ONCE MORE
See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words, “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably, for “our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12: 25-29).
Serious stuff! When God shook the earth at Mount Sinai, the people trembled with fear and begged Moses to speak for God because they could not bear to hear His voice. They were so afraid of the manifestation of God’s presence that they were not prepared to hear what He had to say and much less to obey.
What is the warning God issued then and continues to issue today? What does the Lord require of us that is so important that we will perish if we turn away? It’s the simple matter of obedience. God prizes the obedient response of His people above everything else.
Abraham was called the “friend of God”. Why?
Then the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised.’ (Gen. 18: 17-19).
Likewise David, who was the only person in the Bible whom God called “a man after my own heart,” received that honour for one reason:
After removing Saul, He made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13: 22).
Why did God remove Saul? The prophet Samuel had the unpleasant task of conveying God’s displeasure to King Saul because he failed to obey on two occasions. Saul disqualified himself from being king because of his disobedience.
“Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord? . . . Does the Lord delight is burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15:19; 22).
Obedience is the hallmark of a true son. Jesus was the epitome of a son, submissive and obedient to the Father, even to the point of laying down His life because it was the Father’s will. He was the mirror image of the Father because He said what the Father said and did what the Father did.
God’s presence shook the earth when He descended on Mount Sinai to given His people His instructions for living life His way. In spite of His intervention, destroying the gods of Egypt and setting them free from their slave-drivers, they failed to obey time and again. He shook them out of their land into Assyria and Babylon, lands of slavery all over again. That was bad enough because of their disobedience.
A time is coming, says the writer, when another shaking will happen, but this time it will not be just one mountain but the heavens and the earth. Everything will be shaken like flour being passed through a sieve. Only that which has eternal value will remain. What about all the earthly things which we work for and treasure above the eternal kingdom which cannot be shaken?
God shook the earth with a global flood which destroyed everything by one family. He shook the mountain to reveal His power and majesty, and that His word is not to be ignored. He will finally shake everything and everyone and only that which is unshakeable will remain.
God often shakes our lives by allowing us to experience things over which we have no control. This is not judgment but mercy because He wants us to deal with the things that take our attention from Him before the final shaking after which there will be no time to put things right. There is only one way to show that we take Him seriously – by doing what He says. He has instructed us to walk in His ways where there is safety and protection. Every other way leads to death.
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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