Life Project Blog

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Hebrews 12:25-27

This, is a powerful passage, one of amazing awe and wonder to ponder.  The author begins it with an imperative, “See to it…” Who is speaking, the one we aren’t supposed to refuse?  The answer is in the next sentence: Who warned the people from earth, and warns us from heaven?  God would be my answer.

Go back to verses 18-21, and you can get an idea of what the author is referring to here.  He recounted Mount Sinai, the fire, the darkness the smoke and shaking…  Yes, there was warning for the people in all of that: They were to take the Law that was given to Moses seriously.  Did they?  Well, some of the time.  Did those people get into the promised land?

No, they didn’t.

We have the reality that was to come, and yet we are being told not to turn away from Him.  Yes, that warning was for the Jewish Christians of Nero’s Rome, and it is for those who followed them as well.  The author continues his thought in the rest of this passage by making a comparison between God’s warnings on Sinai, and the judgment that is to come.  When that day arrives, all of creation will be stripped away, and only that which is entirely of God will remain, and the very strong implication is that those who are left standing will be the ones who remained faithful to God.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:28-29

Here the chapter draws to a close.  Look carefully and you see that it ends on an optimistic note.  Preachers over the centuries have often quoted verse 29 “for our God is a consuming fire.” to strike fear into the hearts of their congregations, and that is a pity.  They often left out verse 28 entirely, and verse 28 gives verse 29 its rich significance, for it reminds the readers of this letter that we have a great inheritance, that we are a heavenly kingdom and that we shall indeed stand on that day. Yes, we will stand for we will never turn away from Him. No!  We will worship Him properly, with reverence and awe in loving and faithful trust.

To wrap up the chapter, I just want to mention one final thought about judgment day.  What we have just read is not a literal description of the day.  It is told here in figure, as an illustration of the reality that is to come; sound familiar?  It probably won’t be a great earthquake that shatters everything except God’s people, but of course it will accomplish the same thing.  For us today, it is simply important to understand that no matter what the future may hold, we simply need to remain faithful to our Lord, to love Him, to trust Him and to share His love with one another… and not worry about the details of the great day.  We’ll come out just fine if we do that, and that is the point of the chapter.

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.”

Hebrews 12:18-21

We’re in the home stretch now on our tour of Hebrews, and it begins with two mountaintops. In these verses, we see Mount Sinai in quotes from both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Notice that the author is speaking in the negative: “You have not come to a mountain that…” See it? He is about to describe a place we have moved away from…

Read the passage slowly, try to picture the terror the people felt when they came to Mount Sinai.  Fire, darkness, gloom; everything about the place was intimidating and terrifying; they were in the presence of God, and that was not a place you wanted to be. Poor Moses had to climb up there and receive the Law from a God who was unapproachable.  Yes, He was a God of love, but He was dealing with a people who were in rebellion against Him, yet He had taken the initiative to build a relationship with them. These were the descendants of Abraham, now grown to the size of a small nation.  This was not a negotiation; it was a truce being offered by the stronger side: Take it or leave it. If they took it, God was willing to be their God, as long as they kept His Law. If they left it, well, let’s not think about what might happen.  What is really important for us to understand is that God, the party in the stronger position, was offering the truce, and this was an act of mercy.

Oh, yes… and it wasn’t the end of the story; it was just the beginning!

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 12:22-24

Now, the second mountaintop, and what a contrast; this is the mountain we have come to, Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem.  This is the reality that was only pictured in the old earthly city.  Joyous angels, the spirits of the righteous, the presence of God… without the fear and the dread, for now we are made perfect in His sight by the blood of Jesus. No longer are we at war.  This is not just a truce, this is a Treaty of Alliance, of Fellowship: We are now members of the Family!

Here’s a little bonus for you:  notice the terms that are used here as one: Mount Zion, city of the living God, Heavenly Jerusalem, church of the firstborn.  These are combined with the descriptive comments; thousands of angels, spirits of the righteous, the presence of God and Jesus the mediator of a better covenant.  You see, they all refer to what we would call the heavenly church or heaven.  Remember this when you read the prophets and the Psalms and you will find them easier to understand.

