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Absence of Reverence: The
Consuming Fire
“Consider Him who endured from sinners such
hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In
your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding
your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when
reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every
son whom He receives.” Hebrews 12:3-6 (ESV)
Yesterday I left off with reverence for YHVH not
really setting in with the recently freed Israelites and their only example of
a visual, relational god was what they labored to build for the Egyptians. Can
you imagine bowing down and worshipping something that looks like one of those
hybrids creatures that the T.V. show “Ancient Aliens” says were around in the
distant past? Let alone being in bondage and forced to build one of those
things with bricks that had no straw. That would deeply effect what was going
to be used to fill the God-size hole in my heart of hearts. Hmmm…maybe it did
at one time, once in a while I wonder if it still does.
Anyhow…when we take a look at the 12th
chapter of Hebrews we can find ourselves taking a refreshing plunge into
persevering faith as well as an Old Testament connection. Now of course we all
say AMEN when the first two verses are recited anywhere along our walk,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to
Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right
hand of the throne of God.” But it is as we continue on from there that we can
connect with that moment on the mountain when Moses received The Law.
It’s right there in verses 18-19 where we read,
“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and
gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the
hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.” It is here that we are
back at the mountain. The Israelites knew that Moses is up there but they grew
weary of waiting for him to come down. They gather to Aaron and then comes the
Golden Calf…but this isn’t going to be the case for the reader of Hebrews. On
the contrary, we are going to be told that we have come to Mount Zion, the city
of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem!! Truly we are being promised a
Kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Even though Jesus was there when Moses was there
on Mount Sinai, the Israelites had no clue He was there. Moses was to take them
to The Promisor before they were to enter the Promised Land and they made some
different choices along the way.
At this point in Hebrews Jesus has revealed
Himself to all of us and he is the mediator of a new covenant. And this new
covenant requires us to be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to The Father
because it is our reasonable act of worship. We are also warned not to refuse
Him because this warning isn’t just coming to us on the earth; it is coming to
us straight from heaven. We have to keep in mind that as the creation has gone
along; The Father has revealed a little bit more to us at each step. We just
have to be walking according to His will to see it.
I believe that the writer of Hebrews is strongly
recommending that we do not treat the presence of YHVH as common or familiar.
That happened to the Israelites when they made that Golden Calf and got stuck
wandering the wilderness for thirty eight years longer than originally planned.
And for the record, I don’t think we should totally blame Aaron for the Golden
Calf either, remember what YHVH told Samuel about Israel getting a king? What
needed to be said to the nation of Israel, on the foot of that mountain, at
that time was, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that
cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with
reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” They saw that cloud of
smoke during the day but they really got to see that fire at night…wish we
could, don’t you? – Chris Hughes is a contributor to our daily e-devotional
blog. He is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy
Team YOU: 2 Chronicles 28-29;
Proverbs 7; John 17
Motivations: “It will require a determined heart and more
than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and
return to biblical ways. But it can be done. Every now and then in the past
Christians have had to do it.”---A.W. Tozer
Practice to Remember:
Level 1: Ephesians
6:18; Level 2: Ephesians
6:21-24
Powered Up: Helplessness united with faith produces
prayer. O. Hallesby
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