The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 370

Ohurcb on earth does not come up to tbo and far-reaching sense of nil J\,Jessin.nk ideo. of thd'~ Ohurch of the First.born ; " but prophecy. "Ill11stro est tcstimonium Is. it is presented ncoording to Oocl's purpose N ~wtoni acl Dcm_. p. 91 : t•ix71t~ in omni V. 'J'. for his people, nnd it rests with us to make aliquo~ de Christo cztat vatfoinium, q11n,l it a present reality to ourselves. non, aliq1talen1ts •altem, secundwm ejus a, l- Vor. 25.-See that ye refuse not him that venfom reBpicfrtt" (Bengel). Tho ultimato apeaketh. For if they esoapod not, refusing reference is what is seen dimly afar off in so him that spako (rather, warned; tho worcJ many of the prophetic visions-the finBI dis- here used is not ,\a,\ovvra, o.s before, but solution of the whole present order of thing3, xp11µaTl(ovTa, expressive of 11, Divine ailmo- to be succeeded by the kingdom of eternal mtion or wo.ming. In the pnssive it is righteousness (cf. Ps. cii. 25, etc.). By translnted "wnrnecl of God," "admonisher! the heaven that is to be shaken in that eTeat of God," Matt. ii. 12, 22; oh. viii. 5; xi. 7; cf. day is meant, of course, not the et;rnal Acts x. 22, lxp11µaTl0'81) {nro a.r,l,\ov l,:yiov) aborle of God, but that which is created on earth, muoh more sho.ll not we esco.pe, it and visible ( Tow 1re1ro,71µ.evwv, ver. 27). This we turn awo.y from him that speaketh (or, final shaking is set against the local and wameth) from heaven. Here the warning typical ahaking of Mount Sinai in two begins. •• Him that speaketh ( TOv ,\a,\ovvTa.)," points of contrast-its extending to the is suggested by ,\a,\oiiVT1 in the preceding whole creation, and its being once for all verse. But the subject is chnnged: it is ( l-ri a1r~); and from the latter expression God, not the " blood of sprinkling," that is the removing of the things thus finally now regarded as speaking to us from heaven. shaken is in the next verse inferred. This It was God also that we.rnod on earth ; not, inference, thongh not following necessarily $11 some take it, Moses, whom the word from the expression itself, is involved in XP11µa.Tl(oVTa. does not suit: of him it is the general drift of Haggai's prophecy, said, rc•rcP71µcfT10'Ta.1 ( oh. viii. 5). The allu- taken in connection with other cognate sion is to the voice heard from the earthly ones, in which an entirely new and heavenly Sinai, which the people entreated (BUpra, order ie pictured as rising over the ruins of ver. 19, ,rap71T'l)O'aVTo-the same word as is the old (cf. Isa. Ix:v. 17 ; I.xvi. 22, referred used here) should be heard no more. But to in 2 Pet. iii. 7, 10, 13, "new heavens and they escaped not the hearing of that voice, a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- or the consequences of disregarding its ness." warning (cf. ob. ii. 2; iii. 10). Vere. 27-29.-And this word, Yet once Ver. 26.-Whose voioe then shook the more, signi11.eth the removing of those things earth (see Exod. xix. 18, "The whole mount that are she.ken, as of things that have been quaked greatly," though there the LXX. made, that those things which are not has 7'.a.&r instead of ~pas: but of. Judg. v., shaken may remain. Wherefore, receiving a "The esrth trembled," and Ps. cxiv. 7, kingdom that oannot be aha.ken (observe the "1'remble, thou earth,'' etc., with reference present participle, 1rapa,\aµf3&.vov-res : we to the phenomena at Sinai ; o.lso Hn.b. iii. 6, already belong to this kingdom, which 10): but now he ha.th promised, saying, Yet exists now behind the veil of this vfaible once more I shake not the earth only, but also scene, and will survive its catastrophe; heaven. The propheoy referred to is Hag. observe also that the phrase, f3a.o-,,\eiav ii. 6, 7, " Yet once, it is a little while, 11nd I 1rapa,\aµf3a.vov-res, corresponds with Dan. vii. will shake the heavens, and the earth, and 18, Kai 1rapa,\'l),j,OVTCU Ti/V {Ja.O'tAefo:v a-yWL the sea, o.nd the dry land ; und I will shake ~,j,lo-Tov,-it implies an actual share in the all nations, and the Desire of oil na lions royalty of the kingdom; cf. Eph. v. 5; shall come: and I will fill this house with Rev. i. 6; v. 10), let us hava grace (or, glory, saith the LORD of hosts." Again, thankfulness; the Uslllll meaning of txeiv ver. 21, " I will sho.ke the he1wene and the xa.pw is "to be thankful," or ·• to give earth" (cf. Isn.. ii. HI, 21). The prophecy thanks," as in Luke xvii. 9; 1 Tim. i. 12; 2 was utte1·ed with reference to the second Tim. i. 3), whereby we may serve God e.c- temple, the glory of which was to be greater oeptably with reverence and godly fear : for than the glory of the first, in that it should our God is a oonsuming fire. This lBst verso be the scene of the LORD'S final revelation is from Deut. iv. 2!, where the Israelites are of himself to his people. Its first fulfilment being warned of the dan~er of forgetting is rightly seen in Ohrist's first coming ( cf. the covenant of the Lo1m their God. 'l'he Hab. ii. 9, '' Ancl in this place will I give LoRD's natw·e is not changed : he is still peace, saith tho Lord of hosts ; " ancl Mai. a consuming fire against evil, as he declt,.re,I iii. 1, "'l'he Lorcl, whom ye seek, shall sud- himself from Simii ; and if we scorn the denly come to hie temple"). But the present disp,msation of gruce, the cluy ot lnngue.ge used points evidently, even in judgment will still be to us a day of terror itself, to o. further fulfilment; nor do ree.rlere ( cl'. 6Upra, eh. x. 2G, etc.). need to be reminded here of the pregnant  364 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEB1mws. [ou. xn. 1-29,