When God Sets Your Gifts on Fire

It started with a season of unprecedented sacrifice and celebration.  The people of God, from leaders down to the proverbial “Bob ‘n Betty”, were making offerings so extravagant, so lavish they could only be described as reckless (2 Chronicles 5:6)

I don’t know if the prayer was spontaneous or read from some ancient version of a teleprompter but partway through the event the King mounts a platform and begins to pray.

 

His prayer begins with an acknowledgement of the sovereignty, the Holiness, the faithfulness and the omnipotence of God!  “O LORD,” he cries, “God of Israel, there is no God like You!”

…and then for what must have been the next several minutes at least, he repeats the same refrain over and over using different words.  In a nutshell…

“if we sin…

and You punish…

and we come to our senses and repent…

please forgive and restore”

 

…and GOD answers by setting His gifts on fire …

 

Literally!  The moment Solomon finishes his prayer the fire of God streaks out of the heavens and consumes all of the offering and sacrifices that had been so meticulously prepared… offerings without number…

 

Are you alright with God setting your offering on fire? 

What do you do when God turns your offering into ash?