The Fear of the Lord
Scripture: Hebrews 12: 18-25 (NIV)
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm 19 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, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “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 with fear.”
22 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, 23 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, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 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?
Devotion:
The message today begins with a frightening recollection of what happened to the people of God at Mount Sinai. As much as we might want to relegate such scary appearances of God to the Hebrew Scriptures, we must recognize that we still serve that same God. It may not be pleasant to imagine such a sight. We must keep in our minds that God has not changed and if we neglect the grace offered to us through Jesus then we will face God in all his awful power. And it will not be a pleasant meeting either.
But thankfully for us we live under a better covenant. One established by the inexhaustible grace and forbearance of Jesus. Instead of the disturbing sights of God’s appearance of Mount Sinai we come to Mount Zion and are welcomed into a joyful experience with all the saints and angels that have gone before us. We must depend on this relationship that we have with Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith and we must listen to and obey his voice.
The church today is unfortunately suffering from amnesia when it comes to remembering God’s overwhelming presence in our world. Let us not forget how quickly the Hebrews forgot the majesty and power displayed on that holy mountain. It was just a matter of days before they are making and worshiping a pathetic golden calf instead of the living and powerful God who make the mountain quake and blaze with glory.
How much more must we strive to remember the holiness and majesty that surrounds this same God today. The church today enjoys the comfort of God’s grace while forgetting that God is still too holy a God to allow sin and corruption in his presence. We must be ever mindful to repent of all sin and turn again and serve the living God lest we face a judgement greater than that of the Hebrews who forgot God after meeting him in all his terrifying glory on the holy mountain.
Prayer:
Lord remind us of your glory and power every day. Help us avoid making and worshiping our own golden calves today. May our hearts resonate with your word as we live in this world. May we be conduits of your grace and love to our broken and hurting world. May we see with Jesus’ eyes of compassion on the poor and broken that we live amongst each day. Help us to minister to their needs so that they may see in us a reflection (no matter how dim) of your kingdom come on earth. Amen.
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