Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 12:25

"See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned [them] on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape] who turn away from him that [warneth] from heaven:" — Hebrews 12:25 (ASV)

Several times in this letter Judaism and Christianity have been contrasted, and here the contrast concerns the way God speaks. Some feel there is a contrast between Moses and Christ. This may be so, but the basic contrast is between the way God spoke of old and the way he now speaks. Israel of old “refused” him, which means that in their manner of life they rejected what God said and failed to live up to what he commanded (cf. Dt 5:29). This warning was “on earth” because it was connected with the revelation at Sinai. If, then, the Israelites of old did not escape the consequences of their refusal of a voice on earth, the readers ought not to expect to escape far worse consequences if they “turn away from him who warns us from heaven” (cf. 2:2–4).