V 18 - 21

Remember where you stand: not before the palpable, blazing fire of Sinai, with the darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, the trumpet-blast and the oracular voice, which they heard, and begged to hear no more; For they could not bear the command, 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.' So appalling was the sight, that Moses said, 'I shudder with fear.'

NLT: 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 when God gave them his laws.  For they heard and awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message 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'.

What a frightening picture of God!  If this is the God that is presented to people who don't know him yet or who don't know him well, it's no wonder they don't want to know him!  It's no wonder that Moses and the Israelites were afraid.  But Moses wasn't always afraid of God, because he learned to know God better.  He was always in awe of God because of his might and power and his holiness - in comparison with the lack of might, power and holiness of Moses and the Israelites.  Moses understood that well.  But Moses knew God well enough to be able to turn to him for support and advice every time he had a problem.

Those who believe in and trust God as we've come to know him through Jesus and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit do not stand before a God whose aim is to terrify and intimidate us. Although God is powerful and mighty, we have no need to be frightened of him, although we must be awe-struck at his majesty and glory.

V 22 - 24.

No, you stand before Mount Zion and the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, before myriads of angels, the full concourse and assembly of the first-born citizens of heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of good men made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, whose sprinkled blood has better things to tell than the blood of Abel.

NLT: No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly.  You have come to the assembly of God's first-born children, whose names are written in heaven.  You have come to God himself, who is the judge of all people.  And you have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect.  You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and peoiple, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did.

Those of us who have come to believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord do not face a terrifying God, as did the Israelites who assembled to receive the Law.  In Christ, God's final plan for the redemption of human beings and their reconciliation with him has been put into place.  We have a new covenant which the Israelites did not have, brought into being for us by Jesus.  so we do not face the terrifying experience of Mount Sinai, but the welcome of Mount Zion, the new city of God, where angels celebrate God's glory and we are full citizens, as God's children.

This new city is the city of the living God - Jesus, no longer crucified, but alive and able to be our mediator before God.

The writer contrasts two murders: the murder of Abel by his brother Cain (Genesis 4: 1-12), which demands vengeance; and the murder of Jesus, which brings forgiveness and reconciliation.
The Message: The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's - a homicide that cried out for vengeance - became a proclamation of grace.

For those of us who face the prospect of going to this new city of the living God, the prospect of death should hold no terrors. In our worship now, we thave a foretaste of heaven where the ultimate in worship is happening.

V 25.

See that you do not refuse to hear the voice that speaks.  Those who refused to hear the oracle speaking on earth found no escape; still less shall we escape if we refuse to hear the One who speaks from heaven.

NLT:  See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you.  For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!

The people the writer to the Hebrews was addressing were under persecution and were wondering whether their troubles had come on them because they had abandoned the Jewish religious laws.  The writer was reminding them that the Israelites had not kept the laws given to them by Moses, and that those laws were impossible to keep properly.  The Christians were no longer bound by those lawd. Our covenant with God is a new one; we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit rather than relying on a set of man-made, impossible-to-keep rules.  If we do not rely on the grace of God given to us through Christ and on God's guidance through the Spirit, there is no hope for us.

New Bible Commentary, p. 1351.  ...the writer's point is that the God who spoke at Sinai (NIV. who warned them on earth) continues to call us from the heavenly Jerusalem (NIV. who warns us from heaven).  No artificial distinction is to be made between the God of the OT and the God of the NT!  Since God graciously speaks to us of forgiveness and acceptance throguh the blood of his Son, we must not refuse him who speaks (NIV).  If the Israelites did not escape God's condemnation when they turned away from him, how much less will we (NIV)?

Note: The writer to the Hebrews gives a similar warning in Hebrews 2: 1-4.:
NLT:  So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.  The message God delivered through angels has always proved true, and the people were punished for every violation of the law and every act of disobedience.  What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself?  It was passed on to us by those who heard him speak, and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy spirit whenever he chose to do so.

V 26, 27.

Then indeed his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Yet once again I will shake not earth alone, but the heavens also.'  The words 'once again' - an only once - imply that the shaking of these created things means their removal, and then what is not shaken will remain.

NLT.  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 the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.

The Message.  His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time - he's told us this quite plainly - he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern."  The phrase "one last shaking" means a throrough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.

Although we no longer need to be afraid of a terrifying God, he is still just as holy, mighty and powerful as he was when he thundered at the Israelites at Mount Sinai.  He can still thunder - and has promised to thunder and shake away every kind of false worship and false teaching, so that only the truth remains. And those who won't believe and accept the truth will be swept away too.  Eventually, God will display his righteousness in a way that cannot be mistaken or ignored.

Quest Study Bible note p 1674.  The former (the shaking of these created things) refers to the present material universe; the latter, (what is not shaken) to the abiding, eternal spiritual realm - the kingdom of God to which Christians belong.   Eternal things cannot be shaken.

V 28.

The kingdom we are given is unshakable;  let us therefore give thanks to God, and so worship him as he would be worshipped, with reverence and awe;

What God gives to those who believe in Christ and have accepted the gift of forgiveness is an absolutely certain secure life in his kingdom.  Our only proper response to this must be gratitude and joy, and reverent, respectful worship - just like those celebrating angels in heaven!

New Bible Commentary, p 1351.  The proper response to God's gracious offer of a kingdom that cannot be shaken (NIV) is to be thankful.  Such gratitude is the basis and motivation  for true and acceptable worship.  The greek verb here (latreuein) may also be translated 'to serve'..... Christian worship cannot be restricted to prayer and praise in a congregational context.  As Hebrews ch. 13 illustrates, we are to worhip, or serve, God by faithfulness and obedience in every aspect of our lives.  However, the writer also insists that aceptable worship is characterised by reverence and awe........

V 29.

for our God is a devouring fire.
NLT, NIV. a consuming fire.

Once again, an image of God as fire.  Fire not only destroys, it cleanses and makes way for renewal.  In this verse, the fire of God seems to be a destructive force - destroying everything that is not worthy of him or has developed contrary to his plan for his creation.  We are wise to give this God our greatest respect and obedience.

The Message:  For God is not an indifferent bystander.  He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed.  God himself is Fire!

New Bible Commentary. p 1351.  This alludes to Deuteronomy 4: 24, where the Israelites were warned not to indulge in idolatry, but to reamin faithful to the Lord  and to serve him exclusively, lest they proveke hime to anger.  The certainty of God's grace must never blind us to the truth that a terrible judgement awaits the apostate.  (ie those who abandon faith in him)