Friday 17 September, 2021

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 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.

God’s promise to us is absolutely trustworthy, and he wants us to know that. Then we will be encouraged and have confidence in Him.

The writer of Hebrews shows that 1. God cannot lie and 2. He swore an oath to confirm what he said. In the ancient Graeco-Roman world people swore oaths by a deity, king or emperor to prove that they would follow through on what they had promised. They were essentially asking the higher power to hold them accountable for what they were promising to do.

God doesn’t need to swear an oath. There is no higher authority for him to swear by. He cannot lie. What he promises, he will follow through on – just like he did for Abraham. But he swore an oath because he wanted to help us understand that we can have complete confidence in his promise. He wants us to take hold of the hope he has given us – as “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”.

So, I ask myself – what difference does it make in my life if I absolutely trust in the hope God gives me? If I allow it to “anchor my soul”?

If I have complete confidence in God’s promise to me of eternal life, then I will not fear the future and I will not fear death. No matter what happens in life, I know that God is for me and holds my future securely. I am touched that God wants me to know this and to have confidence in him. He demonstrated his trustworthiness to the first Christians in the way their culture understood, and he wants me to know it now too.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you have gone before me to the Father. Thank you God, for the firm, secure hope you give us. Please help me to let it make a difference in how I live now.

Written by Megan Cornell