We serve a God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand
generations, who does not lie and who keeps His promises. Many times
in Scripture we are reminded of these truths. God wants us to know
that we can trust Him. He wants to remind us that He will do what is
best for us and will never fail us. He wants us to be fully aware
that He is the God who is there who will never leave us or forsake
us. Our God says what He means and means what He says.
In Hebrews 6, we are reminded again of the covenants God made with
Abraham and with us.
"
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear
by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will
bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he
had patiently endured, he obtained the promise." (v 14-15)
When God made this covenant with Abraham, He swore an oath. Some
states have now changed, but until recent years, when a person would
testify in court in the United States, they had to swear to "tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me
God." That oath, in God's Name, was supposed to deter people
from lying .
When God swore an oath, He did not swear by His Name, He swore by
Himself. Do you see the difference? God didn't just say, "I
promise in My Holy Name." He put all of His character, the
vastness of His power, the brightness of His glory, the light of His
holiness and truth... the sum of who He is on the line for Abraham.
It was almost as if God was saying, "If I ever break this oath,
I will cease to be." He wanted Abraham to know what He wants us
to know. Our God is faithful to the uttermost.
That same passage in Hebrews goes on to explain the surety of
God's covenant with us as those who have anchored our lives in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for
confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing
more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the
forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for
ever after the order of Melchisedec." (v. 16-20)
God wants us to see, understand, know and experience the
"immutability of his counsel." What He says is
unchangeable. His declarations stand for all eternity. His Word
abides forever. His promises will endure throughout all time. He
wants us to be so fully assured of His faithfulness that He swore an
oath with us also. When He covenanted with Abraham, God swore by
Himself. When He covenanted with us, the church, He made a double
oath:
"...that by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us..."
What are those two
"two immutable (unchanging)
things"? The context
shows that the first is God the Father, and the second is His Son,
"even Jesus, made an high priest for ever." Because He
wants so much for us to be fully confident, and fully assured of His love
grace, mercy and salvation, God made this double oath with us.. with
YOU... with ME. He swore by all that He is and all that His Son is
that He will keep us as His own for all eternity. God wants you and
me to
"lay hold upon the hope set before us."
We have no reason to ever doubt our position, no reason to ever
doubt His love, no reason to ever be afraid, no reason to ever feel
insecure. Our God gave His only Son for us. Then, He laid everything
on the line for you and for me. He put all of His character, the
vastness of His power, the brightness of His glory, the light of His
holiness and truth... the sum of who He is on the line for you and
for me. Then, to give a double emphasis of His great faithfulness,
unchangeableness and truthfulness, He didn't stop there. He also put
His Son on the line.. all that He is... for you and for me. It is
almost as if God is saying, "If I ever break this oath, I will
cease to be and My Son will cease to be." He wants you to know
and He wants me to know that our God is faithful to the uttermost.
The God who does not change has sworn an unchangeable, double oath to you by
"by two immutable things."
You can trust Him in all things.
Dead Sea Sunrise. Photo by Grauesel
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
