Hebrews 6:19-20

Hebrews 6:19-20

The anchor for our souls

V19    The metaphor being used here is obvious, all ships carry anchors, when they need to come to rest and cannot tie up to a jetty or wharf, they must lower the anchor. An anchor is deliberately made so that it digs into the seabed, and it is heavy enough and strong enough to take the weight of the boat and stop it from drifting in the current. God’s Word is our anchor; we trust that He will never lie to us and that everything He says is true. Therefore, no matter how violent the storms of life may be, we are securely held in place, and we can trust our anchor, there is a place of security for us, we will not always be troubled by the currents and tides of the world. That is why our journey in this life requires faith, sometimes just to cling on and wait for the opposing and dangerous elements to ease. 

However, an anchor is of little use if there is no suitable seabed for it to take hold and just look at the seabed the Lord has provided for us! “It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain!” Jewish minds immediately understood what was being referred to here, as do we. The inner sanctuary was the Most Holy Place in the Temple, the room where only a High Priest could go, and that once a year. The inner sanctuary was hidden from the rest of the priesthood by a curtain 60 feet high, 30 feet wide and believed to be a hand’s width thick. Behind that curtain was the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. No unqualified man, or woman, could enter that place without fear of death, an intimate, close encounter with God was never possible for ordinary people, even ordinary priests! And yet, we are now being told that we can readily cast the anchor of our souls into that Holy Place and that it will find a sure foundation so that our faith will remain stable and secure. 

The other, extraordinary aspect to this is that all sea anchors are dropped down and their weight carries them to the seabed below. Our heavenly anchor has an upward trajectory; it ascends through the clouds into the heavenly sanctuary where God dwells and where Christ reigns. Whenever we exercise our faith and put our trust in God’s Word and believe that we have an eternal hope and a God who will never lie to us or break His Word, then we make an immediate link with that heavenly throne room and a strong, unbreakable connection is established that will always hold fast. How does that work? The next verse will explain all!

 

V20      This verse expands on the theme of its predecessor, v19, and then gives us a anticipatory glimpse of what is to follow in chapter 7, a spoiler alert! 

We ended v19 wondering how on earth we might discover a means to entering the inner sanctuary of God, whose throne is hidden behind a symbolic curtain, that curtain being the spiritual barrier between men and the heavenly realms. It is indeed an earthly problem! As human beings we are firmly stuck here on the planet with no physical access to God’s inner sanctuary, in fact, those ancient High Priests stood more chance of meeting God than we could ever dream of. There is no miraculous ladder or lift shaft that can whisk us up from Terra Firma to the heavenly realms. Even the most ambitious of our space projects only just manages to penetrate the inner boundaries of the heavens above us. Yet, one man found a way. As His disciples watched on, Jesus took advantage of the abilities of His resurrection body and was whisked up before them high into the clouds, never to be seen since. However, the Spirit of God visited various of the early apostles and explained to them precisely what had happened. The fullest explanation is contained here in this Book of Hebrews, and it will occupy our thoughts for weeks to come. Jesus entered heaven’s sanctuary, the first man ever to do so, a feat far greater than any human expedition to the moon! Jesus entered that inner sanctuary on our behalf, not just to guarantee our future destiny but also to make it possible for us to enter the holy presence of God, here and now! 

The verse goes on to explain that Yeshua became our High Priest, a theme that was first aired in chapter 5:6-10 and that will occupy the entirety of chapter 7 of this intriguing epistle. There’s another little teaser added, Jesus has been appointed our High Priest forever and He is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Let’s look forward to finding out exactly what this means and how it impacts our walk with the Lord.  

 

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