Daily Thoughts from Hebrews: Anchor for the Soul (6:13-20)

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. 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. 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 forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:13-20, ESV)

In Genesis 22 Abraham has obeyed the voice and command of God and has taken his son Isaac to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah, where the Temple would later be built by Solomon.  His trust in the promise of God is being tested to the max.  If his faith in Yahweh or in Isaac?  He proceeds to sacrifice his son only to be stopped by the angel of Yahweh and is told by Yahweh that Yahweh swears by Himself in response to this act of faith to bless Abraham and multiply him through Isaac.

What are the author’s readers trusting in?  Jesus or Judaism (Isaac)?  The readers are the heirs of the promise and need to be convinced in their own hearts that God has promised by an oath to fulfill their hope.  Their hope is for genuine forgiveness of their sins and a right relationship with God.  And He has provided just that through the sure and steadfast anchor of Jesus who is high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek and can take that once-for-all offering into the holy of holies in heaven and make atonement.

There is waiting involved before the promise is obtained.  It is impossible for God lie.  The promise will be fulfilled.  It is being fulfilled like it was to Abraham.  He did not see the multiplication of his offspring into a mighty nation, but he saw the beginning of it.  We have not seen the kingdom of Christ come to earth yet, but we have seen the beginning of it.  And we believe God will keep His word better than even human oaths can guarantee.

 

Where is your soul anchored?