“closest proximity and infinite distance”
Download discussion questions: Hebrews 12:25-29
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I encourage you to look at the passage in Hebrews before you read this Blog entry. What do you see in the text yourself? What questions come to your mind? How would you interpret what the writer says? After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.
As with last week’s discussion, we began by asking questions about the passage. The focus once again was on getting a list of questions without trying to answer any immediately. Sometimes a later question can be considered that will shed helpful light on an earlier question. That can be true in a group discussion or in your individual study. Asking questions is the heart of effective inductive Bible study.
After ten minutes or so of individual time in the passage, the list of questions came easily.
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- Why did the writer bring the passage from Haggai into the text (verse 26)?
- What “escape” is meant in verse 25 – physical death or eternal death or something else?
- What “shaking” is meant in verse 26 – an earthquake or something else?
- What does it mean to “refuse” God in verse 25?
- How is the God of love a “consuming fire” (v. 29)?
- Is the “consuming fire” (v. 29) related to the “blazing fire” on the mountain (v. 18)?
- How should we understand the pronouns (Him and him) in verses 25-26?
- What is “acceptable service with reverence and awe in verse 28?
- How are reverence and awe in verse 28 related to joy described in Hebrews 10:34 and 12:2?
- What is the connection the immediately previous sections about training (12:5-11) and being strengthened (12:12-17) and the Sinai/Zion contrast (12:18-24)?
Even if all of the questions were not fully answered in our discussion (or in this blog) they are worth pondering and further study in the passage. As always, comments are welcome (at the end of this blog entry).
Why Haggai?
It is important in any Bible study to remember the original audience. As has been noted in our earlier discussions, the Hebrew congregation would have been intimately familiar the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament. They would immediately recognize numerous passages mentioned by the pastor in his sermon. One person in our group said that by our standards, the sermon to the Hebrews was written for a group of Biblical scholars!
With that in mind, it is important to look back at the original prophetic word quoted by the pastor (Haggai 2:5-9, printed on the back of the handout). The Lord had called for the rebuilding of the temple. (Solomon’s temple had been destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.) The people who remembered the glory of Solomon’s temple were disappointed that the new temple was not as beautiful (Haggai 2:3). The prophet spoke God’s intention to restore and exceed “the glory of the former house (v. 9), undergirded by His presence (v. 4) and His peace (v.9).
The quotation from Haggai, as one of our members pointed out, was positive and full of hope. That positive purpose was implied by the writer when he describes Haggai’s prophecy as a “promise” (v. 26) in contrast to the “warning” in verse 25.
The small part of the passage quoted by the pastor (Hebrews 12:26) may seem a bit mysterious to us. But to the original audience those few words would have stirred a deep, rich picture from the context of Haggai.
4 But now take courage, Zerubbabel, governor of Judah’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:4-9, emphasis added)
That Haggai passage prompted more discussion. God’s purpose, recognized by Haggai and the writer to the Hebrews, is the ultimate good of His people. Even through the “shaky” times we can trust Him. We can see the shaking of things around us and the things in our own lives as part of our training. He trains us in order to remove the distractions that turn us away from drawing near to Him.
What Shaking?
Apparently neither Haggai or the writer to the Hebrews had a natural earthquake in mind (although that could be used by God in the same way). The Babylonians had destroyed the temple (2 Chronicles 36:18-19). The “shaking” the Hebrew congregation was experiencing was personal and emotional and economic (Hebrews 10:32-34). The writer made it clear that “things that can be shaken” are the “created things” (Hebrews 12:27).
Our discussion focused on created things as material, but there are also non-material things that can be shaken, such as relationships and emotions – maybe topics for future discussions. The point seems to be the distinction between the temporary and the eternal. The temporary things that we often depend on and don’t want to lose can distract us from the “kingdom that cannot be shaken.” As one person commented, the real value is in the things that cannot be shaken. Sometimes we need the shaking to be reminded of that truth. That may be the writer’s way of circling back to the earlier section on “training” or “discipline” (Hebrews 12:4-11). What feels like shaking is part of God’s training. Even the shaking is designed for our good, just as Haggai saw the ruined temple as an opportunity for a greater display of God’s glory and His faithfulness.
Do Not Refuse
The pastor exhorts his audience (including us) not to “refuse Him who is speaking.” What does it mean to “refuse” God? A comment reminded us of an earlier discussion about the word “unpersuadable” as a description of those Israelites who refused to trust God. That “unpersuadableness” (sometimes translated more generally as “disobedience”[1]) was the primary threat to the endurance needed by the ancient Israelites, by the first-century Hebrew congregation, and by us.
The “him” in verse 25b (“they refused him who warned them on earth) was a source of discussion. Did the writer mean the incarnate Jesus? Another possibility mentioned was Moses. (Just a reminder that the upper and lower cases in some – but not all – versions are the work of the translators, not the original authors. The early manuscripts did not use upper-case letters for deity.) A participant pointed back to some preceding verses (18-21) that were about Sinai and specifically about Moses. The reasonable conclusion is, once again, the writer is connecting with something he said previously. He was reiterating the warning not to follow the example (Hebrews 4:11) of those who refused to listen to Moses.
The Israelites refused to trust God to enter the Promised Land, and the pastor was writing to encourage the congregation to trust God in equally difficult circumstances. Many (maybe all) of our group are experiencing a bit of “shaking” – some recently, some over a very long term. This passage was a good reminder of our desire to encourage one another to love and good deeds, along with enduring faith, themes repeated throughout Hebrews.
