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Instructions and Warnings

   Hebrews 12:18-29

   Good News Translation (GNT)

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18  You have not come, as the people of Israel
   came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai
   with its blazing fire, the darkness and the
   gloom, the storm,
19  the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a
   voice. When the people heard the voice, they
   begged not to hear another word,
20  because they could not bear the order which
   said, "If even an animal touches the mountain,
   it must be stoned to death."
21  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said,
   "I am trembling and afraid!"
22  Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to
   the city of the living God, the heavenly
   Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels.
23  You have come to the joyful gathering of
   God's first-born, whose names are written in
   heaven. You have come to God, who is
   the judge of all people, and to the spirits of
   good people made perfect.
24  You have come to Jesus, who arranged the
   new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood
   that promises much better things than does
   the blood of Abel.
25  Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear
   him who speaks. Those who refused to hear
   the one who gave the divine message on
   earth did not escape. How much less shall we
   escape, then, if we turn away from the one
   who speaks from heaven!
26  His voice shook the earth at that time, but now
   he has promised, "I will once more shake not
   only the earth but heaven as well."
27  The words "once more" plainly show that
   the created things will be shaken and
   removed, so that the things that cannot be
   shaken will remain.
28  Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a
   kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be
   grateful and worship God in a way that will
   please him, with reverence and awe;
29  because our God is indeed a destroying fire.

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   Commentary taken from
   'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
   (Kingsway)

Instructions and Warnings

  Hebrews 12.18-29

Here the writer of Hebrews describes how God gave His law to the Jews.
God came down on Mount Sinai in fire to speak with Moses; the mountain was burning with fire.

A great cloud covered the mountain; there was darkness, gloom and storm.
The whole mountain trembled violently. There was a trumpet blast as God descended onto the mountain.

And then God spoke out of the cloud. All the Jews were filled with fear.
If any man or animal touched Mount Sinai during the time God was on the mountain, that man or animal was to be put to death; this was God's command.

Because of God's presence, the whole mountain was filled with His holiness. God's holiness was so awesome and fearful that even an animal that strayed near the mountain had to be killed because it had come too close to that holiness.

The animal itself couldn't even be touched; it had to be stoned to death from a distance. When the Jews heard such commands and felt the terror of God's presence, they could not bear it.

No one could survive who came close to God's holiness. According to Deuteronomy 9:19, even Moses was trembling with fear. Under the new covenant, every believer can come into God's presence without fear.

We are coming into the presence of our loving and merciful heavenly Father. Mount Zion is the place where King David established the city of Jerusalem. This was the main centre of the Jewish religion.

It was here that David's son Solomon built the great Jewish temple. Here the heavenly Jerusalem is called the church of the firstborn.
The firstborn is Jesus Himself.

Through faith in Him, we too become firstborn in a spiritual sense. Our names are written in heaven. The righteous men made perfect are the Old Testament heroes of faith, many of whom are mentioned in Chapter 11.

God is the judge of all men. He will take vengeance on His enemies, and He will vindicate His people. But He will also judge His own people; none of us will escape the judgment of God.

If we obey Him, we will have nothing to fear.
But if we deliberately disobey Him, we will have much to fear.

Through the sprinkled blood of Jesus, our consciences are cleansed and we are able to enter the heavenly sanctuary and draw near to God. Jesus' blood speaks a better word than Abel's blood.

The blood of Abel cries out for vengeance against sinful Cain, but the blood of Jesus cries out for mercy for sinful men. Jesus' blood speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks - that is, God.
God warned the Jews on earth. He came down onto Mount Sinai to speak with them. But in the end the Jews did not heed God, and they were punished.

Today God continues to speak to us. Even now He is warning us from heaven. Those of us today who reject His warning from heaven will certainly not escape punishment.

When God spoke from Mount Sinai, the whole mountain trembled violently.
Later God spoke through the Old Testament prophets, saying that He would again shake the earth - and not only the earth but also the heavens.

God will one day destroy both heaven and earth, and in their place He will establish a new heaven and a new earth.

God is going to remove what can be shaken - that is, created things. These created things are heaven and earth. God is going to remove them, they will pass away.

But the kingdom of God - the heavenly Jerusalem - cannot be shaken; it will remain forever.

Let us always be thankful to God for the great grace He has shown to us. At the same time, we must worship God acceptably - with reverence and awe. God is a loving and merciful heavenly Father, but He is also a consuming fire.

Those who deliberately reject Him will never know Him as a loving Father; they will know Him only as a consuming fire, a "fire" of judgment and punishment.

He is mighty to save, but He is also mighty to punish.

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