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Friend, the birth of covenant at Mount Sinai -- now written in fire!

Hebrews 12:26-29  whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN." 27  Now this, "YET ONCE MORE," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

Fifty days after the first Passover, Israel stood trembling before Mount Sinai. Thunder rolled, lightning flashed, and the mountain blazed with holy fire. The Lord descended in glory, and His voice shook the earth as He entered covenant with His people—not merely to free them from bondage, but to bind them to Himself in love and holiness. On that day, the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), the Law was given, written by the very finger of God and sealed in fire. It was a wedding at the mountain: the Redeemer taking His redeemed as His own.

Yet even as glory fell upon the mountain, rebellion rose in the camp. While Moses met with God in the cloud, Israel fashioned a golden calf and bowed to it. Judgment came swiftly, and three thousand fell (Exodus 32:28). The same fire that sanctified the mountain now purified the people. But even in judgment, a greater promise was hidden. The Law revealed God’s holiness but could not transform human hearts. It could expose sin, but not erase it. It was a mirror of divine perfection, pointing forward to a covenant that would one day be written not on stone, but upon living hearts.

Centuries later, the writer of Hebrews looked back to Sinai and said, “At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’” (Hebrews 12:26–27). The shaking at Sinai was only the beginning -- a prophecy of the greater shaking yet to come. God’s voice once thundered to establish covenant; soon it will resound again to upend creation and reveal an unshakable Kingdom. Everything made by man will fall, but what is born of His Spirit will remain.

The fire at Sinai was a glimpse of the final glory -- a shadow of the consuming presence that will one day purify the heavens and the earth. The God who once descended in fire will come again, not to terrify, but to transform all things into His eternal dwelling. The shaking that once birthed fear will yield faith; the fire that once judged will refine; the Word once written on stone will be engraved upon hearts.

Friend, the same God who shook Sinai still shakes the earth -- but now His fire burns within you. Allow Him to shake free every false thing that cannot stand and to burn away all that does not belong. “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29) -- not to destroy, but to purify, to refine, to make holy. The covenant once written on stone now lives within you by His Spirit. The fire that once divided man from God now draws you closer into His dwelling.

This is the mystery of redemption -- the rhythm of fire and the shaking of grace that births an unshakable Kingdom. And this part of the mystery of Shemini Atzeret -- the eternal day, the holy stillness where God whispers, "Stay with Me." The shaking gives way to rest, the fear gives way to intimacy, and the same glory that once descended now abides forever in the hearts of His redeemed.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George & Baht Rivka (Dead Sea, Israel)

Editor's Note: As we continue this deep dive into Shemini Atzeret, the eighth day—the climactic culmination of all the feasts—if it feels a bit “meaty,” go back through the earlier devotions. Each one builds line upon line, revealing the profound truth of this day: the ultimate fulfillment when God will tabernacle with us for eternity!