We use oaths to back up our statements because the promise of a human being is not reliable enough for trust. Jesus urged His followers to be so truthful that humans could trust their “yes” and “no” (Matt. 5:37). The writer of Hebrews followed normal human conventions of requiring an oath to support a promise. People who make official promises need to swear an oath by someone in order to settle the issue.
Whenever humans offer oaths, they swear by someone greater than themselves. Since God had no one greater than Himself, He swore by Himself. He based His oath on His own great name, guaranteeing He would accomplish His purpose.
Jesus provides uninterrupted access to God’s presence for His children. We will never have an outage of divine power. Jesus’ presence before God fills us with hope, encouragement, and endurance. With the strength we receive from Him, we can find the staying power to endure in our Christian commitment.
16 For people swear an oath by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Jesus is our forerunner so that one day we may follow
- It is impossible for God to lie. We have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us. Our hope in Christ is like an anchor for the soul
- God provides hope to help us endure in our faith commitment to Jesus.
- None is greater than God, so He swore by Himself
CLOSER LOOK:
Verses 16–18: The certainty of the original promise is guaranteed for us by two factors–the oath of God (vv. 13-18) and the exaltation of the Son (vv. 19-20). The oath, of course, looks back to the offering up of Isaac in Genesis 22. Then the covenant of Genesis was reenforced with God’s oath (cf. Gen. 22:16; Psa. 110:4).
At this point Abraham is left behind as a model and “the oath” made to him is treated as for the benefit of Christians generally. That the promise of Genesis 22:18 had messianic aspects is clear from these words: “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” Then the author of Hebrews affirmed that the messianic hope which the promise entailed was sure, not only to Abraham, but also to the Christian “heirs of the promise.” As in human affairs an oath puts “an end of every dispute,” so too there can be no argument about this expectation since God “confirmed it with an oath.” If anyone, such as a sectarian, denied this eschatological anticipation, they were flying in the face of the strongest possible divine guarantee.
Why did God make an oath? A mere statement of His intentions was sufficient to provide a foundation for our trust. Humans, however, respect the value of an oath. Catering to the needs of the people who heard His promise, God supported His word with an oath to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear. God’s use of an oath supplied evidence no one could doubt.
Not only was it “impossible for God to lie,” but His ever truthful Word was supported in this case by His oath. These are the “two unchangeable things,” which encourage those who “hold firmly to the hope set before us.”
But God did not do this oath only for Abraham. He has also given His promise and oath to “the heirs of promise” (Heb. 6:17). Abraham and his descendants are the first of these heirs (cf. 11:9), but all believers are included as “Abraham’s [spiritual] seed” (Gal. 3:29). So our assurance of salvation is guaranteed by God’s promise and God’s oath, “two unchangeable things” (v. 18). We have “strong encouragement” concerning the hope set before us! Hebrews is a book of encouragement, not discouragement!
Verses 19–20: The strength of God’s promise provided hope and encouragement for the readers of Hebrews. Where did they find this hope? The first two reasons come from verse 18 and the final two reasons come from verses 19 and 20.
First, they found it in the complete trustworthiness of God’s Word. When God—who cannot lie—supports His statement with an oath, His followers find hope and encouragement.
Second, they could find it through their own tenacity in seizing the hope that was available. Retaining hope demanded strong action. The readers had drifted along aimlessly. They needed to understand and grasp the promises the Father had offered them. They should flee to Christ for security and protection from the uncertainty of the world.
Third, they found it in a safe and secure “anchor”—Jesus, our High Priest. We have a firm basis for our hope because Jesus finished His work on earth and continues that work in heaven as our High Priest, carrying us into God’s very presence. He has gone before us as a forerunner and is the assurance of our admission into God’s presence. His prayers for His people guard the church (Heb. 7:25) and give believers the hope of future glorification. Christians find a basis for hope in the completed and continuing work of Jesus.
The exaltation of the Son in verses 19-20 is another thing that confirms the certainty of the promise. The image suggested in verse 18 by the words “have taken refuge” of hope was that of a fortified refuge. By a swift change in their figure, the writer then suggested the thought of a harbor where “the soul” may securely drop “anchor.” That “anchor” has been carried to the safest point of all— one which enters within the veil —by “Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.” The Greek prodromos (“forerunner”) and is defined as “being a precursor, going before, or going ahead.” And if the harbor imagery is still in mind it recalls the role of sailors who leave their ship in a smaller craft in order to carry the anchor forward to a place where it can be firmly lodged. So too the Lord Jesus, by His entrance into the heavenly sanctuary where He functions as “a High Priest forever,” has given to a Christian’s hope an anchorage from which it cannot be shaken loose. Since, therefore, the readers’ hope was sure, they could cling to it tenaciously right to the very end.
Fourth, they found it because Christ is our High Priest forever. The fact that we have access to God’s presence forever gives us a firmness for our hope. This is a new idea. The next chapter of Hebrews develops the relationship of Christ as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.