13 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 People 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 for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [6:13-18]
How far a person is willing to go to keep their word defines that person’s moral character…a lot of times people give you their word as a promise they’ll do something…problem is people are natural liars…so it’s the natural human tendency to be suspicious of another person’s word.
The Bible says because of that the concept of making oaths came about to confirm what was agreed upon and to end arguments [6:16]:
the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument
When people enter into discussions, especially dealing with matters of importance, people swear oaths to confirm the truthfulness of their statements.
It’s what insecure people expect from people they don’t have trust in… especially if there’s some suspicion about that person not keeping their promise…oaths are the extra layer of reassurance that they’re telling the truth.
In ancient Hebrew culture swearing by God’s name helped assure the truth…it was natural to swear by something greater than oneself…therefore, to swear by God served to close a deal or an argument.
The third commandment forbids making empty or false oaths: “You shall not swear by my name falsely” (Lev. 19:12).
When you swear by God’s name, it must not be a false promise or one you don’t intend to keep.
In today’s culture not much has changed…but swearing using God’s name has taken on a whole new level of absurdity…actually it’s become worse because at least the Jews knew the seriousness of the Third commandment and the danger of misusing the name of God.
One of the gravest misuses of God’s name in America is the widespread habit of using God’s name to express a commitment to something…to stress a person’s anger about something…or as a meaningless exclamation.
Hear it all the time… ‘by God this and by God that’…then of course there’s the always blasphemous word people use to stress their anger about something… don’t need to say it, you’ve all heard it before…or…people using the expression ‘Oh my God!’… these are actually an indication of a lack of love, devotion, and reverence for God.
Starting in verse 13 of chapter 6 to emphasize the seriousness of making and keeping oaths and promises the author goes into a detailed explanation using God’s promises to Abraham as the example of faithfulness in keeping them.
There are times when the Bible uses human physiological characteristics to better demonstrate how God deals with us…we see this throughout the Bible… referring to God in human terms called anthropomorphism…a way of helping us better understand the nature of God… anthropomorphic language is when God is described as being human-like in appearance…assigning God human characteristics.
In the Bible, God is described as having human qualities:
He makes “His face” to shine on you (Numbers 6:25).
He “stretched out his hand” (Exodus 7:5; Isaiah 23:11).
e scattered enemies with His strong arm (Psalm 89:10).
He “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (Psalm 113:6).
In the same way…in order to stress God’s integrity, writers chose to use something man could relate to…using the concept of making oaths and promises between Himself and man and then to validate those He swore by His own name…swearing by the highest reality in the universe, Himself.
17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear This is a very important statement…validating God unchanging nature.
There are Christian denominations today that believe God has become more flexible in His old age…that His attitude on sin isn’t as harsh…becoming more in line with the legal guidelines of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage and abortion…maybe.
I don’t preach on that…but then again…there’s a lot of things I don’t preach on …smoking…drinking…tithing…if you want to know my position on those, I can show you what Scripture says…they’re pretty much in line with the Bible.
Maybe the thought process is if the Supreme Court has changed their position on same-sex marriage and abortion…possibly God will soften His position on it too not realizing that those decisions apply only to civil, not religious services… God does not change His mind to accommodate human sin.
After stating God’s unchanging nature that is not determined by any religious organization or government, he returns to emphasize God’s position on oaths and promises.
to the heirs of what was promised He guaranteed it with an oath.
And just so there would be no doubt as the sincerity of the promise…He “guaranteed it by an oath” [17] …in the Greek the word we translate as guaranteed (ἐμεσιτεύσεν) is ‘interposed’ used only one time in the N. T.
More correctly translated it means to intercede…to place or insert between one thing and another…in this case it is the guaranteed oath between the weakness of man and the greatness of God’s promises.
18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,
A little confusion here…based on the wording you would think that if the writer mentions the two unchangeable things about God he would identify them…he doesn’t…instead he gives you one of God’s attributes… it is impossible for God to lie.
So what are the two unchangeable things? …the Bible says …1) His promise and…2) His oath…I like to think based on verse [18] …He has three unchangeable things… 3) it’s impossible for God to lie [18].
To validate the two unchangeable things about God the author of Hebrews uses the example every Jewish person would have known…His promise to Abraham.
When God first promised Abraham he would have a son he was 85 years old… at that age Abraham wasn’t sure he could count on that happening…so he and Sarah had a work around…the result is what has led to some of the problems in the Middle East.
Abraham’s relations with Sarah’s maid Hagar produced a son…then at age 100 Abraham had a son with Sarah…the issue is which son of Abraham was truly the son of promise?
Hebrew Scriptures say it was Isaac…the Qur’an says it’s Ishmael…the Qur’an teaches that it was Ishmael whom Abraham almost sacrificed to the Lord, not Isaac…obviously in contradiction to Genesis 22…the debate of who the son of promise is further contributes to today’s hostility.
Scripture clearly details who the son of promise is…that through Abraham and Isaac the whole world would be blessed. [Gen. 22:17-18].
What God promised to do, history proves He did …when God gives His word, you can count on it…how far did God go to keep His Word? …the author notes the promises made to Abraham…would come through Isaac and through him the whole world would be blessed.