Finally, that sprinkled blood, the blood that was brought by the mediator of the New Covenant, His own blood. It speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, for it speaks not of senseless hatred and violence, it does not cry out for vengeance, it speaks of redemption and life; what an awesome picture this is.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

Hebrews 12:14-17

This is a particularly interesting little paragraph; look at it carefully, and let’s see what riches are in store for us…

First, the author exhorts us to live in peace with everyone, and to strive to be holy, set apart, for without that, no one will see God.  Living at peace with everyone seems to be referring to a lifestyle that is not engaging in controversy and discord; things that the New Testament teaches in many places, as we have seen.  Living holy lives is also a common theme in the New Testament, and keeping in mind that holy means “set apart” it isn’t too difficult to follow what that means.  We are to be set apart from the world we live in, set apart for God and not partakers in every crazy thing that comes along. We are to be willing to undergo God’s discipline and to stand for the Truth of His Word; these things would be very consistent with the 11 chapters of Hebrews that we have been through so far, and would make sense considering the historical context that we have seen so many times.

We’ve been told before in this letter to help and encourage one another to hold on to our faith, and so to be told here not to let anyone “fall short of the grace of God” and to allow no “bitter root” in our midst to defile others would also seem to make sense. That sexual immorality is mentioned right after this is interesting…  but the most interesting little piece of the entire paragraph comes right after that.  “Godless like Esau” is a very interesting thing; the author goes on to remind his readers that Esau sold his birthright for a dinner, and could not get it back.

His birthright, or inheritance is a covenant reference, for he was to inherit his right as a patriarch of old, as a direct descendant of Abraham.  Remember that Esau didn’t really take that inheritance as seriously as he should have, and traded it to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of stew, and thus Jacob inherited upon Isaac’s death.  So, what will we take away from this?

What has Hebrews been all about so far? It was written to the Jewish Christians in Rome in a time of severe persecution, to urge them not to give up their faith under severe trial.  The message has been that in the New Covenant relationship with Christ, we have a superior high priest who brought a superior sacrifice to establish a superior covenant based upon superior promises.  We have just been warned not to be like Esau who lost his place in Abraham’s covenant when he valued a bowl of stew more that his birthright.  Once again, in a slightly different way than before, the author is telling his readers, including you and me, to place our highest priority on our New Covenant birthright as co-heirs with Christ to everything, lest we should lose everything.

Interesting, isn’t it?  So, I must ask…

Is God speaking to us in this passage? I sure “hear” Him.  What’s He saying to you?

 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

We begin chapter 12 with an amazing shift in tone, yet it is a small section that is actually in the position of summing up the previous chapter.  Remember that chapter 11 has been all about active faith, and here in summing that up the author, sounding very much like the Apostle Paul, uses a sports metaphor. We are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” referring to all of those great people of faith who were named in chapter 11, and here they are the spectators at a great race; the stage is set…

The author now urges us to throw off everything that hinders as an athlete would remove all hindering clothing in preparation for a race.  Then, he applies this to our reality when he says “and the sin that so easily entangles.”  If we were athletes in a locker room before a great race, we would change out of our “street clothes” and into the garb of a runner; minimal clothing that allows full freedom of movement, with no extra weight, and nothing to limit our ability to run the race. Likewise, as servants of Jesus who are running the “race” of life, we must get rid of anything that would limit our ability to run our “race.” Sin, distractions and the like must be left behind, lest they should inhibit our efforts.

Then, we run our race that has been “marked out for us” with our eyes fixed on Jesus.  When you run a race, you don’t just make up the course as you go along; it has been fixed by the racing officials. Likewise, the race that is our lives has been marked out by God, so that we run a certain course.  We usually call this our “calling.”  Each of us has been “called” to His service in a certain way, and the author is trying to encourage the people to fix their eyes on Jesus, and run the race we have been called to effectively and without distraction or restraint.

Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith is our model for the race.  Notice that He is author; He is the One who has written this tale and marked out our race. He has perfected our faith by His work on the cross. As you read further, we see that Jesus is our model, for in His earthly ministry, He has done exactly what we are to do now in our own rights. He threw off sin and distraction, fixed His eyes upon the will of the Father, and ran His race to win.  We are to throw off all distraction and sin and fix our eyes upon Jesus and run our race to win just as those great people of faith in chapter 11 did.

