Bible Studies
You Have Come to Mount Zion (Heb. 12:18-24)
Series: Additional StudiesIntroduction:
1. Of all the places that one might go Zion is the greatest. It is greater than being at Sinai and experiencing the blazing fire, darkness, and whirlwind indicative of God’s presence on the mountain. It is greater than making your dream journey to the Caribbean or to the Pacific Islands. Its beauty even surpasses the grandeur of the Alaskan wilderness. 2. For the writers of Scripture it is THE place of all places. 3. According to Carl G. Rasmussen (Zondervan Atlas of the Bible) the term “Zion” or “Sion” occurs 158 times in the O.T. and 7 times in the N.T. 4. The term is used in a variety of ways and refers to a variety of locations. It will be our purpose to survey these uses and tie them in with the use made here in Heb. 12 where it identifies “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” What do these references mean and what relevance do the have for you and me?Discussion:
I. The earliest mention of Zion is during the days of David (2 Sam. 5:7).A. Zion is not mentioned from Genesis through Judges.
B. Its first mention is in 2 Sam. 5:7.
1. The text says, “David captured the stronghold of Zion.”
2. It is a reference to the Jerusalem inhabited by the Jebusites.
3. It became known as “the city of David.”
C. When David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city it gave Zion a rich spiritual significance (2 Sam. 6:17).
1. It became known as “the city of God,” and “the city of the great King” (Psa. 46:4; 48:2).
2. Psa. 2:6 refers to it as “God’s holy mountain.”
3. Psa. 9:11 identifies it as the dwelling place of the Lord. Psa. 132:13 as the place that God has chosen for His habitation.
4. Psa. 84:5 commends those “in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” That is, blessed is the man who longs to go there.
5. It is the place of deliverance and salvation (Psa. 20:2; 69:35) and the place of praise and worship (Psa. 9:14; 65:1).
II. Much like the tabernacle and the temple physical structures, Zion was associated with the physical city of Jerusalem that became a copy and shadow of a spiritual place. Cf. Heb. 8:1-9.A. The concept of physical Zion seems to expand with the physical expansion of Jerusalem.
1. Beginning with the conquered Jebusite fortress Zion expanded northward when Solomon expanded Jerusalem to include Mount Moriah (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Chron. 5:2). The temple and Zion had entered into association (Jer. 50:28; 51:10).
2. Zion came then to be employed as the whole multi-hilled metropolis of Jerusalem (Isa. 40:9; Micah 3:12; Psa. 133:3).
B. Zion was a term used to refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jer. 51:35).
1. “The sons of Zion” (Lam. 4:2).
2. “The daughters of Zion” (Song of Solomon 3:11; Isa. 10:32).
C. During the exile, Zechariah described the Israelite nation as “Zion . . . living with the daughter of Babylon” (2:7).
III. The prophets give Messianic significance to Zion.A. In Psa. 2 God says He has installed His King, “Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” It is clearly evident that this is a Messianic reference. It is so interpreted in the N.T. (see Acts 4:23-31).
B. God said, “I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation. He who believes will not be disturbed (disappointed)” (Isa. 28:16).
1. This is the reference Peter cites in 1 Pet. 2:6 as he refers to the spiritual house of God which has Jesus as the very corner stone.
2. Paul in Eph. 2:20 refers to the church as “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
3. Jesus spoke of the rock of confession in Matt. 16:16-18 upon which He would build His church.
4. Romans 9:33 quotes Isa. 28:16 and applies it to Jesus.
5. Romans 10:11 references Isa. 28:16 and applies it to belief in Jesus.
C. Isa. 2:2-3 and Micah 4:1-2 has the law of the Lord going forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Nations come and say, “Come let us go up to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways for from Zion will go forth the Law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Rom. 11:26-27 quotes Isa. 59:20-21 stating that the Deliverer will come from Zion and take away sins.
D. We understand all these passages to have reference to the coming of Jesus and the provision that He has made for forgiveness and thus freedom (Gal. 4:25-26).
1. “Present Jerusalem” (physical) is contrasted with
2. “Jerusalem above” (spiritual).
IV. Heb. 12:22 connects with this same emphasis.A. Mount Zion is associated with “heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.”
B. We have not come to a physical city, a copy or shadow of the reality (cf. Heb. 13:14).
C. We have come to the reality itself.
D. Is it any wonder then that Revelation has the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with His 144,000 having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads? (14:1). Is it any wonder that 21:1ff has the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband?
E. Who are these people who are the Zion of God?
1. Those who have heard the word of the Lord and who walk in His paths (Isa. 2:3).
2. Those who are identified with Him (Rev. 14:1).
3. Those who constitute the generally assembly and church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:22).
4. Christians are the Zion of God.
Conclusion:
1. The moveable tabernacle in the wilderness was constructed according to the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle, so the temple and the city of Jerusalem were material copies of the heavenly reality. 2. And although the new Jerusalem has not yet reached its final reality (Heb. 13:14) even now, have access to it. 3. The privileges of its citizenship are already enjoyed by faith. 4. The people of God are still a pilgrim people, treading the “highways to Zion” (cf. Psa. 84:5). 5. By virtue of the sure promise of God they have already arrived there in spirit. 6. God makes His dwelling place with the faithful.
