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Hebrews 6:13-16
Hebrews 6:13-16
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
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1. Donald Blind
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Romans 3:27 "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith (dia nomou pistews)." That's what this is all about. This is the first time Paul mentions Abraham since Hebrews 2:16 "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham." Jesus came exemplifying faith. That was His nature, not Adam's nor his seed. This is what our Lord fulfilled upon the cross--the law of faith--for without it the Father cannot be pleased, Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him." Adam was not of faith because he did not believe God, Genesis 2:16-17, "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." God promised by Himself then, and it came to pass. Adam died. Now God promises again by himself, and it came to pass. Abraham believed, and it was accounted to him for righteousness; He lived.
God gave a blessing to Adam and Eve: Genesis 2:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." We know that they didn't exercise the law of faith because they didn't patiently endure, but Abraham did.
God is the greater, so He had to sware by Himself. Man does it, but it will only come from evil, Matthew 5:37.
Donald E. Blind
dblind@erols.com
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2. Jim McClarty
In the previous verses, the author has exhorted his audience, "And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (v.11-12).
Follow them, says he, who realize that our God is a God of promises. Though He is under no obligation to reveal Himself, instruct, save, or even commune with any of us, God has nevertheless dangled promises throughout His word. Some of those promises were to specific people and they occurred almost immediately - such as the promise to Joshua that the moment the priests bearing the ark touched the soles of their feet to the water, the water would part for them to cross over (Josh.3:13). Other promises were immense and have evolved over hundreds, and even thousands, of years. One such promise is interwoven into our text.
The point, though, is that God's promises are trustworthy. The faithfulness of God is laid bare for all to see every time He casts a promise out into time and history, and if even one of God's promises ends up wanting, then God is less than perfect and complete. So, our author, encouraging his readers to be faithful and patient, knowing that God will not be unrighteous to forget them, points to the primary Old Testament example of faith under trial and patience under extreme "impossibilities" - the first Hebrew. (Gen.14:13)
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, (6:13)
How secure are God's promises? If they are not entirely certain, then we can't rest our eternity on them. But God, Himself, is the surety of His own promises. The veracity of His word is backed by the dependability of His character. One of the chief attributes of God is that He is faithful. And since there is no larger object of faith toward which God could exercise His faithfulness, He is, in fact, faithful to Himself. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself" (2Tim. 2:13).
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. (6:14)
The author harkens back to a specific event from Genesis22, referring to Abraham up on Mt. Moriah preparing to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise.
Now we know which event to hone in on. The whole passage is:
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Gen 22:15-18)
God intended that this promise be secured with an infallible seal. So, there being nothing greater than God, God swore by Himself--by His own unchanging Self. So, again, how secure are these promises? Regardless of how we choose to interpret these promises and their fulfillment, they must absolutely be fulfilled to the "Nth degree," because the very credibility and faithfulness of God hangs on every word.
And what a wonderful, far-reaching promise it was! It spoke of generations of people growing innumerably. It spoke of victory over their enemies. It spoke of world-wide blessing. But there was one little problem for Abe. He was in his early hundreds. He had exactly two sons. That's not exactly a nation, and two guys can't guard all the gates of their various enemies. Plus, even if they started walking immediately they couldn't reach the whole earth to be a blessing to them. The promise was so large that it over-reached Abraham's ability to see it brought to fruition during his terrestrial lifetime.
So, what would be the proper response? Faith and patience.
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (6:15)
Here's where things get a bit dicey. Theologians wrangle over verses like this one. The words clearly say Abraham obtained the promise - including descendants like the sand and stars, superiority over their enemies and blessing to all the nations of the earth. The question, however, is "when?" When did Abraham obtain it?
To say he obtained the fullness of this promise in his lifetime requires that we diminish the promise rather dramatically. But we can gain a great deal of insight into Abraham's relationship with God's promises by looking at an earlier lesson. This occurred back before Isaac was born:
And he (God) brought him (Abram) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?....And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." (Gen 15:5-8,13-16)
When God promised the land of Canaan to Abram, and Abram questioned God for proof, God's response was that He would control the flow of human history to bring it about, but Abram would die and be buried. Abram wouldn't live to see the fulfillment of it, but the generations which carried the promise would live out God's guarantee, and their ultimate destiny, back in that very same land, would be the answer to Abram's question.
