Heb 6:9-20
SS Lesson for 06/23/2024
Devotional Scripture: Heb 10:19-25
The Bible occasionally depicts the keeping of contracts or the honoring of promises in a similar way. In the Old Testament, people might seal a deal by making a vow to the Lord. A Bible dictionary defines a vow as “a voluntary promise to God to perform some service or do something pleasing to him in return for some hoped-for benefits” (examples: Genesis 28:20-22; Judges 11:30). A vow could be made to abstain from certain things (example: Numbers 6:1-8). The law demanded that those who uttered a vow were bound by it (Numbers 30; compare Deuteronomy 23:21-23; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). That’s crystal clear regarding human obligations. But what about God’s promises? The answer is found in today’s lesson.
The book of Hebrews is unique in the collection of New Testament letters in that the author’s name is never divulged. But anonymous doesn’t mean completely unknown since the original readers had a personal relationship with that person (Hebrews 13:22-24). Throughout the centuries, scholars have speculated that the writer could have been Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, Luke, Paul, or Priscilla. Even so, the book’s anonymity does not make it any less God’s truth; not stating the identity of the author was a common practice at that time, especially when the original audience had a connection with the author. Even though we don’t know the author’s name, the original audience did! The absence of a title to this letter in the earliest existing Greek manuscripts makes it challenging to identify the original recipients. Some scholars think that the author lived in Rome. This assertion is based on the writings of Clement of Rome (lived about AD 35-99), who cited numerous passages from Hebrews (see the many quotes from Hebrews 1 in the nonbiblical 1 Clement 36). In addition, there is a reference to Italy in Hebrews 13:24. The lack of information regarding the recipients has resulted in no shortage of proposals! The passage of time alluded to in Hebrews 5:12 is thought to indicate that a second generation of believers is in view. The word remember in Hebrews 13:7 is taken to support this proposal, as this verse challenges the original audience to recall instructions from the leaders of the first generation of believers. This theory is viable as long as the word remember is intended to mean “recall information from memory.” But the Greek word translated remember can also mean “keep thinking about,” as it seems to intend in Hebrews 11:15. There, the same underlying Greek word is translated “thinking.” In any case, the many references to the priesthood and numerous Old Testament personalities (Hebrews 11) point to an audience of Jewish background.
There are various ways to outline the book. One way is in terms of five passages of warning. These five are Hebrews 2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:12; 10:19-39; and 12:14-29. Each warning section includes a call to salvation and a vivid description of the consequences if God’s way is rejected. Today’s lesson text includes part of the third warning. This passage consists of four sections split between negative and positive appeals. Hebrews 5:11-14 is negative, balanced by the positive 6:1-3. Hebrews 6:4-8 returns to a negative warning and is offset by the encouragement found in today’s lesson.
. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished, 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
17 I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed."
7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you,
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you."
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
28 Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!" 29 "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished, 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father."
34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ decrees the Lord, ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies. 18 Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants’” (Genesis 22:15-18, emphasis mine).
13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” 15 And so by persevering, Abraham inherited the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:13-18).
Let’s begin with the account in Genesis. The promise which God affirmed by His oath is found in Genesis 22. It comes immediately after Abraham’s greatest test of faith – his willingness, if necessary, to sacrifice his son Isaac in obedience to God’s command. This was now Abraham’s only heir, the one through whom God’s covenant blessings would be fulfilled. And now God commands Abraham to offer this son up as a sacrifice. We know from Hebrews 11:19 that Abraham did so in faith, believing that if he did so God would raise Isaac from the dead.
The promise that God made in Genesis 22 was not something new. It had been made at various times and occasions during those years before and after Isaac’s birth. It was initially given in Genesis 12:1-3, as the basis for leaving both home and family and seeking the Promised Land. It was repeated in chapter 13 after Abram and Lot separated (13:14-17). In chapter 15, God assured Abram that the promised seed would not be the child of one of his servants, but his own offspring. We are then told that Abram believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (15:6). In response to Abram’s faith, God sealed this promise by making it a covenant with him (15:7-21). In chapter 17, God affirmed his covenant with Abram and gave him the sign of circumcision. He also clarified that the promised son would not only come through Abram, but that the mother of that descendant would be Sarai. God even gave Abram the name of that child – Isaac. In chapter 18, the Lord specified that Isaac would be born at the same time the following year.
