“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.’ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” -Hebrews 12:18-24
In the sections before this in the book of Hebrews, the author has been talking about various aspects of Christian living. So you may be wondering, why is he suddenly talking about mountains? This is another aspect of living the Christian life – he is contrasting the Jewish life, represented by God giving the Israelites the law on Mt Sinai, with the Christian life, represented by Mt Zion.
The author does not specifically mention Mt Sinai, but it is clear in verses 18-19 that this is what is being referred to. We see the fire of God burning on Mt Sinai in Deuteronomy 4:11-13. The things that are mentioned in these verses can all refer to the presence God appearing on Earth – fire (Judges 13:20, 1 Kings 18:38), darkness (1 Kings 8:12), storms (Nahum 1:3), and the trumpet (Exodus 19:16-19, Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
This is not the presence of a calm, gentle God but one that should strike fear and terror into our hearts. The next element we see confirms this – “such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them” (verse 19). The people of Israel experienced this in Exodus 20:18-21 and Deuteronomy 5:25-27. The fear of the Lord was so great that the people of Israel simply could not handle it and didn’t not want to hear God’s voice anymore!
Verse 20 provides a quote from Exodus 19:13. The people were so fearful of God and they lived in fear of God’s commandment that anyone (man or beast) who touches the mountain should die. This shows how holy and separate God is from the people. God made the mountain so holy that the people could not even touch it!
In the passage from Exodus 20:18-21 referenced above, the people were terribly afraid of God, but Moses was not afraid to approach God’s presence. But in verse 21, the writer tells us that even Moses was trembling with fear at God’s presence. This is not a direct quote from the Mt Sinai experience that Moses had, but it does happen during the golden calf incident (Deuteronomy 9:19). The author is portraying a situation where God is greatly to be feared – even by Moses, the Old Testament figure who was known to have the closest personal relationship with God (Exodus 33:11)!
But! Verse 22 begins with this strong contrasting conjunction, indicating something completely different is about to be written. We now see the contrast to the great fear of God at Mt Sinai with the great joy of Mt Zion. Mt Zion is one of the hills on which Jerusalem was built, so Zion and Jerusalem are often considered synonymous to each other. This is considered the “home” of God’s people. This is the city where God dwells. This refers back to Hebrews 11:10 where the author refers to “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” This is a living city, home to the living God. The people have come by the thousands to experience this joyful assembly that takes place in God’s presence! They have come to give God the glory and honor which He is due.
Verses 23-24 continue to list the reasons that the people have come to this holy city. They have come to celebrate the triumphant church, the assembly of those “whose names are written in heaven.” This may refer to the early martyrs of the church, or some scholars believe it refers to angels; we do not know for sure. The people have come to see God, who is the great Judge of all people. He has made the righteous people perfect through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus is that “mediator of a new covenant” which has been thoroughly described earlier in the letter. The blood Jesus was shed as the perfect sacrifice for all people in all times and in all places; Jesus is the only one who could open up the way to having a relationship with God as no mere human could. Abel’s blood is the first human’s blood recorded to be shed in the Scriptures, and the author shows how much greater Jesus’ blood sacrifice was than Abel’s.
This passage shows the great contrasts that happen simultaneously in our relationship with God. We should have great fear and awe of God, knowing that He is sovereign over everything and has the power to strike us down in death. But we also know that we should have great joy in God because of what Jesus has done for us! The God of the Old Testament and Mt Sinai is still the God of the New Testament and Mt Zion. He is still the same God who we worship today, and we are still commanded to fear Him and also experience joy in His presence to give Him glory.
How are you relating to God today? Are you experiencing great fear of God’s awesome power? Or are you rejoicing in His presence? Both are good! We should have balance between those two – being both joyful and fearful of God’s awesomeness all at the same time.
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