That was fulfilled some 1800 years later when Jesus was born into the human race to become the sacrifice for sin…the Savior of mankind.
The third unchangeable thing about God is it’s impossible for God to lie (Num. 23:19) …it’s one of His attributes…therefore, whatever He promises is absolutely certain to happen…as a result:
we who have taken refuge might have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
Hold it…what does… ‘we who have taken refuge’ mean or suggest? …it is referring to those 1) who have fled from the irreligious mass of mankind…and 2) from the progressive wing of Christianity who believes God has softened His position on sin…on what has been traditionally forbidden in Christianity…as a result; we have fled to God for refuge.
we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Therefore, because God cannot lie the writer of Hebrews is encouraging us:
to take hold of the hope set before us.
Talked about it before, I’m going to talk about it again…two things:
As Christians you are to hold on to the assurance you had when you first trusted Jesus as your Savior.
With respect to hope…Biblical hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised He will do…in Scripture it’s an absolute certainty.
It’s anencouragement and assurance that all God’s promises will come true… that our future is firmly in God’s hand…hence the importance of take(ing) hold of the hope set before us.
This is exactly why God chooses, at times, to use the concept of an oath when dealing with humanity…humans making oaths know the importance of swearing on or swearing on something greater than themselves to validate what they’ve said…in God’s case, there can be nothing higher to swear on than Himself.
And in the case of his oath to Abraham shows that His oaths are always reliable.
This is the theme starting in [13] until the end of the chapter…confidence leads to obedience, maturity, and growth…when life is less than desirous…during times of turmoil we might doubt God and lack the drive to grow in our faith.
This, in turn, makes us all the more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, and the more likely to “fall away.”
Instead, we should recognize the absolute sincerity of God’s promises…this is where God’s promise to ‘never leave you nor forsake you’ is relevant.
All believers are spiritual heirs of the promises made to Abraham (Gal. 3:29) …we are not all physical heirs…I have no Jewish descendants…nor am I a part of the literal nation of Israel…but…as Christians we are all part of the promises God made to Abraham…we are his spiritual descendants.
As believers we are encouraged to seek a full mature purposeful life in Christ…with perseverance being the necessary characteristic.
After exhorting his readers to continue in their faith he encourages them to show the same diligence as those who went before them;
12 We do not want you to become lazy,
He wanted them to remain faithful to God while waiting patiently for Him to fulfill His promises to them regarding their future inheritance…why in [11] we are told:
to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit(ed) what has been promised. [6:12]
We are to show the same diligence to the very end …to imitate those who through faith and patience inherited what has been promised (Hebrews 6:11-12).
So, who are these people…who through faith and patience inherited what had been promised…Hebrews the 11th chapter gives the names of those who were examples of faith:
By faith Abel [11:4]
By faith Enoch [11:5]
By faith Noah [11:7]
By faith Abraham [11:8]
By faith Sarah [11:11]
By faith Isaac [11:20]
By faith Jacob [11:21]
By faith Joseph [11:22]
By faith Moses [11:23]
By faith Rahab [11:31]
what more shall I say? time would fail me to tell of the other heroes of faith [11:32] …but he does…not by mentioning their names but their deeds.
- Verse 33: “They shut the mouth of lions …” – Daniel.
- Verse 34: “… quenched the flames of fire …” – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
- Verse 34: “… weakness was turned to strength …” – Hezekiah.
- Verse 35: “Women received their loved ones back again from death …” Zarephath (1 Kings 17)the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4) received sons raised back to life
- Verse 35-36: ” … others had their backs cut open with whips.” – Jeremiah.
- Verse 37: “Some died by stoning …” – Zechariah.
- Verse 37: “… some were sawed in half …” – Isaiah.
They all had one other thing in common…They all died in faith [11:13].
Oswald Chambers puts an interesting twist on faith…something we don’t often think about but something that happens to every person in this room if you’re a Christian [Aug 29].
Every time you step out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith…think how absurd some of the promises in the Bible are.
Something from strictly a common-sense standpoint says… ‘that’s a lie.’ Example… ‘God will supply all your needs according to His riches’ …as soon as you say that…believe that…the testing of your faith begins.
EXPLANATION: This is not a promise of wealth, or even an easy life…the concept of “need” has to be considered according to God’s will. What we “need” and what we “want” are not always the same thing. That being said, God tends to bless those who will use the resources they have according to His purposes.
It’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” …but when the situation seems to say “NO” …when your strength runs dry and your vision is impaired …will you continue to believe that?
There is continual testing of faith up to the point of our physical death…which is the ultimate and last great test of faith…the complete confidence in Jesus.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
“We have this hope…”
Hope is the certainty of the promises of God…I’m standing on the promises of God…His promise is that we will receive our inheritance…we have this hope because he declares that we have it, and He has secured it by way of the blood of Jesus his Son.
“As an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Having hope—the confident expectation of what God has promised He will do–as an anchor for the soul is knowing we are secure and grounded in the righteousness of Christ…that we are sanctified…while we patiently wait for the return of Christ.