Daily Meditations

Hebrews 6:16 Promises, oaths and faith This is a bit of a strange verse, but the author has a point to make. He wants his Jewish readers to understand that God’s promises will be fulfilled. He also wants them, and us, to be convinced that even though we may not yet see the fulfilment of all things, because God has spoken, it will be done. In this way we will, “ through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”  Romans 4:12. The point here is obvious, when we humans make an oath and need to affirm its authenticity we don’t do it by a stranger or a name that carries no weight. The subject of our oath must be someone or something greater than ourselves or that is extremely precious to us. We aim to convince the other party that what we say is true for we are willing to put someone or something we treasure at stake! As we read in this verse, an oath made on the Bible or on the name of one who is dear to us, adds weight to our legitimacy and there should remain no doubt that o...

Hebrews 6:15 Abraham and the promise Many commentators suggest that this verse applies to the early promise God made to Abraham when He urged him to leave the Chaldean city of Ur and head for Canaan. At that time God told him,  “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  Abraham certainly had to be patient to earn those promises for he had to wait for 25 years to have the son that would fulfil them. Having said all that, God did not accompany those promises with an oath so it’s not likely that these are what are being referred to here, in verse 15. It seems more likely that Abraham’s name is being used as a metaphor for Israel, As their father, Abraham, must wait patiently to produce a son, so his descendants must wait patiently to see their family grow, their progeny develop into...

Hebrews 6:13-14 The promise to Abraham What was the promise that God made to Abraham? There were several, but the promise in view here was made after Abraham voluntarily took His son, Isaac, to the altar of sacrifice and was prepared to offer him to the Lord. This was an outstanding moment of human loyalty and obedience but also of faith and absolute humility before the Lord God. Thus the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham with the words of Yahweh,  “ I swear by myself,   declares the   Lord , that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,   I will surely bless you   and make your descendants   as numerous as the stars in the sky   and as the sand on the seashore.   Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring   all nations on earth will be blessed,   because you have obeyed me.”  Genesis 22:16-18. The use of an oath when making promises in human sit...

Hebrews 6:12 Faith and patience Oh, a little bit of a scolding here! The modern world is all about our rights, about “me”, about making time for leisure, rest and play. Please don’t get me wrong, God insists that we rest and take time out with Him, but there’s nothing in the Scripture that suggests we need time for ourselves, or for a cosy retirement, or that we should put off for today what can be done tomorrow. The life of the true follower of Jesus Christ is one of activity, busyness and endeavour, there is a vast harvest field to be reaped, a large church to be constructed and the toil is relentless. Yes, we are all different and some take longer than others to perform their tasks and others need time to listen as well as to act, but whatever camp we fall in, laziness is not acceptable. Notice from chapter 5:11 that one of the author’s complaints was that the believers “ no longer tried to understand.”  In other words, we need to apply ourselves to the Word of God as well as to...

Hebrews 6:11 Diligence to the very end “Diligence”, that’s quite a word! It is defined as “the steady, earnest, and persistent effort applied to a task, characterized by careful work, perseverance, and industry. It represents a strong work ethic or virtue, often involving meticulous attention to detail to achieve a goal.” Presumably, the author of Hebrews used this word, or its equivalent, with due consideration, and we should therefore use it too as a yardstick for our own service for the Lord. How many brothers and sisters do we know who fit these criteria, or are their heads turned by the headline-grabbers, the personalities or the professionals who operate in churches? If we are faithfully getting on with helping others out of love for the Lord, then let us not give up, but press on to the  “very end.”  Remember, there is no such word as retirement in the Bible! The advice in this verse has a corollary, “ that what we hope for may be fully realized.”  In chapter 3:6 w...