“For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” 15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” NASB
“When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. 16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” NIV
Let’s look once more at the two verses preceding our text:
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
The preacher has just been expressing his concern for their slowness in spiritual development and understanding of spiritual truths beyond the fundamental doctrines of the faith. He has exhorted them to press on to maturity, not continuing to lay the basic foundation but to build upon it.
In verse 3 of chapter 6 he writes, ‘And this we shall do, if God permits’.
Then at the beginning of verse four he says “For in the case of those...” and he goes on to teach about people rejected by God because they began, but fell away, again crucifying to themselves the Son of God.
So there are two groups here, ‘we’, and ‘those’. The preacher is talking to ‘we’, about ‘those’, but here is what we must get from verse 3 before we move into today’s text verses.
We, like those, are all counted among the ‘all’ who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – we are all among the ones of whom the Bible says that no one seeks for God, all have gone astray – we are all among the ones of whom Jesus said that no one can come unless the Father draws him.
Therefore this preacher says that ‘we’ will press on to maturity, if God permits, because fellow Christ-followers, it is by His grace alone that we come and by His grace alone that we continue. Yes, the author is holding us accountable to press on, but let us not ever forget that all our striving is nothing unless God gives grace to spiritually thrive.
The writer wants them to remember that it is by His grace alone that they are among the ‘we’ and not among the ‘those’, and that is why in verse 11 and 12, which I read to you earlier, he encourages them to continue to show diligence in pressing forward, in their lives bearing the fruit of the Spirit, so they can fully appreciate and enjoy the grace that has been lavished upon them that promises them a future, glorious hope.
So look down at that last line of verse 12 and then let’s go into our text.
“…but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
GOD’S PROMISE
If any character of the Bible is an example of patience, it would be Abraham. I know that people equate patience with Job; even folks who know little or nothing about the Bible can sometimes be heard saying something like, ‘that guy has the patience of Job’.
However, Abraham received a promise from God pertaining to a Redeemer, and he believed that promise, never wavering in faith, even though it was 25 years coming and he was already old when he received the promise.
We will look more closely at Abraham, as the writer to the HEBREWS does, later in this letter. For now, let’s linger for a few moments in verse 14 of our text.
Actually, we have to include the second part of verse 13 where it says that sine God could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying,
“I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU, AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU”.
What is going to stand out for us as we study through these verses today is the amplified emphasis God uses to assure us of the certainty of blessing and fulfillment of His promises.
First of all, a promise from God is absolute and unchangeable, since He Himself is unchangeable.
In addition, we’re told here, He went so far as to swear an oath! We’re going to focus on that in my next point. Thirdly, He says, ‘surely’…twice!
So not only is this God talking, who cannot lie, it is God who is willing to take an oath, and in the offering of that oath uses language like ‘surely’, ‘certainly’, ‘indeed’.
All Abraham had to do was continue to believe. He had a hope that was based on a promise thrice substantiated by God, so all he had to do was wait.
Now just to be sure we’re all on the same page here when we use the word ‘hope’, especially since it is in my title, let me give you a brief definition of the kind of hope we’re talking about.
Because it is not hope in the sense that we might say, “I hope it snows on Christmas day” or “I have hope that my daughter will one day clean her room without being asked”.
The believer’s hope is defined this way: Hope is confident assurance of a future reality for which we patiently wait.
God is eternal. He is not bound by time, which had a beginning and will have an end. When God says to us that He will do something, in eternity it is done and He already sees it done. Can you fathom this? Think about yourself calling to your family that dinner is ready. Earlier in the day you might have told them what you planned to cook, and an hour ago you may have set out to cook it. The family has no reason to doubt that when it is time you will call them and what you said you would provide is going to be on the table when they come to it. Nevertheless, we are fallible and things happen in time. So something could feasibly thwart your plan. You might burn the roast or drop the spaghetti on the floor.
So your family would come to the kitchen and find that while you promised one thing, dinner turned out to be tuna casserole or a trip to a restaurant.
