Not My Mountain

I've always loved the mountains and the Appalachian hills in my native area.  Nothing refreshes me more than a cool, noisy mountain stream, the lush, dewy foliage, the beautiful wildlife.  I live in the foothills of the Appalachians, and just now was called away from the "Resplendent Daughter Ministries Studios" (my basement office, lol!), to come upstairs and see the wild turkey hen strutting across our yard. God's glorious creation!

Well, the author of Hebrews is a master at weaving the Old Testament with the New.  He does this in today's text, by contrasting Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion.

Like me, you probably have heard of Mt. Sinai, out there in the desert where the Hebrews' "wilderness wanderings" took place.  But, you may be wondering, "where is Mt. Zion?"  I had to look it up, although I suspected it was in Jerusalem.  Here is the official answer, from Wikipedia:

Mount Zion (Hebrew: הַר צִיוֹן‎, Har Tsiyyon; Arabic: جبل صهيون‎‎, Jabel Sahyoun) is a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:5) and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's Western Hill.  In a wider sense, the term is also used for the entire Land of Israel.

Interestingly, Wikipedia goes on to say that the specific hill called Mt. Zion has shifted to three different locations over the centuries.  Hmmm.... Regardless, let's consider today's text:

18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”^c 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”^d

22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

As He began to establish the Jewish nation, God used fear, awe, reverence and respect as His motivators.  As a reminder, this is the scene where God called Moses up to receive the 10 Commandments.  The Bible tells us the Jewish people were terrified, even Moses!  The days at Sinai were marked by loud trumpet blasts, loud peals of thunder, lightning, fiery darts falling out of the sky to kill trespassers (even animals), smoke, the audible voice of God!  What that must have been like!
I'm so glad that's not my mountain.

By contrast, Mt. Zion represents joy - - joy derived from the embracing of God's grace in one's life!
Mt. Zion is not only a type (representation) of the new covenant of faith and grace in Jesus Christ, it is a type of God's future heavenly city.  Interestingly, the city of Jerusalem, at the time Hebrews was penned, had only about 5 more years of peace remaining.  Hebrews was written around 65 A.D., and the city of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, the Temple razed, in 70 A.D.
Our future home, the heavenly city, will never be destroyed or even tarnished!

Just this past weekend, the city of London endured unspeakable horror, at the hands of Muslim jihadists.  Obviously, in the city of London (as in much of other first world countries), the population, the citizens are becoming more diverse in their beliefs as to what constitutes "godliness".  And, as a result, as these opposing beliefs slam into each other, terror abounds.
This will not be the case in the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem spoken of in Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Galatians 4:26, Hebrews 11:10, and Revelation 21.
This city, located on Mt. Zion will literally be "Heaven on Earth", the Capitol City during Jesus' 1000-year (milennial) reign.

And, let's look at the citizens of that heavenly city: thousands upon thousands of righteous angels, continually praising Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as those people whose names are written in the Book of Life - - that is, those whose faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, has caused their name to be written there.  There will be NO diversity of opinion about godliness in that city!  Hallelujah! Everyone there will testify that the righteous live eternally by their faith and that the spilled blood of Jesus is all-sufficient for the redemption of and the perfection of His Church.

I woke up this morning lamenting my many sins.  As I laid there on the bed, I cried out to God, looking forward to that day in which my spirit will be made perfect.  Because (and only because) Jesus is my Savior, I carry the DNA of perfection within me, God's Holy Spirit; but, the corruption of my human DNA still remains.  "The struggle is real", as the saying goes.  OH, but in that day!  Can you even imagine?  Sheer perfection of every saint, every human being who has put his faith in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Source:

1    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Zion