Hebrews: A 28-Day Musical DevotionalMuestra

Two Mountains  

You have come … to the climax of the letter! Today’s reading is the culmination of the Book of Hebrews, the height of the letter’s tension, and the pinnacle of the narrative’s exposition and exhortation. The author contrasts two mountains to polarize the old and new covenants: Mt. Sinai represents the earthly old covenant, and Mt. Zion symbolizes the heavenly new covenant. 

He instructs his readers that they have not come to Mt. Sinai, where God appeared to his people in the terror of his holiness. The Israelites were told that if anyone touched Mt. Sinai, they would die (Ex. 19:12). The imagery here in Hebrews bolsters what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:7 when he called the old covenant “a ministry of death.” God manifested his presence in so frightening a manner that the people begged him to no longer speak to them. This is Mt. Sinai: a place of distance, a mountain of barriers, a sign telling us to “Keep out!”

But we have not come to this mountain; instead, we have come to Mt. Zion! The city of the living God! A place of heavenly celebration to which all members of the new covenant are welcomed! Mt. Zion encapsulates the intimacy and personal quality of a believer’s relationship with God. As the Book of Hebrews has stressed throughout, we are invited to draw near to the throne of the King. Yes, the Lord has always shown himself to be a gracious and merciful God, even in the severe moments of his wrath; but now, in the glory of the new covenant, his love is fully displayed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, our Savior.