The Lord hates murder. You'll remember he cursed and banished Cain because of murder in Genesis chapter 4. He said, what have you done? The voice of your brother Abel's blood is crying to me from the ground. Murder is the ultimate expression of hate. The Lord has kept vengeance for himself, and he leaves us to offer love and mercy even to our enemies. Hate says, I want something, and that person is in the way. Murder says, I'm willing to remove that person to get what I want. Hate says, I know the Lord says I'm to love and to be forgiving. And I know the Lord has said he keeps vengeance and justice for himself. But I think this person ought to receive my punishment now. I want punishment for that one now. I want justice now. Covetousness. The Lord is taking too long to punish that sinner. Blasphemy. What I want, immediate vengeance, is more important than what the Lord has said. Idolatry. God is the keeper of justice and punishment and vengeance. He has left us with love and mercy and forgiveness. God is the author of life and he has the right to give it and the right to take it away. Our own wicked confusion of what we deserve and what others deserve leads to the wicked disobedience of presuming we ought to control the vengeance that is rightly and justly the Lord's alone. Hate and murder say, we know better than you, Lord. God created life. God rightly hates our hatred. God hates murder. But even though murder is bad and wrong and worthy of God's hate, when God gave the commandment, you shall not murder, he did not appeal to the justice or the rightness or the wrongness or the badness or the goodness. He did not say, you shall not murder because it's wrong or evil. Turn with me to Exodus 19, the chapter before the Ten Commandments chapter. Exodus 19. And let's look at the reasons the Lord gave the Ten Commandments. Let's see what the Lord used to motivate His people to obey the commandment, You shall not murder. Exodus 19. Verse 1, on the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, that's about three months, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped there in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and you saw how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. And so Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. And the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever. And when Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments to be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman. And on the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled. So besides the number of trips that Moses made up and down the mountain, what do we see here? Moses goes back down, and then the Lord spoke the words. He gave the Ten Commandments. He gave, among others, you shall not murder. And so even though it is true that hatred and murder are wicked and evil, Again, the Lord did not motivate His people to obey on the basis of ethics. He did not rationalize His commandments by proving why they were bad for society. When the Lord said, you shall not murder, He did not ground cause for obedience in the terms of right and wrong. Instead, He says, you shall not murder, because I am the Lord to whom you cannot get too close. You shall not murder because I am the Lord who saved you from slavery in Egypt. Because I am the Lord who wiped out your captors by powerful judgment. Because I am the Lord who brought you into covenant with me. Because I am the Lord who speaks. I am the Lord, do not get too close. I am the Lord who controls the thunder and the lightning. I am the Lord who creates thick clouds. I am the Lord who blasts a trumpet that makes people tremble. carrying on in verse 17. Then Moses brought the people out to the camp to meet God. And they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet And this is the Lord making the trumpet sound. There is no trumpeteer. The Lord made the sound of a trumpet grow louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. Moses, and the Lord called to Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said, go down and warn the people, lest they break through. To look, and many of them perish. Let the priests come near to the Lord, consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them. And Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up, for you yourself warned us, saying, set limits around the mountain and consecrate it. And the Lord said, go down and come up bringing just Aaron with you. Do not let the priests and the people break through, lest I break out against them. And so Moses went down to the people. In short, I am the Lord. You shall not murder. Be afraid. Now, in case we missed that point, as we sit here in comfort with ground that's not shaking, and no trumpet blast ringing in our ears, and no supernatural storm brewing, look there in chapter 20, verse 18, because the people of Israel understood exactly what was going on. Chapter 20, verse 18. Now when the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled. And they stood far off and said to Moses, You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us lest we die. Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you. that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin. The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. So, of course, Moses tries to explain that this fearful display was for their benefit, to motivate them against sin, but it was too much. It was too much. The people stood far off. You shall not murder because the Lord that delivers and brings people into covenant with him is the one who makes the creation stable and the one who can shake it all up and he is worthy of fear. He is a consuming fire and he was a consuming fire. He still is a consuming fire. You might remember Leviticus 10, the Lord as a consuming fire consumed Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire. You might remember Deuteronomy chapter 9 when Moses tells the nation before they cross the Jordan and go to take the promised land that the Lord will go before them. and purify the land of all the unrightful inhabitants as a consuming