain a greater sense of reverence and depth of understanding as to an increased appreciation for the fact that God and His glory are not a small or incidental consideration by His people.
One of the first revelations of God in this essence of fire is relayed in Ex 3:2 in the account of Moses’ call to go to Pharaoh for the purpose of the release of God’s people from their slavery. It was as Moses was shepherding a flock that he saw the burning bush that was not devoured by the flame. Ex 3:2, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. God chose to reveal Himself to Moses in that fiery bush which was not devoured by the flame. In that chapter we read of the conversation that Moses had with God, embodying the fiery edict that Moses was to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. 
We know from our readings that when Pharaoh refused, he sentenced his nation to the scorching ordeals of the 10 plagues. These culminated in the death of all the firstborn in Egypt, both man and beast not covered by the blood of the sacrificial Passover lamb. This was the consequence for refusal to accede to the sovereignty of the Lord God Almighty. Such is the significance of the fact that God is represented by the fire of holiness and purity and righteousness in all His glory. All that is against Him and His Lordship will face the fiery ordeal of His burning wrath through His awesome Omnipotence. 
After the Children of Israel were released from their slavery and given all the treasures of Egypt as their possession, it was the Lord Who led them, as recounted in Ex 13:21+22. This was through the manifestation of His guidance in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Ex 13:21+22, And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 
One of the tremendous realities of this visible presence of God going before them was the fact that God never left them. He was constantly with them, day and night in a most visible manner of showing them the way in which they should go. He not only made a way before them through the paths of the wilderness, but when the army of Pharaoh pursued them, it was His presence, in the pillar of cloud and fire, that confounded and confused and held back the chariots until the Israelites were safely on the other side of the Red Sea. 
It is recorded in Ex 14:23-25 that even the Egyptians, who did not serve or honor God, recognized that He was fighting on the side of this, His Chosen People. Ex 14:23-25, Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. And it came about at the morning watch, that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. And He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians." 
	The redeemed people of the Lord were then brought to Him by Moses at Mount Sinai. God chose to reveal Himself to them through the fire and the smoke of His glory as we read in Ex 19:17-19. Ex 19:17-19, And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 
As an immediate result, the people were sore afraid. Instead of wanting to know God and learn directly from Him, they asked Moses to be the one to speak to God on their behalf and to tell them all that God desired of them. Even though they had seen the presence of God throughout their wandering in the wilderness through the manner of His guidance, they were too fearful of their own unrighteousness and unholiness and unworthiness to deal directly with the Lord. They delegated the totality of their communication with God to the prophet whom God had sent to them.
It was Moses, in Deut 4:23+24, who later reminded this people of the covenant that they made with the Lord, detailed in this morning’s reading of Exodus, Chapter 24. In that prompting of their remembrance, Moses warned them of the fact that they knew God in the form of His glorious presence as the all-consuming God. Deut 4:23+24, So watch yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. They were to guard their hearts and minds in the manner in which they held true to the Only Living Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth. 
Later, in this same warning, verses 35-39, Moses detailed what they had seen at Mount Sinai in the form of God’s glory as fire on the mountain. Deut 4:35-39, "To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 
	The reality before the people was that God had so revealed Himself in fire as to sear that memory into their minds and hearts. They were to think of Him each time they gathered together around their campfires and to remember His gracious deliverance and sustenance as they cooked their food over the flame and heard the crackle of the burning wood. Fire was so essential to their daily lives, that God presented Himself to them in that form as a means of a constant reminder that everything they had and were was because He had delivered them and made them His Own Chosen people. 
	In a later generation, King David would carry forth this reliance upon God in his prayer as recorded in 2 Sam 22:7-15, if you would read it with me. 2 Sam 22:7-15, "In my distress I called upon the Lord, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears. "Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. "Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. "He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. "And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind. "And He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. "From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. "The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. 
	This is a most colorful imagery detailing how God saved him from his enemies and preserved his life. It is filled with the revelation of God’s sovereignty and provision as described by fiery images and representational recounting of the way in which God showed Himself mighty to save. Fire and smoke and burning coals and lightening all evoked the fiery majesty of God as He spread forth His deliverance for the sake of saving this, His chosen king over the people whom He loved. 
	Again listen to David in Ps 21:5-13 as he described how he was blessed and sustained by the Lord God Almighty Who rules and overrules as through the use of His fiery nature against those who would harm the Lord’s anointed. Ps 21:5-13, His glory is great through Thy salvation, Splendor and majesty Thou dost place upon him. For Thou dost make him most blessed forever; Thou dost make him joyful with gladness in Thy presence. For the king trusts in the Lord, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. Their offspring Thou wilt destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. Though they intended evil against Thee, And devised a plot, They will not succeed. For Thou wilt make them turn their back; Thou wilt aim with Thy bowstrings at their faces. Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength; We will sing and praise Thy power. 
	Later, Solomon finished building the temple that was always in the heart of his father, David. At that time, as described in 2 Chron 7:1-3, the Lord filled that temple with His presence in such a manifestation of His glory that none could bear it. 2 Chron 7:1-3, Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. And all the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting." …"Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting." These blessed ones were able to distinguish the reality that the Lord’s presence in their midst was glorious and to be desired and appreciated. They echoed the chorus of thanksgiving and honor and worship due to the Lord. 
	Another who saw the glory of the Lord in the brilliance of His personage was the Prophet Ezekiel as recorded in Ezek 1:27+28. This was at the beginning of his ministry when the Lord called him out and prepared him to speak forth that which God wanted the people to hear. Ezek 1:27+28, Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. 
While the description contains the elements of fire and radiance, it still manifests, not fear, but glory and honor and reverence and adoration. There was that within the prophet that knew that God was to be held in esteem and awe and wonder. His presence brought forth, not terror and dread, but majesty and splendor and grandeur and brilliance.  
Another of the prophets who gave voice to the presence of the Lord in the terms of conflagration and strength and power and might was the Prophet Nahum in Nah 1:3-8. As he told of the manner in which God would serve His justice and His wrath upon those who were guilty of wrongdoing and defilement, there was also that element of the splendor and the glory that would accompany such a holy reckoning. It was not just a matter of punishment meted out, but of the goodness and the refuge that God is to His people against all the gales and storms that will destroy the wicked. 
Nah 1:3-8, The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither. Mountains quake because of Him, And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it. Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, And the rocks are broken up by Him. The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness. 
Next time, Lord willing, we will continue this contemplation of God seen in the fiery presence of His glory and might and splendor and majesty. We will look to the images that are contained in more of the prophets as well as the New Testament writings. So be it. 
And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Ps 104:33+34. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord. Amen.