“And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken, may remain” (Hebrews 12:27).
In this present evil world, there are many pressures that would tend to shake our faith. Paul would exhort persecuted believers “that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled” by such things, but rather to “stand fast” in the truths God has taught them (II Thessalonians 2:2,15).
The “hope set before us . . . we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:18,19). The “word” to which our text refers is from Haggai 2:5–7: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come,” who will establish “a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Hebrews 12:28).
Note God’s amazing promise: “. . . the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, . . . but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished” (Isaiah 51:6). Similarly Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:17).
The earth may crumble, and even our bodies may return to dust, but God’s word endures, and so do His righteousness and His kingdom and His great salvation! If our hope is in Him and His word alone, and if we are seeking to do His gracious will, then our faith and our destiny can never be shaken. “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain” (Isaiah 66:22). HMM