Over time and by repetition, God became more and specific about His covenant with Abraham, and further assurances were also given. Moses makes it clear that the assurance is based upon God’s character and His covenant, and not upon Abraham’s perfect performance. Several lapses in Abraham’s faith are recorded in the period between the initial promise and the offering of Isaac. In Genesis 12, shortly after the first recording of the Abrahamic Covenant (12:1-3), Abram leaves the Promised Land and sojourns in Egypt because of a famine. To protect himself, Abram passes off Sarai as his sister, resulting in her being added, for a time, to the Pharaoh’s harem. It was only God’s divine intervention that spared Abram’s life and Sarai’s virtue (12:10-20).
There were further failures as well. One was when Abram, at his wife’s suggestion, took Hagar (Sarai’s handmaid) as his concubine and produced an offspring (Ishmael) through her (Genesis 16). And then in Genesis 20, we find Abraham repeating his same deception of passing off Sarah as his sister – resulting in her being temporarily added to Abimelech’s harem. And lest we think that he only did this on these two occasions, Abraham’s confession to Abimelech seems to indicate that this kind of deception was their usual practice:
11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 What’s more, she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 13 When God made me wander from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother”’” (Genesis 20:11-13, emphasis mine).
My point in emphasizing Abraham’s failures is to show that God was faithful to fulfill His promises to Abraham, even though this man’s faith was not without its failures. The birth of Isaac was God’s doing, for which Abraham can receive little credit. Abraham’s faith sometimes failed, but God’s promises to Abraham were certain.
So we return to the question I raised earlier: “Why does God now affirm his covenant with Abraham by swearing an oath after the greatest test of his faith?” Shouldn’t God have given an oath before this test, rather than after it? Let’s consider some important factors in the answer to this question.
First, hope is the basis for endurance. Hope inspires and encourages endurance. We’ve seen this already in verses 11 and 12, as well as from Romans 5:1-8. We see this also in Romans 8:
24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance (Romans 8:24-25).
Second, hope is also a reward for perseverance and trusting in God’s promises. A more certain hope is the fruit of (or reward for) endurance. God’s promises were the reason why Abraham left his homeland and family and set out for a new country. God’s promises assured Abraham in those years that he and Sarah were growing older and thus even less able to bear children. God’s promises inspired Abraham’s faith and thus his endurance. But the reward for having endured for more than 25 years was an even greater promise, a promise confirmed by an oath, a promise that assured Abraham of God’s commitment to bring His previous promises to fulfillment. This time the promise of God was confirmed with an oath, an even greater guarantee than that which he had received earlier. And thus, Abraham had an even greater hope set before him.
Third, God’s oath was His confirmation of His promises. In our text, we are told that men swear in order to confirm their statements and to remove any doubt about them. In order to give confirmation of their words, men must swear by something greater than themselves (verse 16). Thus, when men swear to tell the truth in a court of law, they swear with their hand on the Bible. Since God is greater than anyone or anything else, He can only swear by Himself (verse 13). God swears to remove any doubt as to the certainty of His promises being fulfilled.
Fourth, God’s oath assured Abraham because he had not yet seen the complete fulfillment of God’s covenant promises, nor would he before his death.
13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. . . . 39 And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us (Hebrews 11:13-15, 39-40).
Abraham was promised the land of Canaan, but he had to purchase a portion of that land for a burial place. Abraham was promised descendants that were as numerous as the sand of the sea, or as the stars in the heavens, and yet at this point in time he had but one son, Isaac. Abraham was promised that his seed would become a source of blessing for all nations, but this promise was not fulfilled as yet either. As the time of his death drew ever more near, God knew that Abraham would benefit greatly from a further confirmation of His covenant promises. This further confirmation came after the offering of Isaac, by means of God’s promise being confirmed by an oath.
Fifth, the confirmation of God’s promises to Abraham was not just for Abraham’s benefit, but for his descendants as well. His oath gives strong encouragement to the heirs of promise:
17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:17-18, emphasis mine).
His descendants would include Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David, but they would also include those Gentiles like us who share Abraham’s faith in God:
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression either. 16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (Romans 4:13-16, emphasis mine).
Sixth, the confirmation of God’s promise to Abraham made it clear that this covenant was unconditional, and thus unchangeable.
17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:17-18, emphasis mine).
