Fire came from the presence of God and consumed the offering. The people fell on their faces. And then, one chapter later, two priests offered unauthorized fire — fire God had not commanded — and it destroyed them instead. Two fires, both in worship. The question today: is the fire burning on the altar of your heart strange fire or spiritual fire?
Moses was on the mountain with God for forty days. The people got restless and pressured Aaron: make us gods. And Aaron gave in. He fashioned a golden calf, and when Moses confronted him, he said “I threw the gold into the fire and out came this calf” — as if the calf made itself. Today’s devotional is about one of the clearest warnings in the Bible: the people you are supposed to lead can end up leading you, if you are not watchful. Are you a God pleaser or a people pleaser?
“Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.” Six words. But if you know what God asked them to do — stand before the most powerful ruler in the world and announce plague after plague, knowing Pharaoh would harden his heart every time — you understand what that sentence cost. They didn’t negotiate. They didn’t skip the hard parts. They went all the way. Today’s devotional is about what it means to obey fully, not partially.