Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 397
12:12-29
H e b re w s
385
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak
knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak
and lame will not fall but become strong.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for
those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that
none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous
root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure
that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright
as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he
wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance,
even though he begged with bitter tears.
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they
heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged
God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: “If
even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” Moses
himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and
trembling.”
No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose
names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the
judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones
in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the
one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to
the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for
vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.
For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to
Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the
One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai
his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again
I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all
of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things
will remain.
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful
and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God
is a devouring fire.
