Gold will change from its solid state and morph into a liquid form at almost two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature, simply put, is called the melting point. Various elements and materials have melting points. For water, it leaves its ice form at a mere 32 degrees. Steel will melt around 2,500 to 2,800 Titanium is a little over three thousand degrees while Tungsten is a whopping six thousand degrees. For reference, the surface of the Sun is around 10,000 degrees. In case you’re wondering, the core of the Sun is in the millions, so it’s still the hottest object in our solar system. Fire is essential to life, whether used as heat, light, or a purifier. This element is why multiple prophets used fire to describe an aspect of God’s character and action.
From question five of this lesson, God is described as one who burns away the problems or issues of His people. “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:23-24 NKJV. In this verse, God is used as a warning. He notices that people are strong in believing other deities or even in the idols they made themselves. When you step back and think about that, worshiping or believing in the power of a thing you created is strange. You would think the stories and songs of how an all-powerful God did everything He could to make life extraordinary would fuel worship, yet they chose a hand-constructed statue.
Remember that God doesn’t want us to put other images, idols, people, celebrities, or ourselves above Him. We in the twenty-first century can quickly elevate items or people above God. Putting others before the Lord activates the consuming fire God that we’ve read from this lesson. The warning to them and us is that God is a consuming fire. This fire is different from just a purifying one because it is meant to destroy or eradicate. When we decide to put other gods, images, or people above God, He can come into our lives and become a consuming fire. For obvious reasons, this is the worst-case scenario. We do not want to be on God’s path of annihilation. Instead, it would be preferable to see God work for us.
“Listen, Israel. You will soon cross the Jordan River to go in and force out nations that are bigger and stronger than you. They have large cities with walls up to the sky. The people there are Anakites, who are strong and tall. You know about them, and you have heard it said: No one can stop the Anakites. But today, remember that the Lord your God goes in before you to destroy them like a fire that burns things up. He will defeat them ahead of you, and you will force them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has said.” Deuteronomy 9:1-3 NCV. We want God to be in our lives as a consuming fire that works in our favor. Israel was on the verge of taking a new land God had vowed to their ancestors. They would go against some extreme odds and resistance, but the Lord assured them that they would overcome. Why? Because God was going to be there with them. We want God to work for us. Every single person reading this lesson has a blessing that God has promised. The blessing could refer to a new job, healing, spiritual growth, leadership opportunities, schooling, and other possibilities. However, as for any unique opportunity, there will be a struggle. We would love for everything to come easy. Nothing worth earning comes easy. God informed the Israelites of that fact but told them that they would be victorious. This is a promise that everyone can claim.
We can look at scripture such as this and exchange the Anakites for whatever issue or person is a block to you gaining that blessing the Lord has arranged. God wants to be a pathway for you to get to the next phase of your life. The fire from this scripture is beneficial and what we desire from God in our lives.
When it comes to gold, the high melting temperature is beneficial. When gold is dug out of the ground, cave, or sifted from a waterbed, it is full of impurities. Dirt, grime, and other useless pieces devalue this precious element. However, when a goldsmith gets gold at a high enough temperature to become molten liquid, those less than desirable pieces can be removed, and only pure gold remains. Of course, nothing is absolutely one hundred percent, but the closer you get to that standard, the more that piece of metal is worth. The same smelting factor can be said for us on a character level.
Every person is valuable. We are of great benefit to God and, of course, to each other. We have various issues, self-inflicted problems, character flaws, and many other impurities that cloud our true worth. However, God often has to put us through the fire. We must go through a melting phase, so those less than desirable qualities can be shifted away from us, and we become purer. We become like a 99.999% gold bar whose worth is beyond imagination. Even though we want to be valuable, often, we’re not willing to go through the fire to get there.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to allow God to burn off those traits. The Lord wants to shape you in an image that He can use for the people and community you come across, and he has a desire to make you shine. God promised the Israelites success in obtaining the Promised Land. God will bless our work if our ambition is in line with Him.