God has revealed himself in Jesus, who is the pinnacle of God’s revelation. If the stakes were high back in Moses’ day, they’re even higher now. One day God will shake not only a place in the Egyptian wilderness but all earth and heaven in judgment, so it’s even more important that we pay attention to Jesus. When God shakes heaven and earth, there’s only one place that will not be shaken according to verse 27. That place is Mount Zion.

Why should God accept you? That is a question that should concern all of us.

When you get to the end of your life and stand before God, why should he look at you and say that you are acceptable? How can we pass the ultimate final exam, the only exam that truly matters, as our lives come under the scrutiny of God? How can we face that day with confidence, knowing that he will give us a passing grade?

There are only two possible answers, and they’re really answers represented by two different mountains. We’re all headed to one of these two mountains, but only one will give us what we’re looking for, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

We’re near the end of a series through the book of Hebrews. The writer is encouraging us to keep following Jesus because he is so much better than anyone or anything else. This chapter is meant to change our lives. The writer of Hebrews wants us to run the race with endurance: to strip off everything that hinders us, to avoid losing what matters most for temporary pleasure, and to keep running the race despite suffering and hardship in our lives. His big goal is to help us cling to Christ and to keep following him to the end.

In this section, he gives us two options for how we can get to the end and know that we’re okay with God. He gives us two mountains. We’re either going to one or the other, so choose carefully. Everything is at stake depending on which mountain you choose.

Mountain One: Sinai (12:18-21)

The writer takes us all the way to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt to the events that took place in Exodus 19 to 20. Israel stayed at Sinai for a total of 11 months, and one of the most important events in the entire Old Testament took place. Moses went up the mountain to be with God. Sinai was covered with a thick cloud, and God himself came to meet with Moses. Think about it: God had rescued them from Egypt, and now he came to meet with them and make them his people.

But meeting with God is no small thing. Because God is so holy, they had to take precautions. God himself was hidden in clouds because his glory would be too great for them to see with their naked eyes. They had to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves in three days of preparation and examination. And even then, they couldn’t get anywhere near Mount Sinai because God is so holy and glorious. We read in Exodus:

And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ (Exodus 19:12-13)

It was terrifying. We read what happened after the three days of preparation:

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16-20)

Even then, after Moses went up, God told Moses to go down and warn the people again not to come anywhere near the mountain because it was so dangerous to come close to a holy God.

Friends, this is what it’s like to come into God’s presence. It’s dangerous. Astronomers have discovered a sun that they describe as the brightest star ever found in the universe. Not even a welder’s helmet would help you face the light from this giant. The brightness of this star is some 10 million times greater than the light coming from our sun!

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