Psalm 29:7; Jeremiah 23:29; Acts 2:1-4
The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): “The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.” Pentecost is a suggestive commentary upon this verse.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Some refer this verse, in the figurative and mystical sense, to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai—but rather this may be applied to the cloven, or divided tongues of fire which sat upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, as an emblem of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit bestowed on them.
CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH (1807-1885): “The voice of Jehovah cutteth out flames of fire,” that is, “sendeth out divided flames of fire.” This is, as Theodoret* observed, very descriptive of the divine action at Pentecost, sending forth divided flames, in the tongues of fire which were divided off from one heavenly source or fountain of flame, and sat upon the heads of the apostles, and which filled them with the fire of holy zeal and love.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The sign given was fire, that John Baptist’s saying concerning Christ might be fulfilled, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” Luke 3:16—with the Holy Ghost, as with fire. They were now, in the Feast of Pentecost, celebrating the memorial of the giving of the law upon mount Sinai; and as that was given in fire, and therefore is called a “fiery law,” Deuteronomy 33:2. The Word of God is like fire.
JOHN GILL: The legal part of it is as fire—like fire, it is quick and piercing, and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men; and works wrath there, and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation; it threatens with everlasting fire; it sentences men to the fire of hell; and the righteous Judge, in the execution of it, will be a consuming fire to wicked men.
MATTHEW HENRY: Fire has different effects, according as the matter is on which it works; it hardens clay, but softens wax; it consumes the dross, but purifies the gold. So the Word of God is to some “a savour of life unto life, to others of death unto death,” 2 Corinthians 2:16. God appeals here to the consciences of those to whom the Word was sent: “Is not my word like fire?” And of the gospel Christ says, “I have come to send fire on the earth,” Luke 12:49.
JOHN GILL: The Gospel part of the Word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners; by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ; and by the light of this fire saints are directed in their walk and conversation; and by it immoralities, errors, and superstition, are detected: also on account of the heat of it; it is the means of a vital heat to sinners, the savour of life to them; and is warming and comforting to saints, and causes their hearts to burn within them; it inflames them with love to God, Christ, and one another, and with zeal for truth and the interest of a Redeemer.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Let any one, that has ever noticed its effects, say, whether it is not “like fire,” which dissolves the hardest metal; and “like a hammer, which breaks in pieces.” Go to the populous city of Nineveh, and see all orders of men, from the greatest to the least, dissolved in tears at the preaching of one single prophet, Jonah 3:4-10; or look back to the day of Pentecost, when, by the preaching of Peter, three thousand persons, with their hands yet reeking with the Saviour’s blood, were converted to the Lord. Are not these instances sufficient to shew what wonders the Word of God is able to effect?
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): But however we understand the words, let us take heed lest we think, as some have thought and affirmed, that the sacred writings are quite sufficient of themselves to enlighten, convince, and convert the soul, and that there is no need of the Holy Spirit. Fire itself must be applied by an agent in order to produce its effects; and surely the hammer cannot break the rock in pieces, unless wielded by an able workman. And it is God’s Spirit alone that can thus apply it.
MATTHEW HENRY: From the Spirit we have the Word of God, and by Him, Christ would speak to the world. He gave the Spirit to the disciples, not only to endue them with knowledge, but to endue them with a power to publish and proclaim to the world what they knew; for “the dispensation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,” 1 Corinthians 12:7.
JOHN GILL: It seems best of all, as before, to understand this of the voice of Christ in the Gospel, which cuts and hews down all the goodliness of men, and lays them to the ground, Hosea 6:5; and is of a dividing nature, and lays open all the secrets of the heart, Hebrews 4:12.
ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): And as even flames of fire, at the voice of God are divided, so the heart of a sinner is divided and separated, in that day when Jesus speaks to the conscience, from all its idols.
JOHN GILL: Like flames of fire, it has both light and heat in it; it is the means of enlightening men’s eyes to see their sad estate, and their need of Christ, and salvation by Him; and of warming their souls with its refreshing truths and promises, and of inflaming their love to God and Christ, and of setting their affections on things above, and of causing their hearts to burn within them—though it has a scorching and tormenting heat to wicked men, and fills them with burning malice and envy; and, through the corruption of human nature, is the occasion of contention and discord, for which reason Christ calls it fire—it is the occasion of dividing one friend from another, Luke 12:51-53.
C. H. SPURGEON: Note that the emblem was not only fire, but a tongue of fire, for God meant to have a speaking Church.
MATTHEW HENRY: These tongues were cloven, to signify that God would hereby divide unto all nations the knowledge of His grace. “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God, ” Acts 2:11. It is probable that the apostles spoke of Christ, and redemption by Him, and the grace of the gospel; and these are indeed the great things of God.
C. H. SPURGEON: Babel’s curse was now removed—not by a reversing of God’s curse, for God’s curses and blessings are both like the laws of the Medes and Persians which never can be altered; men still spoke the tongues of confusion, but the apostles were able to speak to them all after receiving that miraculous gift of tongues.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): In Genesis 11:6,7, divers tongues were given as a judgment upon man’s pride. In Acts 2:3, divers tongues were given in grace to meet man’s need. And in Revelation 7:9-12, the various tongues are all found united in one song of praise to God and to the Lamb.
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*Editor’s Note: Theodoret was born in 393 AD, and was a theologian of the School of Antioch; he was the Bishop of Cyrrhus in Turkey, from 423 until his death in 457 AD.