But when God says He will, in His economy it is done, and what is done cannot be thwarted or turned back, any more than the cooked meal can be put back into an uncooked state.
Abraham’s promise for which he waited, was an heir, a son, through whom the nations would be blessed.
We have many more promises than Abraham had, and as surely as Isaac has been born and lived and had descendants, in the economy of God our promises are fulfilled and provided. Some we have received, for the others we wait, but they are sure as the God who says ‘surely’.
And friends, I think He says it with a smile on His face, because God loves to lavish His blessings on His children; grace upon grace.
Let’s talk about
GOD’S OATH
It is a serious and solemn thing for a man to take an oath before God. But what about when God takes and oath before man? Will He not keep it?
We know that it has become a common expression for people to say, “I swear to God” in their casual and thoughtless communication. What they are conveying, and all that they are conveying, is that they want their hearer to believe what they are telling them. In truth, the employment of an oath to God in conversation in today’s world may be as much an indication of the person’s guilt or deception as it may be of their sincerity and innocence.
It is said without thought and it is certainly said without straightforwardness. In fact, it is often accompanied by a grin of irony because the speaker and hearer both know that what is being perpetrated is a falsehood and the phrase ‘I swear to God’ is nothing but a joke.
However when a person is serious, standing before a judge or entering the military or seeking citizenship, when they raise their right hand and say, “I swear”, or “So help me, God”, they are appealing to a higher power and in essence they are inviting that Higher Power to hold them accountable to stay true to the oath they take.
Unfortunately, even taken in all sincerity, oaths are not esteemed with the unbreakable honor they once were.
In today’s society when many people take an oath there are underlying conditions that are unspoken, but lurking in the background, which if included in the document would read “…until it becomes inconvenient or too costly for me to continue” or “…until I find something more appealing” or “…unless I later simply change my mind”.
It has not always been this way. Historically, even up to the middle of the last century, quite often the only thing a man had to distinguish him was his word. When he made a promise he did not make it lightly, and if he raised his hand to swear an oath of allegiance his body mind and blood were then forever the property of the entity to which he offered himself.
No one had to check up on him; no one had to ask later if he still felt loyal to the cause or if he would be true to his word. Just the act of questioning his fealty could extract from him a violent reaction because his life’s reputation could be destroyed by one glib accusation of waywardness from the path or an implication of disingenuousness in his oath
Therefore when the author of this letter to the HEBREWS penned these words, “…with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute”, in his mind and the minds of his hearers and readers that was an uncontested, unquestioned fact.
“Is this man’s account factual as far as he can know?”
“Well, he swore an oath that it is so as he told it.”
“Well, then, it is so.”
“To whom did this man swear fealty?”
“With his hand on the Bible, he promised to be true to the Caesar and to Rome, and to protect her from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“Then we will trust him in any circumstance to be guided in his thoughts speech and actions by that oath.”
Now with that mindset, consider the gravity of being told that God, than whom there is no higher person, source or power, so strongly desired that the recipients of His grace be fully convinced and assured and confident that His promises are true and certain, condescended to take an oath.
Folks, this should just bless us right down to the ground under our feet – God, in effect, raising His right hand, and saying, “Surely, surely, this I have provided and this you shall have”!
This is the picture the author is painting when he says in verse 18, “In order that by two unchangeable things…” and then it looks like he lists only one thing because he says, “in which it is impossible for God to lie”, but what he is saying that there are these two unchangeable things, 1. His Word and 2. His oath. God cannot lie and He is unchangeable, therefore His promise and His oath cannot change, therefore, we may have strong encouragement.
We may be fully assured. We may realize the full assurance of our hope until the end. All we gotta do… is wait!
Now I want to say a word or two about this phrase at the end of verse 18 and we’ll move on.
“…we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us”.
The Hebrew audience would have clearly understood this to be a reference to the cities of refuge provided in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19. There were three cities on the west side of the Jordan and three on the east, which were designated as cities of refuge.