God is not limited to time or fleshly lives. His promises and their fulfillment may occur over the span of many lifetimes. God sees them as one continuous flow of gracious fulfillment, even as the actors within the framework of God's providence come and go.
So, back to our original question - when did Abraham, through faith and patience, obtain the promise? I think Jesus answers our question:
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:56-58)
There are two things going on in this verse. Number one, Abraham lived to see the day of Christ, and he rejoiced it. Why? Because it was part of this promised fulfilled. Through Abraham's descendants all the nations would be blessed. This is that blessing - the Messiah has come, and, Abraham was witness to it; he obtained the promise.
The second revelation in this verse is that Christ pre-dates Abraham. Being God - Jesus identified Himself as "I AM" - He was there from the start. Hang on to that thought, because it's going to show up again when we discuss Melchizedek. Think of it as "Coming Attractions."
So Abraham obtained eternal life after leaving this tent of human flesh. From that vantage point he saw his seed expand without number, and he witnessed the coming of the Christ, the blessing to all the earth, the "Seed" singular. And, by the way, Christ had declared, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"(Mat.16:18). In His resurrection He obtained the keys to death, hell, and the grave. Talk about " thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies," what a victorious Conqueror!
Abraham believed God. He endured patiently, despite circumstances which indicated the exact opposite. He waited patiently as God methodically wove the strands of history into a divine tapestry, bringing the promises together. And Abraham saw it. Chalk it up as "promise obtained."
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. (6:16)
This verse is a continuation of the idea that God swore by Himself. The central idea is that the oath of promise settles an issue. This verse is actually connected intrinsically to the next verse: "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath" (Heb. 6:17). So we'll pick this thought up next week.
CONCLUSION:
Let's apply what these verses teach to our situation. We are under a New Covenant which was confirmed and purchased with Christ's own blood. Contained in that covenant are several promises. For instance:
Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)
Or, how about
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John3:15)
Or,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
These are really good promises. And, the same veracity of God which was on display way back in Genesis is just as active where everyone of these promises is concerned. If any one of them can be proven to fall short in any minuscule way, God is not true and our lives are in jeopardy.
But, God is faithful. That's essential. God is faithful. He will hasten to perform His word (Jer.1:12).
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Num.23:19)
So, what should our response be? Trust the promises. Through faith and patience we will obtain every promise He has offered us. We will be joint-heirs with Christ. We will be forever in the light of the unapproachable glory of God. Our bodies will rise from their graves and be "like Christ." These are almost unfathomable promises. But, they are promises nonetheless. And, they are promises which we will obtain.
Trust it. Believe it.
God's faithfulness to Himself will perform it.
Jim McClarty
McClartyfam@juno.com
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3. Michael T. Cruz
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, (6:13)
This verse testifies to the majesty and omnipotence of God. We have all borne witness to the giving of oaths. Whenever a witness enters the witness box to be questioned in court, he must first give an oath before God that he will tell the truth. Even in our secular society this has not been done away with because we still look for someone greater than ourselves by which we can hold others and ourselves accountable. Imagine if you will, a being so incredibly powerful, so without accountability, that he has no other one to which he can be accountable. This may sound like the IRS, but this omnipotent one is the God upon whom Christians believe, and He is benevolent--unlike the IRS! I find this image of God swearing by Himself somewhat humorous yet not in any kind of irreverent manner. Imagine how it must have been when God decided to enact His covenant with Abraham. In His omniscience, he realized people desire assurance that there is something behind a contract other than empty words. So, in order to assure Abraham, God goes looking for the notaryīs seal to make the contract formal. But who can hold God accountable? Most believers of the sovereign grace of God would agree that God is accountable to no one and will do all that He pleases (Job 23:13, Psalm 115:3). Heaven is a lonely place for God since He does not share His privileged power with anyone. So, He swears by Himself and gives His Word that the covenant with Abraham will be fulfilled. This was His way of putting a stamp of approval upon the covenant with Abraham. Now, notice what Hebrews 11:23 states, "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend." He trusted Godīs word and that was the end of it!
