Drop Anchor

May 30

Read: Hebrews 6:13-20, Gal. 3:29

Drop Anchor

“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.” (Heb. 6:13)

“And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:29)

God is always the one holding up BOTH sides of the bargain. He is the one who will ALWAYS make good on his promises. He can do this because he is the most powerful creator of the universe. There is “no one greater by whom to swear”. (v.13) God has made a promise to his people… and if we are in Christ then we are children of that promise. (cf. Gal. 3:29) What good news to realize our hope is rooted in God’s promises not our performance. The Lord’s promise is to “bless and multiply” his people. This is a work that only God can do, and he is doing it through his Son - Jesus Christ.

God made both a promise to Abraham and also a covenant with him. (cf. Gen. 22:17,18, Gen.15:1-21) When he made this covenant, Abraham was put into a deep sleep and the Lord himself played the role of both sides in forming the covenant. Imagine a contract that has two parties, each signs and has a role. What is fascinating is that Abraham was asleep and God signed the proverbial contract on both sides. Why? Because HE was going to hold up both ends of the bargain; just like his promise hung solely on him as well. God - from the beginning - has ben doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. When we are weak, he is strong. When we lack, he provides. The is pictured for us in Abraham. So we see again in Hebrews these “two things” (a promise, and a covenant where God holds up both ends of the bargain) mentioned:

“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.” (v.17,18)

God is seeking to “convince us” of his purpose… of the reliability of his promise and the nature of his work. The scriptures call this the “unchangeable character of his purpose”. His goals are the same today for his people as they were back then! God reminds us of these things when we are “running for our lives”, scared, afraid, or overwhelmed. Do you see it? These encouragements are for those “who have fled for refuge”… those who have run away to try and hide and save their lives! Imagine being that hard-pressed. Even in that moment, God wants us to have “strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”

Jesus is our ultimate “strong encouragement”. Our hope is anchored in one whom “there is no one greater by whom to swear” and the one who has made an oath and “cannot lie”. HE is the one who has promised to “bless us” and “multiply us”. HE is doing the work. Whatever it is that we are running from… seeking refuge from… he meets us there to encourage us with this truth. He holds ups both ends of the bargain and does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. “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…” (v.19) Jesus is the ultimate example of this truth. God put on flesh, and came to earth to live the life we could not live, die the death we deserved to die, and exchange his life for ours! In Christ we find the consistent fulfillment of God’s promise to us… his children. Jesus is our anchor. Jesus is the one who “anchors our soul” deep within us. Do you trust him? It is time to “drop anchor” and stand firm! Love you guys. - JDP