If a man unwittingly or accidentally killed another man, for example, in a work accident, and the killer was afraid of the dead man’s family seeking retribution, he could run to the nearest city of refuge and once he was inside the city gate the pursuer could not touch him. Later, an investigation would be conducted to be certain the death was an accident and not a murder, and if the man was innocent of murder he would live within the city until the death of the current High Priest. Once the High Priest was dead he could leave the city with impunity.
The cities of refuge give us a beautiful picture of what has been provided to the sinner in Christ.
We are all deserving of death and all by virtue of our sin, guilty of the death of Jesus. But we did it unwittingly, as Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”. So by His sacrifice we are able to run to Jesus for refuge and find solace and safety there.
Just be assured, that until we run to Him in desperation for refuge, we can never enter ‘within the veil’. But when we do, it is not we who keep Him, but He keeps us.
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When thro’ fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, tho’ all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION – John Rippon 1787
GOD’S SON
Paul Lutus, author of “Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor”, has an article on his website where he talks of anchors and anchoring and some of the surprising ways he has seen people try to anchor their water crafts.
For instance, says he, ‘Simply dropping the anchor into the water is not ‘anchoring’ as that term is generally understood – yet that is the most common excuse for anchoring one sees.”
Closing his article out he wrote, “I recently saw a rather huge yacht with a comically small anchor and rode (chain), so out of proportion that it was humorous to the practiced eye, but I was quickly informed that the owner never anchored, so it wasn’t an issue. Not an issue, thought I privately, until the engine quits and the anchor is not adequate to keep the boat off the rocks some windy afternoon.”
People go through this life like the yacht in Lutus’ story. They put on a show of having stability and steadfastness, and most often they are self-deceived, thinking the things they put their trust in really can keep them safe and steady in the storms of life.
But when those storms come they quickly find out their ‘anchors’ are small and useless, and not even attached to anything that’s grounded.
When I see this passage before us, I am always reminded of a story I heard years ago, from a young man telling about his trip down a foreign river.
A storm came up suddenly and the banks were too high to climb, so he and his friend guided their small craft to the river’s edge where, each on one side of the small boat, they shoved their oars down into the mud of the river bed and hung on tight until the storm and wind passed and they could once more row safely downstream.
They were desperate, so they dug in and held on for dear life.
That story always serves to remind me that while we have an anchor that holds us within the veil, we must first realize our dire circumstances and, running to Him for refuge, take hold of Him and not be as the ‘those’ in chapter 6 verses 4 through 6, but as those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Our hope is in Christ, and it is a hope of confident assurance in a future reality for which we patiently wait.
In verse 20 we have this word, ‘forerunner’. Used only here, it means just what it sounds like. It refers to someone who goes ahead as a scout or to prepare the way for others to follow.
In the Levitical system, the Priest would enter the Holy of Holies for the people, but they could not follow and he could not stay.
In the case of Jesus, He has entered the Holiest of All, that is, Heaven, and He has gone as our Forerunner because He has opened the way for us to follow in.
When the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom as the Son of God delivered up His spirit from the cross, the way was opened forever for the guilty and desperate to run for refuge and lay hold of Christ, the Anchor of our souls.
When I was a boy and I heard this verse being read or saw it myself the mental picture I got was of a ship’s anchor embedded in the veil in the temple, just sort of hanging there from the fabric.
Now that did help me to some degree, because I understood it to mean that Jesus kept us secured like an anchor to Himself and the veil represented Him.
How happy I am now though, to understand that the term ‘within the veil’ means so much more – that it really means to put a picture in the minds of the HEBREWS of being behind the veil, within the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God dwelt for His people.
The greater and higher truth, which they too would have understood as believers, is that there is a Holy Place where God dwells. There was a veil that separated God from men and Jesus came to rend that veil and open the way for us to come in. He is now there for us as Forerunner, able to sympathize, knowing our need, interceding for us there, where we may now enter in and dwell in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is the gospel according to the letter to the HEBREWS
