Sinai vs. Zion – Hebrews 12:18-24

As our author brings his preeminent, sophisticated, and glorious argument to a conclusion, the crescendo of full orbed redemptive historical revelation reaches overwhelming levels of beauty. He revisits and supercharges the comparison/contrast motif of Old vs. New covenant distinctives as he compares the law's arrival at Sinai with the arrival of the justified to mount Zion. The reader should recall at this point, the greater priesthood of Christ expounded in contrast to the Aaronic and levitical orders in chapter 7:11-16, the differences between the tabernacle and the true tent detailed in 8:1-6, Christ's blood vs. animal sacrifices in 9:11-14, and the superiority of the once for all offering of the Son of God in contrast to the provisional and insufficient temple order worship which provided only type and shadow (Note also similar analogies employed by Paul in Galations 4). The author of Hebrews makes his point 7 times over as he catalogues the differences between the pre and post-Christ eras of history with symmetrical and parallel lists of differences delineated by the conjunction 'and'... Let us consider these differences in 3 categories...