It is important to recognize that not all of God’s promises are unconditional (or unchangeable). Consider, for example this text in Jeremiah:
7 There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. 8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it. 9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom. 10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it (Jeremiah 18:7-10, emphasis mine)
Some prophecies, for example, are warnings that can be avoided by repentance. For example, there was the warning that Jonah proclaimed to the Ninevites:
When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)
The king of Nineveh called for repentance in case God might be merciful:
7 He issued a proclamation and said, “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water. 8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly to God, and everyone must turn from their evil way of living and from the violence that they do. 9 Who knows? Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we might not die” (Jonah 3:7-9, emphasis mine).
As the king of Nineveh hoped, and as Jonah assumed, God was merciful and compassionate, and thus in response to Nineveh’s repentance, He suspended the judgment5 Jonah proclaimed was coming in forty days. This greatly angered Jonah, who did not share God’s compassion toward sinners:
1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. 3 So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” (Jonah 4:1-3, emphasis mine)
As Jeremiah indicated, the impending judgment that God threatened was stayed, because He had indicated that repentance may forestall divine judgment. Daniel understood this as well, and this is why he appealed to Nebuchadnezzar to repent, in order to avoid (or at least forestall) God’s judgment:
24 This is the interpretation, O king! It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king. 25 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes. 26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged” (Daniel 4:24-27, emphasis mine).
When God confirmed His covenant with Abraham with an oath, He was indicating to him that this was a covenant that was unconditional. This was done so that Abraham (and his descendants) would be assured that His promises to him would most certainly be fulfilled. Nothing would prevent His covenant promises from being fulfilled.
Let me illustrate how this works. In Genesis 15, God entered into His covenant with Abraham, making some very specific commitments regarding the exodus, which He sealed by a formal covenant-making process:
9 The Lord said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. 18 That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River – 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites” (Genesis 15:9-21).
When the Israelites sinned in worshipping the golden calf, God threatened to wipe out the nation and to start a new nation through Moses. But look at the basis on which Moses intercedes for the Israelites:
10 So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.” 11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people (Exodus 32:10-14, emphasis mine).
Moses did not promise God that the Israelites would try harder and do better. In truth, they persisted in their unbelief and rebellion, so that this generation would die in the wilderness, and the second generation would possess the Promised Land under Joshua. Moses interceded with God on the basis of His (Abrahamic) covenant promises, His character, and His glory. The unchangeableness of this covenant gave Moses the courage to boldly intercede for the Israelites.
The author tells us, his readers, that God gave us strong encouragement by two specific matters in which He could not lie:
17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:17-18, emphasis mine).
So just what are these “two unchangeable things”? Scholars do not all agree on this matter, so I will just tell you my opinion as to what these “two unchangeable things” are. I believe these two things are matters in which God has confirmed His promise with an oath, matters which are found nearby in Hebrews. And these would be the two promises which were confirmed by an oath:
Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself . . . (Hebrews 6:13)
20 And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 21 but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’” – 22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:20-22).
Thus, I believe that the two unchangeable things which the author of Hebrews has in mind are the Abrahamic Covenant (chapter 6), and His oath by which He appointed the Lord Jesus a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek (chapter 7). These two covenant promises are the basis for our salvation, sanctification, and eternal security. How much more secure could our salvation be?
It is fascinating to me how our author describes the security of those who put their trust in Christ for salvation:
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 take hold of the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:18, NASB95; emphasis mine).
Why does the author use these words to describe our trust in Christ (confession of faith) for salvation? I believe that this man is so saturated with the Old Testament that he virtually drips with Old Testament words and imagery. No wonder scholars can’t agree among themselves as to how often the author refers (or alludes) to the Old Testament (though they all agree it is very often).
These words reminded me of several Old Testament texts:
12 “Whoever strikes someone so that he dies must surely be put to death. 13 But if he does not do it with premeditation, but it happens by accident, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly, you will take him even from my altar that he may die” (Exodus 21:12-14, emphasis mine).
