A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“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.”^[d] 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 to take hold of the hope set before 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 our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:13-20

“F B Hole writes that…

We need to have a hope which is resting upon a very weld established basis if we are to hold it with full assurance. It is this thought which leads to verses 13-18. Abraham stands before us as a great example not only of faith but of hope also. It was when he had offered up Isaac, as recorded in Genesis 22:1ff, that the promise of blessing was given, which culminated in “the Seed,” which is Christ, according to Gal 3:16. That great promise had behind it not only the authority which always accompanies the bare Word of God, but also the added sanction of His solemn Oath.

How beautiful is this glimpse which we have of God, stooping to consider the feebleness and infirmities which mark even the best of His creatures! Here are Abraham and the later heirs of the promises. How easily their faith may waver! How full of uncertainties is the world in which they find themselves! Then God will condescend to their weakness and reinforce His Word by His Oath, saying, “By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD.” (Hebrews Commentary and Notes, F B Hole)

Every Sunday we swear an oath, sort of, when we recite the Creeds. Our creeds are statements of what we believe – “I believe in G-d the father Almighty; I believe in Jesus Christ G-d’s only Son, Our Lord; I believe in the Holy Spirit, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” These creeds were written by our Church Fathers who found in the working of Christ the fulfillment of G-d’s promises to all people. When G-d spoke promises to the Israelites, they were certain to be true and secure – G-d declared it to be, and so it was.  

In Jesus Christ, G-d humbled G-d’s self to become just like us. And after his death and resurrection, he promises to prepare a place for each one of us, so that when our end has come, Christ comes to take us home.

Pastor Dave