Mountains Of A Holy God

"For you have not come to the mountain that maybe touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: 'And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.' 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.') 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
Hebrews 12:18-24

Once when I was a little boy, younger than twelve years old, our family took a vacation to Pike's Peak in Colorado. It was the first time I had seen any of the Rocky Mountains in person. I had seen them in books, magnificent pictures for which people had painstakingly taken the time to get the right angle and the right lighting. But once you see those mountains in person, no picture can ever really do it justice. When we got to the top of Pike's Peak, following the dirt road up and around and up and around, seeing trucks dumping loads of dirt where the road had washed away, and realizing that there was no guard rails, and hearing there was an automobile race to the top every year, I looked down on the clouds, and on the top of the airplanes flying around below us, and realized that I was a several thousand feet up in the air, on the top of this mountain.

In Exodus 19, the children of Israel come to Mount Sinai, on their escape out of Egypt. Now God speaks to Moses and is going to speak to Moses on the top of the mountain, in the midst of a dense cloud. God is going to give Moses the Ten Commandments and the Law. But He puts restrictions on this holy place, and tells Moses to tell the people, that if they go near the mountain and touch it, they shall be put to death. The mountain was holy ground, God was going to come down, in the sight of the people, in the midst of a dense cloud...and He was going to speak to Moses in the hearing of all the people. That was on Mount Sinai, in the desert, the receiving of the Law.

But the Word today tells us that we come to another mountain of God, Mount Zion. And there is such a group there on that mountain for us. God the Father, the Judge of all, is there. So is an innumerable company of angels, as well as the general assembly of those who have gone on before us: the church of the firstborn, those who are registered in heaven. Also greeting us there, will be the spirits of just men made perfect. Again, those who have gone on before us to heaven. And beloved, Jesus, the Mediator, and His blood of sprinkling that speaks of better things than Abel. Beloved, the One who sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for you and for me, is there waiting for us. And the blood that He shed for the remission or our sins, will be there.

Beloved, what a touching and loving group to meet us, in the holy city of the New Jerusalem. Be encouraged that the Lord cares about you, no matter what you are going through, and no matter where you've been. We aren't kept at a distance, like the children of Israel, when they came to Mount Sinai. No. We are invited to the mountain of God, Mount Zion, where there is such a group of holiness awaiting us. Be encouraged, beloved. Amen.