For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Observation
- God made a promise to Abraham.
- Gods wore by Himself when He made the promise to Abraham.
- There is nothing or no one greater than God.
- God promised Abraham that He would bless Abraham and give him many descendants.
- Abraham obtained the promise by waiting.
- When people swear by something they swear by something that is greater than them.
- Oaths confirm or settle disputes.
- God wanted to show the descendants of Abraham His unchangeable character.
- God guaranteed His unchangeable character with an oath.
- It is impossible for God to lie.
- Because of God’s promise and the fact He cannot lie, we have courage to hold fast to the hope God has given us.
- Our hope is sure and steadfast.
- Our hope has entered into the holy of holies
- Jesus has gone before us into the holy of holies and in our behalf.
- Jesus became a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Interpretation
Here the writer to the Hebrews is proving that the grace of God is not offered to us in vain. He uses Abraham as his prime example. God gave Abraham a promise that seemed impossible. How could Abraham and Sarah have any children when she had been barren through the prime of her life and now in their old age they were going to children let alone descendants in number beyond the stars or sand in the sea?
But God swore an oath. The writer argues from the lessor to the greater. Men try to add credibility to their oaths by swearing by something greater than them. Men swear by God, their mother etc. That is men need to borrow authority from another. God had nothing greater to swear by than Himself. So he swore an oath by Himself to Abraham. There now are two immutable things God’s promise and God’s oath. The promise is assured.
We have a promise from God. A promise from God is not like a promise you or I would give. We have changed our minds. We allow circumstances to get in our way. We allow changing situations to alter our commitments. But God does not. God’s promises are certain.
Therefore, those who have fled to His promise for refuge have hope. When we flee to His promise we leave all other protection. We cannot trust in ourselves and our ability to earn what is promised. It is a total reliance on Christ and Christ alone because of the promise of Christ atonement is from God. This is the hope that we have. This is the anchor of our soul. We can be assured that He will fulfill His promise.
As Christ has entered heaven so too our faith should be direct there. It is pointless for men to seek after God on their own. God is far beyond our reach. But Christ stretches down His hand and reaches us. He leads us to heaven. Christ has gone before us. He is our priest. A priest makes intercession before God on behalf of the people. We have Christ, God Himself, interceding on our behalf to the Father, God Himself. And we have the promise from God Himself that the Father will accept Christ’s intercession.
Application
Rest in Christ. Praise Christ. Glorify the Name of Jesus. Thank God for His promise. We know God keeps His promises. Christ is our assurance of salvation.
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