Philip Dampier's Blog

“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but the heavens.” The next verse offers an explanation of this statement. The shaking that took place at Sinai was to demonstrate the power of God and…

“See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.” What does ‘refuse him’ mean? How did the Jewish nation refuse God?…

“…and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. “ The Hebrew Christians have come to God via Mount Zion, not Mount Sinai. They have come to God’s Holy City, the heavenly Jerusalem, not to…

“…and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” Where have Christians come? To Mount Zion, the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, a host of angels, and to the church…

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering…” See the contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. One is betrayed with thunder and fire, danger, and fear. The other is surrounded by festive…

“Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” The writer is trying to impress his audience with the awesomeness of the encounter with God at Sinai so that he can compare it with the Christians encounter with Jesus at the cross. Moses, who had been…

“For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” If even a beast, suggests something terrible would happen to anyone who disobeyed the commandments for the giving of the law. It was an outpouring of the majesty and…

“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.” Every Hebrew would relate to this passage…

“For you know that afterward when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” Here is a reminder of the effect of consequences. Somethings can be undone if acted upon quickly enough, but some can’t. Sometimes…

“…that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.” This is a continuation of what can happen when you fail to live under grace. If we live under grace, we will live by the Spirit. Things like sexual immorality and distaining…