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. (6:14)
This brings us to verse fourteen where we can see the effect of imputed righteousness. God knew Abrahamīs descendants would be as the sand upon the beach but it was not conditioned upon Abrahamīs faith. We can see in the sin with Hagar that Abrahamīs faith was not spotless. In spite of Abrahamīs imperfect faith, God promised He would make him the father of many descendants. In the same way, we enter into salvation by faith in Christ Jesus, and we are credited with a righteousness we do not have on our own or that we can not obtain by anything we have to offer God. Christīs sacrifice paid the debt we owe God; we enjoy this through faith, and it is credited to us as righteousness. Thatīs a winning proposition!
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (6:15)
Again in verse fifteen, we are presented with two statements that are absurd from a human standpoint, yet from the spiritual viewpoint, they glorify the imputed righteousness of God. The first part of this verse states Abraham waited patiently. If we look at Abrahamīs life as revealed in scripture, it hardly seems fitting to state that he waited patiently for what was promised. As a matter of fact, his doubt that God would fulfill His promise led to his son Ishmael's birth. We still have the descendants of this “wild donkey of a man,” whose “hand is against everyone” and who lives “in hostility toward all of his brothers” as evidence of Abrahamīs unfaithfulness (Genesis 16:12). How was Abraham patient? We see this in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, “...and it was accounted to Him as righteousness.” This is not because of Abrahamīs imperfect belief that it was accounted to Him as righteousness, but it was through faith God imputed to him righteousness. In essence, righteousness it is in addition to his faith but they always appear in pairs. Again in the second part of the verse, we see that Abraham received what was promised, but from what we see in scripture Abraham never got to see his descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky. He probably got to see some part of his lineage but certainly not to the extent which God ultimately brought about in fulfillment of the promise. Because it was promised, because God put his seal of promise upon that covenant and because of Who it was that made the promise, God Almighty, it was as good as fulfilled in the same way that the blood of Jesus Christ was applied to believers before the crucifixion took place (Revelation 13:2, 8). And so “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.”
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. (6:16)
I think the full impact of what the writer states here is lost because of the way our culture deals with the concept of an oath. When we go into a court and testify, we swear by a God that is greater than us as a measure of accountability. However, there are several problems with our present system of justice that make this not a good comparison, but it is valid if we clear up a few things. First of all, when men swear oaths in court, it is not always trustworthy and we must often result to the corroboration of witnesses in order to establish a reliable testimony. Also, even a corroboration of witnesses may not end the argument, and so it continues in the appeals process. In our time it is rare for men to be taken at their word because of mistrust. Obviously, in the time this was written, a personīs oath was binding and was an acceptable way of dealing with accountability. Even though we live in a society which is almost based on untrustworthiness, we have One who has sworn a true oath to us, and in that we can rely totally. This oath of God puts an end to all argument for we know the steadfastness of our God, and we can rest assured that He will, one day, bring about all He has promised.
Michael Cruz
a_la_cruz@technologist.com
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4. Maurice Bergeron
For when God made promise to Abraham, (6:13a)
When man makes promises he often disappoints those to whom he has made promises by not keeping his word. Not so with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not so with our God whose sacrificed Son bears the scars of a promise fulfilled.
What was the promise God made to Abraham?
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (Genesis 22:15-17)
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
multiply thee. (6:14)Godīs promise to Abraham is made sure by these words. See Gen. 22:17.
Question. Could Abraham have had any doubts as to whether God would fulfill His word?
We are familiar with the record. Abrahamīs life bears out the truth that, like us, he had his moments of weakness. Be mindful though, in spite of Abrahamīs doubts and failings, God kept his word to him and blessed him. In fact the promise and the resulting blessing are still reaching the mark set as lost souls are gathered in as God keeps His word to Abraham.
He obtained the promise, (6:15)
Abraham did obtain was what promised. Through the sure word of God, Abraham was blessed beyond his wildest dreams. Why should God enter this manīs life and make such a promise? Without said promise, Abraham would have come to nothing. His name and life would have long since been forgotten had not our God met him and blessed him. The same can be said for all Abrahamīs children. We have been forever changed by the promise of the God of Creation to a lowly undeserving frail creature made from the dust of the earth. God promised and we, in Abraham, have obtained.