fire. And of course, as James said, in him there is no variation of shadow due to change. The Lord was and always will be a consuming fire. And so, if so, if he still is a consuming fire, the obvious question or the necessary question for us is, should we be afraid? And that question leads to another, maybe below it, why were they afraid? What scared them so? Of course, they had seen the Lord's judgment in Egypt, right? In Deuteronomy chapter 5, I'm going to turn there if you want to join me. Deuteronomy chapter 5, Moses is recounting this set of events again. And in verse 22 there, Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22, Moses says, These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added, No more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. As soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders, and you said, Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, we're going to die. For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and still live? Go near, Moses, do this for us. Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear it and do it." We have seen the Lord and we're still alive. When the Lord draws near, it is certainly for our judgment. We cannot stay here. We hear the Lord and we want to run away. We want to hear more, but we will die. The word of the Lord condemned them. They were afraid of judgment. This fear is about justice. It's about the just wrath of God. In Isaiah 33, I'll flip there too. I think we have some good time for that. Isaiah 33, Isaiah is prophesying on behalf of the Lord. Isaiah 33, verse 13. He says, Hear you who are far off what I have done, and you who are near. Acknowledge my might, says the Lord. The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless. Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil. He will dwell on the heights. His place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks. His bread will be given him. His water will be sure. The wicked have reason to tremble. The upright walk in confidence. This fear of the consuming fire is fear of judgment. It rightfully strikes fear into the unjust. And so when Israel drew near, they already knew the Lord as judge. The Lord's displays at Sinai kindled their fear. And when they hear the law, the law had its intended effect. Israel knew that they were condemned. And of course, the unjust have good reason to fear the Lord, who is a consuming fire. They were afraid of judgment. They were uncertain. Remember what they did before they drew near? They consecrated themselves, and they washed their garments. And now that they saw the Lord, now they're wondering, is that enough? Is that enough to stand here? in the midst of the consuming fire and hear him speak and live. And again, as you know, the law's purpose, as they heard the law, the law condemned them. They knew that that was not going to work. They knew that that might work for a moment, but they wanted to hightail as soon as they possibly could. And you, Moses, you go talk to him. We're going to go back here where it's a little bit safer. They knew that their meeting with the Lord could only be temporary. They could not dwell there in His presence. And to think about this clearly, we should turn to the letter to the Hebrews. Because among other glorious doctrines, this letter helps us understand the confidence followers of Jesus Christ have not only to draw near to the Lord, but also to remain there and live there and dwell there If you want to turn there with me, we're going to do a high-speed run through the letter of the Hebrews, and we're going to get to the climax pretty quickly. You might remember chapter 1 and chapter 2. The author to the Hebrews says, Jesus is the better messenger than the angels. Chapter 3, Jesus is a better mediator than Moses. Chapter 5, Jesus is the best high priest ever because his priesthood is forever. Chapter 8, Jesus is the mediator and the high priest of a better covenant. Now the writer gets to the themes that we have on our plate here tonight. As he approaches the peak of this beautiful letter, chapter 10, verse 19. Let's take a look there. Chapter 10, verse 19 of Hebrews. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Now you'll remember the Hebrews consecrated themselves to get near enough to the Lord to hear His Word and see His power. And as they heard His commands, they started to question their consecration, their right to be so close to the living God, to the consuming fire. And of course, knowing about His judgment in the past and hearing the law that condemned them, they were afraid. And they wanted to run. And let's just stop to think about that for a moment, because I've said it a couple times. But this series with the Ten Commandments in view, I mean, Aaron was actually just saying, you know, he's got the Ten Commandments on the fridge for the kids, so like we can memorize them. And they're simple statements, right? You shall not murder. You shall not lie. Honor your father and mother. God first. No other gods before my face. These are simple statements. But as we've been seeing for the last few weeks, They are not simple commandments. These commandments infiltrate every part of our life. You shall not have any other gods before me. You shall serve, in other words, you shall serve no other master. Who among us is going to stand under that? Honor thy father and mother. Who among us is gonna stand? You shall not murder. Who among us? is going to think, yeah, I got a right to stand here next to the consuming fire as he's laying down the law, literally, before me. Who among us is going to stand? Of course, the law's intent is to condemn. We see how close we are at every moment to the sin that condemns us. We see how easily we stumble toward breaking the commandments. And we see how attracted we are to the dirty and worldly, selfish, self-serving disobedience. Now, the Hebrews at Sinai consecrated themselves and washed their garments. But as they learned and as they heard God's law, they knew they weren't going to cut it. What they learned taught them that the Lord's judgment was