Finally, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne on high; He reached the finish line.  For just as He reached the finish line and as He sat down on high, so shall we, when we finish the course before us. I’m struck at this moment that the whole concept of this is so simple. It’s really easier to comprehend than it is to describe, which is the mark of a great metaphor. Will we get ready and run that race?

On your mark…. get set…. GO!

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

Hebrews 11:24-28

In these few verses, the author of Hebrews reveals something truly incredible: Moses knew about Jesus!

That knowledge accounted for some of the actions that Moses took, and the author cites the fact that Moses made a choice to be numbered among the Hebrews rather than to continue in his place of privilege in the household of Pharaoh.  Moses “regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt” and so he left the slave masters and joined with the slaves. Moses placed his priority in line with God’s covenant purpose, not because the New Covenant was in effect, for it was centuries in the future, but because God’s covenant with Abraham was in effect, and it contained a promise that the people would be set free from bondage in Egypt, a promise that was made over 400 years before the time of Moses.

In this, Moses was forward-looking, to his reward, to the exclusion of his current peril on the earth.  How might that have inspired the original recipients of the letter?  How might that inspire us?

It was by faith that he both left Egypt and incurred the anger of Pharaoh, and later that he applied the blood of the Passover.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

Hebrews 11:29

The people Moses led had their moments of faith too, as when they crossed the Red Sea, but sadly they more often drifted away from their faith, and never received God’s land promise; even Moses rebelled and could only gaze upon the Land. But Joshua and Caleb never lost their faith:

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Hebrews 11:30-31

The story of faith is an amazing one indeed, and it is a story that you and I are part of. What role will we play?

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Hebrews 11:17-19

What an amazing thing Abraham did when God told him to sacrifice Isaac!  The author brings this out in these verses, and let’s just stop and think about it for a moment.  God’s big promise to Abraham was that he would have offspring greater in number than the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore, pretty amazing considering his age.  The greatest promise of all was that through his seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed, and when the son of promise finally comes along, nothing short of a miracle in itself, God tells Abraham to sacrifice him… and Abraham was about to do what God had told him to do; now that is putting faith into action!

I can’t imagine what Abraham must have been thinking… I really can’t; but our author tells us, and apparently it occurred to Abraham that if God made this promise, and then told him to kill the boy, God must have a plan to raise Isaac from the dead. His faith was so strong, he wasn’t thinking that God had changed His mind. So, in a way, he did receive Isaac back from the dead, for at that critical moment, poor Isaac was a dead boy walking.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

Hebrews 11:20-23

Take a close look at these “by faith” verses…. very close.  What do they all have common, other than “by faith”? It’s no trick, there is a clear pattern…

Each one of these “by faith” incidents is directly related to covenant faithfulness.  The main things mentioned about Abraham related to the land promise. In the verses above, it’s the son of promise. Isaac and Jacob verses are referring to their covenant birthrights. Joseph was concerned about the exodus, also a promise of the covenant. Moses was no ordinary child, because God would make another covenant with him… and later we’ll see more about Moses.

All of these people were imperfect, and the truth is that some of them were very imperfect.  All, however, placed their priority on their covenant relationship with God, over all else, and when things were tough, that’s where their hearts were to be found.  The really big question is this: What does that tell us about God’s priorities in relation to our sins?

In case I haven’t made this quite clear enough, let’s go about this in a slightly different way.  None of the patriarchs was a saint.  A few of them were a mess, and I’m including Abraham in this group.  How many times did he allow Sarah, the woman who was to bear the son of promise, go into the harem of a pagan king?  Not once, but twice!  Now I haven’t been so perfect in my lifetime, but I most certainly have never done anything like that, have you?  Probably not… Yet Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, because Abraham, in spite of his faults, placed his highest priority on his covenant with God; in this area, he was faultless.  The same can also be said of his son and grandsons.

Back to the original recipients…  Everything in this letter is in the context of covenant. Just think about all of the amazing things we’ve learned about the New Covenant in Hebrews. Think about what we’ve learned about our relationship with God in Hebrews.  With all of that in mind, can you see what an insult it would be to God if we, after all He has done, and after all He has given to us, would turn our backs and walk away from this covenant relationship when the going got tough? You see, these warnings aren’t so much about our petty sins which are already forgiven anyway, they are about protecting and maintaining our covenant relationship with God.

It’s something to reflect upon, I should think.