Hebrews 12:18-25
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest
19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and 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 that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
The Old Covenant and the New Covenant compared, with the responses associated with the covenants included. At least with the experiences of the Old Covenant. Terror. Even the mediator of the Old Covenant spoke of trembling with fear. The sight of the mountain, that physical place where the covenant was ratified with the children of Israel, that mountain was a place of terror, of blazing fire, of darkness, of gloom and a tempest. It must have been a horrible, frightening experience, a physical experience that set the tone of the relationship between God and His new nation.
The author provides a stark contrast for New Covenant participants, in that we have come to persons (angels, assembly of the firstborn, God spirits made righteous, Jesus) and not a physical mountain that could not be touched.
The Old covenant was based on rules, a fear inducing agreement between God and a nation and destined for failure, due to our inherent weakness and rebellious nature! So impersonal, so distant, such a separation between participants in the covenant!
Not so with the New Covenant! The New Covenant is personal, individual (to a point) and has the full revelation of the Lord’s loving sacrificial nature at the center of it!
Now, after understanding the difference in the covenants, is it wise to refuse him who is speaking? Judgement was a natural consequence of the law, but when I break a law – say by speeding, I pay a fine and move on. If I were to break my relationship with my wife or child, there is no coming back from it. Some healing may occur, but damage is done to one I love. Much deeper cut. Much harsher pain.
Both covenants had consequences, but I would argue that the New Covenant, based on the sacrifice of the Master, and not simply on an agreement over some rules (I am being somewhat glib at this point) provides deeper consequences.
The apostle even compares the sourcing of the warnings as a comparison of the covenants, and therefore the differences in the consequences. Under the law the warnings were from earth, but our warnings are from heaven.
Note that this is the second time the apostle brings up the topic of believers “not escaping”. A good self study for those interested would be to compare what the Old Testament saint would escape from in the Old Covenant, and consider the corollary for the New Testament saint.
Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
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