not going to be held back by their clean clothes for much longer. And here's the sort of thing that makes this part of the letter to the Hebrews, the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament, so beautiful. What Jesus did in his perfect life and in the death that he didn't deserve, has, verse 22, sprinkled our hearts clean and washed our bodies with pure water. And that ought to give us a true heart in full assurance of faith. This is the consecration. This is the cleaning, the cleansing. This is the washing that works This is the washing and the consecration that allows someone to stand near the consuming fire forever. Further down in verse 26, for if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there's no longer a sacrifice for sin. In other words, if we go on deliberately sinning against Jesus Christ, who is the one and only sufficient sacrifice, that allows us to draw near to the Lord, there is no other way. There is no other sacrifice. The one who rejects this great salvation should expect judgment. This is what the Hebrews at Sinai were afraid of, a fury of fire that would consume adversaries. And then down there in verse 30, For we know him who said, Vengeance, or justice, is mine. I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge my people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now you'll probably remember chapter 11. The writer to the Hebrews gives us a long list of faithful men and women. And at the beginning of chapter 12, he tells us that they are a great cod of witnesses. All of those men and women of faith testify to the true heart that has a full assurance of faith. And he goes on in chapter 12, that author, since you have heard the testimony of all those witnesses, strive towards godly living. And that is how we arrive at chapter 12, verse 18. Take a look with me there, chapter 12, verse 18. 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 word made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. Does that sound familiar? For they could not endure the order that was given. If a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But So many of the beautiful promises of Scripture hinge on a disjunction like that, don't they? But, verse 22, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, which is the heavenly Jerusalem. Not where the Lord lets people close enough to hear His voice and to see His power for just a little bit. A city is where you go to live, right? You don't go to a city and then take up. If the Lord is building a city, His city, He intends people to come and live there, to dwell and to remain there forever. God is still a consuming fire, worthy of fear, but we are able to draw near and dwell in His midst. We are enrolled as citizens of the unshakable kingdom He is building. Now take a look. Verse 22. But you have come. There's a lot of weight in the tense of that verb right there. It is perfect. It is complete. As if to say, you have already come to the city of the living God. the city, the heavenly Jerusalem that the Lord is building in heaven right now, you have already come. There is already a feast gathering of innumerable angels. You have already come to the assembly of the firstborn who are already enrolled there. We are here. The kingdom is there. We are not in the kingdom, but we are citizens of the kingdom already enrolled. And we come to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. Verse 25, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time, his voice shook the earth. But now, as he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase, yet once more, indicates a removal of the things that are shaken, that is, the things that have been made, in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship. With reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. The Lord is still who he always was. The Lord still loves life, and he hates murder. The Lord is still a consuming fire. And so again, one final time, I'll ask us, I'll ask you, where does that leave us? Where does that leave you? As Pastor Ryan preached this morning on John 6, it struck me that that leaves us exactly where Peter was at the end of John chapter 6. You'll remember that after the portion we heard about this morning, Jesus went on to say, I am the bread from heaven. And He equated believing in Him, trusting Him, following Him, clinging to Him, hanging on to Him. He equated that to eating His flesh and drinking His blood. In fact, He said it enough times that the crowd got restless and they started poking at Him and wondering. And the Jews, who were poking at Him at the beginning, left. And then even some of His disciples left. And apparently when it quieted down a little bit, Jesus turned to Peter and He says, What about you, Peter? Are you going to leave too? And you might remember what Peter says, Where else would we go, Lord? Where else? How else? Where would we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned from the earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And let us offer acceptable worship with reverence and awe. The Lord has always hated murder. It is right to obey. It's right to obey on the basis of fear. But the Lord, who is a consuming fire, the consuming fire who shakes is the consuming fire who saves. And so, with reverence and awe, we shall not murder. Let's pray. Lord, it seems as though we may have moved so quickly through an understanding of who you are as one who owns justice and wrath rightly, who is a consuming fire rightly, and while under control, the consuming fire that is rightly to be feared by the unjust. But Lord, I pray and we pray that we come to that full assurance of faith that our washing, our consecration, our sanctification is sufficient because it is the one purchased by the perfect one. It is the consecration and the washing purchased by a perfect life and by a sacrificial death. And we can stand amidst the consuming fire with full assurance of faith because of the One who made it right for you to have mercy on us and give Him our wrath, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.