6 Now from these towns that you will give to the Levites you must select six towns of refuge to which a person who has killed someone may flee. And you must give them forty-two other towns. 7 “So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. You must give these together with their grazing lands. 8 The towns you will give must be from the possession of the Israelites. From the larger tribes you must give more; and from the smaller tribes fewer. Each must contribute some of its own towns to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance allocated to each. 9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, 11 you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee. 12 And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community. 13 These towns that you must give shall be your six towns for refuge. 14 “You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge. 15 These six towns will be places of refuge for the Israelites, and for the foreigner, and for the settler among them, so that anyone who kills any person accidentally may flee there. 16 “But if he hits someone with an iron tool so that he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death (Numbers 35:6-16, emphasis mine).
49 All of Adonijah’s guests panicked; they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. 50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword’” (1 Kings 1:49-51, emphasis mine).
We know that God established cities of refuge where a man who unintentionally killed another could flee to avoid being killed by an avenger. If a man were found to be guilty of murder, he would not be protected and would be killed by the avenger. But if he was found innocent, he could flee to one of the six Levite cities of refuge. In order to be protected, the man must stay in the city of refuge and not go outside it, or the avenger could kill him. He must stay in the city until the death of the current high priest,6 then he could go outside the city. It appears from Exodus 21 that there was a custom whereby a guilty man would flee to the altar and grasp its horns as a plea for protection. If the one who did so was found not guilty of murder, then he could flee to one of the cities of refuge.
I believe the author of Hebrews is using this Old Testament imagery to portray the safety and security Christ alone offers as the Great High Priest. It is to Him that the Christian can flee for safety. The believer grasps Him by faith, just as the manslayer grabbed the horns of the altar. In Christ, the believer finds safety, as the manslayer found safety in the city of refuge. What a picture of the safety and security of the saint. And, incidentally, since our High Priest lives forever, we find refuge and safety in Him forever.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:19-20).
The author changes to different imagery to describe the safety and security of the Christian. Because our hope is secure in Christ, due to God’s oath and His character, we need only to cling to Him as our Great High Priest, whose substitutionary death on the cross of Calvary paid the penalty for our sins, and whose mediatory high priestly ministry at the Father’s right hand gives us access to draw near for help in our time of need.
The imagery of an anchor should come as no surprise to the reader of this epistle. It no doubt is used because of what we have already read in chapter 2:
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Hebrews 2:1, emphasis mine).
It is not difficult to see how an anchor prevents drifting. A certain hope in God’s covenant promises made to Abraham and his descendants, guaranteed by God’s oath, is the anchor for our souls. As it is unchangeable, so it is immovable. We shall not drift if we cling to Christ. And these unchangeable promises are found in the Scriptures, Old Testament and New. Thus, we dare not neglect God’s final Word, revealed in the person of His Son (2:1-4).
Incidentally, these promises which are the basis of our hope and of our endurance, are a prominent theme in the Book of Hebrews. Some form of the word “promise” occurs 17 times in Hebrews, more frequently than in any other book of the Bible.7
Switching imagery once again, the author now moves to the holy of holies and the veil separating it from the holy place. I am convinced that the author intends for us to see much more than what lies on the surface, but I’m inclined to think that he is whetting our appetite for what he is going to say in chapters 9 and 10. For now, I believe that he is indicating to the reader that Jesus, the object of our hope, has entered into the holy of holies as our forerunner. There He made atonement for our sins once for all as our Great High Priest, a Priest after the order of Melchizedek who lives forever. As Guthrie indicates,8 this serves as an “on ramp” to chapter 7.
(Adapted from URL https://bible.org/seriespage/15-standing-promises-hebrews-613-20)
The state of Alaska covers some 586,000 square miles of land, which is more than 375 million acres. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in one of the largest land deals in history. Adjusted for inflation, the purchasing power of that sum of money was about $122.2 million in 2018. That was the year that Amazon purchased the home security company Ring for an undisclosed amount that many experts estimate to be approximately $1 billion. Therefore, Amazon’s purchase was about 90 times what was paid for Alaska! There are many differences between these two transactions. But they had one thing in common: money needed to change hands to seal the deal. When God promised Abraham that his offspring would bless all nations, that was the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant. It was a promise that reached beyond Abraham’s immediate descendants to encompass the entire world. The fulfillment of the promise lay in the work of Jesus on the cross. Once humanity’s debt of sin was paid, no further payment was required. That means that we are invited to be heirs to the promise, not to be the purchaser of the promise. The question is whether or not we can live out this life-changing truth. To live this truth means that we rest in the work of Christ and cease trying to redeem that which we have already inherited through faith.