Shaking carries all kinds of connotations. Shaking is the act of moving rapidly either involuntarily or voluntarily. It can be back and forth, up and down, or both. Shaking brings all sorts of mental pictures. It can be an earthquake that shakes the ground with vibrations. It may be a can of paint that you move up and down to mix it. It might cause you to think of shaking someone’s hand as a greeting when you approach them. It can also refer to the human body, where you shiver from the cold or have a medical condition that causes tremors. A lot of the time, we use the word shaking figuratively, such as someone experiencing something that is unnerving. In Hebrews 12:26, it refers to God speaking from Heaven to Moses.
Hebrews 12:26 “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.”
In Hebrews 12:25-29, the author reminds us of Mount Sinai, where God’s voice literally shook the earth. This account is in Exodus chapters 19 and 20; Moses went to the mountain, where God gave explicit instructions about their meeting and to the people below. When God spoke, the earth literally shook. In Hebrews 12:26, He also gives a promise of a day when He will not only shake the earth but the Heavens as well. He also says that the reason for this is so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
In this life, God may allow us to go through trials or changes that shake our world. Many times he allows this to change so that our focus changes from the temporary things that we put so much value in to the permanent inheritance of the Kingdom to come, which cannot be shaken. When we are shaken by circumstances such as the death of a loved one or the child that chooses not to accept Jesus as their Lord, we turn to God who cannot change. We stop relying on, or putting our confidence in, the pleasures and securities of this world. We then can see clearly the things that are eternal. This increases our hope and our trust in God. His promises do not change, and they cannot be shaken. His grace, love, and promises are eternal.
As we consider the truth that our citizenship rests in an unshakable Kingdom, it should change how we live now. We must take time to listen to God through His word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. To do this, we must place a high priority on daily time alone with God. Knowing we have an eternal home that cannot be shaken should also make us thankful. We need to think and practice gratitude as a natural response to the security we have in Him.
In verse 29 we are told, “our God is a consuming fire.” This should cause us to have awe, reverence, and a desire for complete surrender. This element seems to be missing in the Christian community today. Many enter the worship service as if they are going to the movies. They wear comfortable clothing instead of wearing their best out of respect for God. They bring their snacks and sit back and watch the show. If they participate in the music, they are not engaged mentally and spiritually, allowing the words to sink into their hearts and minds. Everything becomes about them and their comfort, not about a Holy God they are approaching. They have allowed themselves to become indifferent to the things of God and deceived themselves into believing these attitudes and actions are ok.
Now it’s time to think this through in your own life. What are you depending on for your peace and security? Are they shakable? Are you spending time alone with God each day to focus on His unshakeable Kingdom? Knowing He is worthy of our trust should change our perspective and keep us from spending time worrying. We need to evaluate where we are placing our hope. Be honest with ourselves and ask God to help us place our confidence in the permanent, not the temporary. Are you asking God to fill your heart with gratitude, reverence, awe, and trust in His unfailing love as you walk daily with HIm?
Hebrews 12:25-29 “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifying the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”
