John answered, saying to them all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, the latch of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Luk 3:16
FIRE. Strong’s G4442 πυρι pyr, “fire;” used in the Septuagint for Strong’s H784 אש esh, a primitive word meaning, “fire.”
aleph א = ox head, thus strength, power, leader
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
The story: To strongly (aleph) press down (shin). From the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon:
A fire is made by firmly pressing a wooden rod down onto a wooden board and spinning the rod with a bow drill. Wood dust is generated from the two woods rubbing together and is heated by the friction creating a small ember in the dust. Small tinder is then placed on the ember and is blown [to] ignite the tinder.
Our English word “ash” comes from the aleph + shin, as the product of fire.
Notice that within the Hebrew root word parable, the ember must be blown upon in order to ignite into fire, thus the Spirit is often compared to the breath, or wind.
Then He said to me: Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘Thus says the Lord YHVH: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ Eze 37:9
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but can not tell from where it comes, and to where it goes: so is every one who is born of the Spirit.” Joh 3:6-8
The Hebrew esh is the same as is used here:
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of YHVH appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Exo 3:1-2
The burning bush is a prophetic picture, a metaphor, for our life in Messiah Yeshua, baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is the place of His presence, and the place of His power. He blows upon us, and ignites the flame of His presence, and His power, so that we burn with fire but are not consumed. And what does Moses do when he sees the burning bush, burning with fire but not consumed? He turns aside to see what is going on.
And that is precisely how our lives are to be under the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The burning fire stops people in their tracks and draws them. They look with expectation. Now God has given you an audience with which to bear witness of the good news of the gospel!
When I first saw this parallel, I was convicted. Am I a burning bush, burning with fire but not consumed? I needed a fresh breath of the Holy Spirit to blow on me, and reignite His ember inside my heart. If you are in the same boat, this is what you do.
“Father, blow on me afresh, I ask in the name of Yeshua. Ignite Your presence and Your Spirit within me to burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Make me a burning, which burns but which is not consumed, as You promised through John in Luke 3:16. And send Your people to me to collect Your fruit. Thank You for it in Yeshua’s name!”
And I started fasting as well, and seeking, and worshiping. I wanted that flesh dead as a doornail, and life flowing to me, and out through me to everyone else!
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