God is speaking to us today through His Word and His providential workings in the world. We had better tune our lives to Him and listen! If God shook things at Sinai and those who refused to hear were judged, how much more responsible are we today who have experienced the blessings of the New Covenant! There are things that shake us almost daily in our world. Earthquakes, riots, wildfires, tsunamis, terrorism, sickness, and senseless violence all take their toll on us. God wants to tear down the shakable things and reveal the unshakable realities that are eternal. Unfortunately, too many people (including Christians) are building their lives on things that can shake.
The “shaking” quotation in verse 26 is from Haggai 2:6 and refers to that time when the Lord shall return and fill His house with glory. As events draw nearer to that time, we will see more shaking in this world. But a Christian can be confident, for they shall receive an unshakable kingdom.
25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns us from heaven. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- What shall we do as we live in a shaking world? Listen to God speak and obey Him. Receive grace day by day to serve Him. While others are being frightened, Christians can be confident!
- Even in difficult times, there should be a spirit of awe, reverence, and thankfulness.
- In our worship, we should be thankful, worship God acceptably in a manner pleasing to Him, and with reverence and awe for His greatness and mighty power
- Since God promises believers an unshakeable and eternal kingdom, we must serve Him with reverence and devotion.
Closer Look:
Verse 25: This chapter concludes with a powerful message about God. He had spoken earlier to the Israelites at the giving of the Law through Moses. That generation had refused God’s message on earth. They did not escape (see Heb. 3:14–19). This should warn us not to turn our backs on God, who is still speaking.
God speaks to this generation from heaven in the work of Christ. Those who ignore Jesus’ message will not escape God’s wrath. Surely we must listen carefully to Him.
The contrast between the two covenants is now focused as a contrast between a warning given “on earth” and one that issues “from heaven” itself. Since those who refused the Old Covenant “did not escape,” how could those of the New Covenant who “turn away” expect to do so? (cf. 2:3) The key verb in verse 25 is refuse (paraiteomai) which means to decline, to refuse, to avoid, to deprecate, to reject. It is to be noted the object of the verb is God; it involves the refusal of Him. Here no doubt the author thought of the Speaker as none other than the Originator of the New Covenant who now sits “at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (1:3).
Once again the author uses an a fortiori type of argument with the second sentence. If disobedience to the Mosaic law brought judgment as was seen in the wilderness wanderings, how much more will judgment follow shunning the voice of Christ (cf. v. 24)?
Verses 26–27: The same voice which “shook the earth” at Sinai now “promises” He will again shake not only the earth but the heavens. The use of the perfect tense translated “he has promised” indicates not that the promised fulfillment has occurred, but that the making of the promise has ramifications for the present. In giving the old covenant, God had shaken the earth with a mighty earthquake (Exod. 19:18). A quote from Haggai 2:6 now promises that God will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. Verse 26 quotes from Haggai 2:6 which looks to the coming of Christ’s kingdom to the earth. This refers to the final judgment in connection with the concluding events of the age (see 2 Thess. 1:7–10). This shaking of the earth in judgment involves the destruction of created things. This judgment will reveal the greater, spiritual realities which cannot be shaken or removed. Christian believers share in a kingdom which no amount of final judgment can destroy. The security of our position in Christ gives us an incentive to endure in faithfulness.
Just as there was a shaking of the earth at Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:18; Psa. 68:7-8), so will there be on a far grander scale in the Tribulation (cf. Rev. 6:12; 11:13; 16:18; Hag. 2:6; Zech. 14:4; Matt. 24:7; Isa. 2:19-21. For those that follow the Tribulation model in eschatology, have you ever noticed all the references to earthquakes in the Tribulation? Matthew 24 has earthquakes in various places. Go through Revelation, and we find that there is shaking, climaxed with the destruction of Babylon). The coming of the kingdom will be preceded by a shaking of temporal things (cf. Isa. 13:13; Ezek. 38:19). It seems the shaking is literal although Haggai 2:7 may imply it is figurative.
This is the divine voice that once shook only the earth, but will ultimately “shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” The reference to Haggai 2:6 was understood by the author as speaking of the ultimate remaking of the heavens and earth which will follow the millennial kingdom (cf. Heb. 1:10–12). What remains after this cataclysmic event will be eternal.
What about the shaking? I do not know how this is going to be. I do not know if there is going to be one great shaking of the earth, one climatic primal shaking of the earth to destroy the earth, and the things that are in the earth, or if it is going to be shaken here and shaken there until finally everything is ruined. I do not know how it is going to be, but I get the idea that there are going to be three, that God has in His program. Maybe three destructions of the world. First was the flood. The second, the shaking that is described here, and then thirdly, fire at the end of the thousand years. So we get the idea of the three destructions but you never hear the one of shaking and this one seems to be about the shaking of the earth before the millennia. So again, we have the Flood in Genesis 6, then the shaking here before the millennium, and the fire at the end of the millennium. I’m just tossing it out for your own consideration. Amillennialist will have a different take and a different consideration. This is not a hill to die on, just one possibility to consider.
Verses 28–29: Eternality is the character of the “kingdom” which we are receiving. The words “let’s show gratitude” may be rendered “let us have [or, ‘obtain’] grace” (echōmen charin) and are likely a final reference to the resources of grace available from the great High Priest (cf. 4:14–16). This is confirmed by the words “by which,” which remind the readers that this grace is required in order to worship or “serve,” (GK. latreuōmen, also used in 8:5; 9:9; 10:2; 13:10) God acceptably within the New-Covenant community. Failure to do so should be deterred by the concluding solemn thought that “our God is a consuming fire” (cf. 10:26–27). A believer who departs from their magnificent privileges will invite God’s retribution.
How should we respond to this word of security and comfort about a kingdom which will endure forever? First, we are to be thankful. We must be thankful that God has put an unchangeable possession in our grasp. Second, we must worship. We must worship God acceptably, in a manner pleasing to Him. We must also worship with reverence for God’s greatness and with awe for His mighty power. Because believers have a part in an unshakable kingdom, the response should be both gratitude and awe.
Reverence and awe are linked with the fact that our God is a consuming fire. We must focus attention on this feature of God’s character in addition to celebrating His grace. When Jesus returns in glory, the fire of God’s holiness will consume all that is false and evil. Those with wickedness will be consumed by the fire of this judgment. Those who profess faith in Christ cannot expect mercy if they willfully turn from Jesus back to sin, disobedience, the Law, or a false god. We must show the reality of our confession by our obedience and worship.
For your own devotions, you may want to just notice one of the first pieces of evidence of walking away from God or departure from God is thanklessness. This is why the author says to be thankful with awe and reverence. You may want to also see Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (ESV). So you may want to notice if your heart has a spirit of thanklessness in it, watch out and recognize this. We should always have an attitude of thanksgiving. This is what the author is saying here. Even in difficult times, and these people were going through difficult times, there ought to be a spirit of awe and thankfulness.