DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Hebrews 12:25-26; 13:22-25 (01/10 or 01/23) Tuesday, Thirty-first Week
after Pentecost
The Voice of the Lord: Hebrews 12:25-26; 13:22-25,
especially vs. 12:25: “See
that you do not refuse Him Who speaks.” The
ancient Prophet David composed a beautiful hymn lauding the voice of the Lord:
“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory hath
thundered, the Lord is upon the many waters. The voice of the Lord in might, the
voice of the Lord in majesty, the voice of the Lord Who breaketh
the cedars, yea, the Lord will break the cedars of
Lebanon. And He will break them
small like the calf of Lebanon, and His beloved is like a son of the
unicorns. The voice of the Lord Who
divideth the flame of fire, the voice of the Lord Who
shaketh the wilderness, yea, the
Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kaddis.
The voice of the Lord gathereth the harts, and shall
reveal the thickets of oak, and in His temple every man uttereth
glory” (Ps. 28:3-9). Observe
in today’s Epistle how the words of the Apostle, like those of the
Psalmist David, direct us to heed the power in the voice of the Lord.
The Lord’s voice breaks great trees, makes mountains
“skip” (Ps. 113:4), divides, shakes, and gathers animals into
herds. The voice of the Lord is not
impersonal, not a brute power, not lacking in intelligence, and not inanimate
energy. Rather, the ‘voice of
the Lord’ is meaningful and personal, coming
from One Who conveys intention, purpose, and result. Thus, the Apostle Paul entreats us:
“See that you do not refuse Him Who
speaks” (Heb. 12:25).
The People of God recorded the voice of God the Lord in
Holy Scriptures, being brought together in community with Him by His
voice. Scriptures are our primary
written witnesses of God’s words and accomplishments. In its sentences, we also discover what
God is doing at this moment and all of that which He shall bring about through
time unto the ages of ages - eternity.
At the center of Scripture is the Word of God, for the voice of the Lord
comes as God the Word.
The Word is He Who achieves all that is described in the
Psalm 103, so familiar from Vespers: He “...stretchest
out the heavens...maketh the clouds...laid the
foundation of the earth...coveredst it with the
deep...gave drink to every beast...causeth the grass
to grow...giveth meat to all in due
season.” More important than
these provisions of God the Word are the people He brought forth, a host
“...innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (Heb.
11:12). He covenants with them,
calls them His people, and goes before them to do battle on their behalf,
bearing them up in His arms “...as a man carries his son...” (Dt.
1:31).
Notice that the Apostle deplores the frequent refusal of
the people of God to hear and obey the voice of the Lord, even though He raised up the Prophet Moses to lead them to a land of their
own. At the boundary of that land,
they “...would not go up, but disobeyed the word of the Lord [their]
God. And...murmured...”
(Dt. 1:26,27).
Through the great Seer and Law-giver, God clearly told them by His Word,
by His own voice from the Holy Mountain, that He would give them the land,
“Yet, in all this matter [they] did not believe the Lord [their]
God...” (Dt. 1:32). Hence, as
Saint Paul says “...they did not escape who refused Him Who spoke on earth...” (Heb. 12:25). Indeed not: they died in the wilderness
outside the holy land!
May we, Beloved, heed the message God gives to us, through “...Him Who speaks from heaven...” (vs. 12:25), even Jesus the Incarnate voice of the Father,
Who is “...His Son, Whom He has appointed Heir of all things, through
Whom also He made the worlds...” (Heb. 1:2). We have infinitely greater Divine
promises than did ancient Israel.
Let us not refuse God, like them, for we shall “...not escape if
we turn away from Him Who speaks from heaven...”
(Heb. 12:25).
As Moses communed with God and, in an ineffable manner,
received Thy voice in his ear, do Thou prepare us to worship Thee, O Word of
the Father, and ever to hear and to obey Thee.
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