Consuming Fire
If the pastor’s main point is about trusting God in difficult circumstances, and if he quoted Haggai as a positive, hope-giving encouragement, why did he end with God as a consuming fire?
Someone pointed out that everything is slowly being “consumed” by the processes of nature (perhaps as in “where moth and rust destroy”, Matthew 6:19). Another person added that the pastor may have been emphasizing the temporary nature of all “created things” (Hebrews 12:27). “Things that can be shaken” is evidence of the instability of everything around us. But if that isn’t enough, that instability and impermanence is ultimately subject to the God who is a consuming fire. Only those things which cannot be shaken (or consumed by fire) will last.
Our discussion centered on another theme seen in Hebrews: Don’t ignore or trivialize the God. With the negative example of the Israelites the pastor warned against ignoring God’s work, “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work” (Psalm 95:9, quoted in Hebrews 3:9). In particular, we recalled earlier discussions about God’s holiness, and the example of Esau who was more interested in his immediate material desire than in God’s promise. The encouragement and hope provided by the pastor is tempered and clarified by the consuming fire of God’s holiness.
Gratitude and Awe
The pastor provides a clear conclusion. His thread of training, and choosing Zion over Sinai, and an inevitable shaking led to the “therefore” of verse 28. The shaking experienced by God’s people is not the blazing fire of Sinai. We endure training as preparation in order to experience the joy of Zion more fully.
God’s commands in the Bible are designed to create in us the character God wants us to bring into heaven.[2]
The “therefore” reminds us that the discouragement and disappointment and even the pain we experience here have a purpose, “that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” God cares so much for us and wants us to experience what is best for us – Himself. He wants to remove every distraction that diverts us from Him.
The ultimate aim of the gospel is the display of God’s glory and the removal of every obstacle to our seeing it and savoring it as our highest treasure.[3]
The pastor’s sermon is to remind believers of the stability of God’s never-ending kingdom. As we grow in that confidence, gratitude is the spontaneous response. The gratitude is in the context of God’s consuming-fire holiness that has been completely and permanently satisfied in the life and the sacrifice of Jesus. The ultimate stability that results from God’s shaking provokes gratitude, being thankful that God is at work in our lives. The pastor shared the attitude of James.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).
The message was also for “hangers-on” in the Hebrew congregation, marginal members still unpersuaded by the gospel. The contrast between Sinai and Zion is distilled even more graphically. You can meet God as a joyful citizen of His eternal kingdom, or you can meet Him as a consuming fire.
Acceptable Service
The pastor expands his application of his “therefore.” The joyful gratitude in response to God’s work (including the shaking we experience) is “acceptable service with reverence and awe.”
The natural questions then become, “What is acceptable? How do I know?” Most of us would like a clear, concise definition of “acceptable,” and maybe a list of steps to follow.
The pastor was too wise to provide a list of one-size-fits-all steps or even guidelines for believers to follow rigidly. Instead, service to God in an acceptable manner depends on our relationship with Christ, drawing near to God, and listening to the prompting of His Holy Spirit.
Consider other uses of the word “acceptable” or “pleasing”[4] (εὐάρεστος, euarestos) in the New Testament.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, emphasis added)
walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8b-10, emphasis added)
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. (Romans 14:17-18, emphasis added)
Learning what is “acceptable service” is a lifelong process, continuously being refined as we grow in discernment in our relationship with Him. The writer to the Hebrews actually concludes his sermon with the affirmation that God Himself ultimately works what is pleasing to Him in us.
Now the God of peace…equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20a, 21, emphasis added)
The clear condition of acceptable service is our attitude toward God, “with reverence and awe.”
Reverence and Awe
People often think of “reverence and awe” as some somber, serious, sober attitude. Another term often used is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7, etc.). But even in the midst of persecution the believers accepted unfair treatment joyfully (Hebrews 10:34). Even more striking is the central focus that Jesus exhibited during the ordeal of His death by torture, “For the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). Reverence and awe are not mutually exclusive with incredible joy.
C. S. Lewis has a powerful illustration of reverence or fear or awe.
Suppose you were told there was a tiger in the next room: you would know that you were in danger and would probably feel fear. But if you were told ‘There is a ghost in the next room’, and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called fear, but of a different kind. … Now suppose that you were told simply ‘There is a mighty spirit in the room’, and believed it. Your feelings would then be even less like the mere fear of danger: but the disturbance would be profound. You would feel wonder and a certain shrinking—a sense of inadequacy to cope with such a visitant and of prostration before it.[5]
Certainly, that combination of wonder and inadequacy is nearer the mark, mingling joy, awe, reverence, and gratitude. The God who invites us to draw near (Hebrews 4:16, 7:19, 10:22) and the God who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) combine the mysterious mixture. Lewis has even a shorter description.
We ought to be…simultaneously aware of closest proximity and infinite distance.[6]
That “closest proximity” is in our safety and security in an unshakable Kingdom (12:28). The “infinite distance,” the veil over the Holy of Holies (9:3), has been overcome. “Through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (9:13). Remembering the infinite distance of God’s holiness enables us to appreciate the proximity possible through Christ, and the reverence and awe that flows into gratitude.
[1] http://www.goodnotsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Disobedience-In-Hebrews.pdf
[2] Andrée Seu Peterson, “Like guardrails on mountain passes,” World Magazine, May 6, 2023
https://wng.org/articles/like-guardrails-on-mountain-passes-1681884119
[3] John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005), 57; Kindle Edition, location 560.
[4] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/euarestos
[5] C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (HarperCollins e-books, 2009), 6; Kindle location 108.
[6] C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1964), 12; Kindle Edition, First Mariner Books, 2012, location 139.