For men verily swear by the greater: (6:16)
I believe this is a very significant statement because, under the Old Covenant made with Israel, men would swear by the covenant engraved upon stone. They would swear by the signs of that covenant such as the tabernacle, the temple, and other symbolism which pointed to the Sinatic agreement. Failure to keep oneīs oath when made with respect to that covenant was as good as breaking that covenant. Death was the ultimate end of all who broke covenant.
In our Lordīs day the idea of making an oath with regard to the covenant dropped to an all time low. Consider the following words of our Lord;
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. (Matt. 23:16-22)
And now consider what our Lord said in Matt. 5:33-37:
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time (*Lev 19:12), Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
* Lev. 19:12, "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD."
As mentioned above, I believe this is a very significant statement because the writer to these Hebrew Christians is deliberately pointing to an oath made by God prior to the institution of the Sinai agreement. Godīs oath required only His good and sure word. His word was the establishment of His agreement (covenant) with Abraham and it was guaranteed by His own most holy person.
Interesting? Hang on it gets better. Under this glorious New Covenant we are to lay aside all symbolism, shadows and types, tabernacles, temples and altars and do as He has instructed us in Mt 5:37:
Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay:
for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.Our Lord removes swearing and oath keeping from the realm of the Old Covenant and instructs us to make sure that our yes means yes and that our no means no and that is exactly what He himself did with father Abraham.
Because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Our word then, should be as good as His word, just as He gave His word to father Abraham.
By the keeping of His promise to Abraham we have Life. Yea! I'm so happy it was not a nay.
Maurice Bergeron
ic@mdc.net
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5. Tim Clifton
Introduction:
God is not unrighteous (v. 10). We, who are saved (v. 9), will inherit the promises ( v. 12), and that is because God's counsel is absolutely immutable (v. 17)! This passage (13-16), will be an example of that immutability of His counsel. To a patriot, you might go, for an example, to Washington, or Lincoln. To an Englishman, or a Frenchman you might go to one of their national heroes. But to a Jew, you go to Abraham, and that is exactly where we find ourselves. How can we be so sure that we will inherit these promises, instead of an end of burning, such as we have just been warned? Let's cut down to where the rubber meets the road and consider the real force, the real strength, and the real stability behind our faithful Father (in a Hebrew sense) Abraham! We will see that Abraham's blessings, and our blessed hope of the inheritance of all the promises of God are based on no less than the very person and righteousness of Almighty God Himself!
...He could swear by no greater,... (6:13)
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Why place our hand on the Bible (at least historically), and swear by Almighty God? Most people in the witness stand are not Christians or Jews, except in a nominal sense, so why that classic question? The answer is because there is nothing known to mankind in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth that remotely compares to the greatness and magnificence of God Himself. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" Rom. 1:20.
His eternal power and Godhead are not great or greater, they are greatest, and there is nothing else anyone, believer or infidel could possibly swear by that could surpass the magnificence of our great God, and THEY KNOW IT! And so, swearing by Himself, God promised to bless and multiply our Father Abraham. Did He? The Jews who read this epistle knew He did, and in spades! God can be surely trusted. What He says, He will do, and none can stay His hand. He is God, and there is none like Him. So He sware by Himself.
...after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (6:15)
So Hebrew brethren (and all of God's precious elect reading these words) "be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (v.12). Abraham endured some grief and so have and will you. "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29). But we have a better hope, and there WILL BE an end to your trials. As our example, Abraham patiently endured. " .. If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Pet. 1:20). "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:7,8).
But you say each day is nothing but aggravation and strife, and you are more than weary of the constant pulls that keep you from loving Christ like you really want to and know you ought. Please let this thought be an an end of all your strife. Everything you are hoping for, everything you are banking on, and everything in you that keeps on keeping on, day by day, according to the hope that lies within you, is based on nothing less than the greatness and goodness and righteousness of the God of the Universe in keeping His promise to you! And He will keep His promise to all that call upon His Name! God can be counted on to be true, and that, He will assuredly always be! Abraham obtained the promise on the integrity of God's oath, and you will also make it, Christian, on that same power, through Christ Jesus, in whom is the power of an endless life. God is, and there is none greater. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. (2 Thess.2:16,17).
In Christ,
Tim Clifton
tclifton@hotmail.com
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