Day 683: An anchor for the soul - Hebrews 6 vs 11-20

11-12 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13-15 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. 

16-18 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. 19-20 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 for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:11-20 English Standard Version.

The writer was concerned that some Christians were starting to have doubts about the message of God's promise of eternal life to those who put their hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't want them to lose the enthusiasm that had gripped their hearts when they were saved. What does he say was important in order for them to reach what was promised? (vs 11-12)

Faith there implies an ongoing trust in the one who made the promise - and patience implies that the goal would not be reached immediately, or without difficulty. When we are saved there may yet be many years of life in this world ahead of us, and we may have to face much opposition. So he holds up the example of Abraham and the promise God made to him. What was the essence of that promise? (vs 13-15)

This promise of blessing, and of greatly multiplying his descendants, was given to Abraham when he was 75 years old. But it took another 25 years before his son Isaac was born. Then, some years later, God gave him an agonizing test by asking him to sacrifice his son! Of course, God stopped Abraham from plunging the knife and provided a ram for the offering instead. It was on that occasion that God spoke the words, quoted here in Hebrews, of confirming His promise with an oath. Included in that promise were God's words to Abraham that “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18) So God's promise, which guarantees fulfilment because He never lies, was confirmed with an oath, which doubled the certainty.

In vs 16-18 the writer says that Christians can therefore take strong encouragement to cling to the hope set before them from “two unchangeable things” about God that we see in this example of Abraham. Precisely what these two unchangeable things are have been debated. I personally think it means that the likelihood of Abraham having heirs of faith was made certain by both a promise and an oath. Readers are welcome to share their thoughts on this. But what does the writer say that these things should do for us, and why should our confidence be even stronger than that of Abraham? (vs 19-20)

God's promise - made with an oath, and indeed God's unchangeable character, is like an anchor for our soul. These things about God should keep us from drifting away from Christ when trials and sorrows are like a strong current tugging at our faith. And we have something even stronger to secure us. Jesus Christ is at the Father's right hand as our high priest. Not as a priest in the ever changing line of Aaron and the Old Testament, but the eternal line of a priest named Melchizedek. God willing, we'll look more at that in the next chapter. But for now, may the Lord grant us to be confident in our hope of eternal life, and may we never become sluggish in following Jesus, even in tough times.