Our Father Who Gives Hope
I had a conversation about 15 years ago with a youth pastor who was about 20 years my senior who was sharing some of his experiences in ministry. I remember a few things he said, but the biggest takeaway was his thoughts on my generation compared to previous ones. He said my generation only knew change. Everything we lived through was in constant change.
I think about that conversation every once in awhile when talking with younger generations than myself, because as much as I saw the world change in the first 25 years of my life, I am astounded how much has changed in the last 15. Futurists have predicted even more exponential growth and change in the world for the next 10-20 years.
Much of this change has been good. Technology is better, though we need more wisdom now in how we use it. Medical treatments, wealth building, and in general, criminal activity have all improved. That last one might be a little hard to believe, but that’s usually because we watch the news too much. FBI statistics have shown improvement in the last 30 years.
Of course, some of the change is not so good. While comparisons between the 90s and this decade show a drop in crime, those same stats show a growing trend in the last 10 years. Technology has also given us social media, and though it has some redeemable qualities, studies are coming out that demonstrate severe effects on our brains—especially for children. But, I think the biggest change is how we view authority and those in power. Consider this: when was the last time we, as a society in general, trusted someone in government, media, or churches? That last one hurts me personally, but I am not naive enough to ignore the fact we have seen way too many religious leaders fail at their responsibility to care for their people well.
In the 60s, the political establishment came under scrutiny. In the 70s, the social establishments came under scrutiny. In the 80s, we saw the downfall of many televangelists—though apparently not enough, since religious swindlers still dot the airwaves. And those were all before I became a teenager. The 90s and 00s saw even more rebellion, even more pursuit of happiness (read pleasure), and as I lived through the 10s, I saw more and more of my generation walk out of the church doors. And, do we need to even mention 2020? Still too soon?
As we reflect on the last 60 years of history in this country, it is no wonder people have a difficult time finding hope in a better future. Anxiety and depression are rampant. Even children and teenagers, those who are supposed to be too naive to have such issues, even find themselves hopeless. And, I know, it has to do with how they watch the adults in their life live with so little hope. If you are younger than 60, you have never lived without some type of social upheaval, war, or pandemic. And some of you older than 60 would want to remind me about Korea and the Cold War.
But, here’s the good news. We can have hope.
I don’t recommend finding hope in some technological breakthrough—though more will come, I’m sure. Nor would I recommend looking for hope in politicians—that’s like trying to build wealth by gambling in Vegas. The house always wins, and politicians always play to whomever will keep them in power. And I certainly wouldn’t look for hope through social media—it’s probably the reason you haven’t been sleeping well.
No, our hope is in Jesus Christ who came to us 2,000 years ago to give us eternal life and make all things new. We know he is returning, and when he does, this world will be made new. And I know this is true, because of what God has been doing for the thousands of years of human history. Let’s continue our look in Hebrews and see what I mean.
As we begin, let’s back up a bit to Hebrews 6:11.
The Source of Our Hope | Hebrews 6:11-12
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:11-12
The author desires that each of us have the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end that he does regarding their life and salvation. He wants us to share in the same hope of glory that he does. And through that hope, we would not be sluggish in our faith, but imitate those who will inherit the promises of God. So, who are “those” in verse 12? The rest of the chapter will explain “those” are the people who share in the same promise of Abraham.
Before Christ, the Israelites knew their ancestry began with Abraham whom God called out of the land of Ur to build a nation unto Himself. Israel was a holy nation that would be God’s special people in which all the nations would be blessed. Now, because of Christ, we can share in this same covenantal promise to be God’s people.
The source of our hope of a greater future is Christ who fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham to bless all nations.
Hebrews will go on to explore two characters from Genesis who foreshadowed the work of God through Christ—Abraham and Melchizedek. Let’s begin this week with Abraham.
The Anchor of Our Hope | Hebrews 6:13-20
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.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 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. 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, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:13-20
Hebrews brings us back to Abraham to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to make a nation for himself. In Genesis 17, the passage we read earlier, God establishes the ritual of circumcision with Abraham that becomes the mark of every Hebrew. While it is unnecessary today to go over this ritual, let’s take a look at what God promises in Genesis 17.
In verse 5, Abram becomes Abraham. “Abram” means “high father” or “exalted father”. It is singular in meaning. But now, he will be “Abraham” which adds a plural suffix giving him the name “father of a multitude.” His first name probably referred to his wealth, but now his name will reflect the blessing that will flow from his people.
In verse 6, Abraham will be “exceedingly fruitful”. He will not just have a family, he will father nations of people. This particular part of the covenant is most noteworthy for our passage in Hebrews because typically, “nations” arise from the same family in the context of the Old Testament. When this word is used throughout Genesis, for example, it has to do with the people that descend from a particular person in a genealogy. Even the Israelites are one ‘nation’ named for Israel, who was called Jacob first. So, how can one man give rise many different people groups? It is through Jesus.
Abraham was promised to bless all nations through his lineage. That lineage eventually makes its way down to Jesus, born of Mary a descendant of Abraham, who fulfilled the Law and Prophets in order to establish the new covenant in which now all who surrender to Christ will join in the inheritance of Abraham. Regardless of nation, race, or any other category of people used in this world, “Anyone calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
God’s covenantal promises with Abraham become available to all nations and people because Jesus has made it available.
Jesus opened the door for all nations to enter into the same covenant of hope by entering “the inner place behind the curtain.” This phrase refers to the tabernacle (later Temple) which held the “Holy Place” that only the priests were allowed to enter. Within the Holy Place was the Holy of Holies in which only the high priest could enter once a year. Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was a curtain or veil.
We don’t typically think about this curtain, but the imagery of it is significant, especially in light of what Hebrews is teaching us. The curtain itself was actually a tapestry woven with blue, purple, scarlet, and white thread. It was embroidered with images of cherubim, heavenly creatures, and the stars. The curtain was meant to represent the veil between heaven and earth. The Holy of Holies, where the presence of God would reside, was protected by images of heaven’s protectors and the stars. It was a physical reminder of the utter transcendence of God. God exists apart from, and beyond, all space and time.
It was an utter impossibility in the Jewish mindset to enter into the actual presence of God unless God made Himself available through a vision or some manifestation. And even if one did happen to find themselves standing before the Almighty, we would be devastated by His glory because of our sin. It would be like trying to approach the sun. The closer someone would get, the more destructive God’s glory would be.
And yet, the Son of God came down to us. He lived among us taking on flesh and the name of Jesus. He went to the cross to pay the penalty of our sin, and in doing so, he also made himself worthy to enter the Holy of Holies that exists in Heaven. You may also recall that after Jesus died, this same curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom signifying the barrier between heaven and earth has effectively been torn. Hebrews will return to the temple imagery later, but for now, we can recognize that Jesus’ work goes beyond the cross. After His resurrection, he ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father acting as our Great High Priest who intercedes for us. He can do this because He is worthy to enter the Holy of Holies—“the inner place behind the curtain.”
Jesus makes heaven available to us because He was worthy to enter Heaven first.
The Boldness of our Hope
Now, these things are so because God has made them possible. And before we close today, I would like to take one more look at verses 16-18. Hebrews assures us how solid our hope is based on two points.
First, God’s character is “unchangeable.” He does make promises flippantly nor without forethought. James 1 reminds us,
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17
God’s very nature is unchanging, and so, too, are His promises. He does promise to love us and then fail on that promise. He does not promise to save us and then let us go into ruin. His very name, “YHWH”, simply means “I AM” because He is and will be who He has always been.
Our promise of salvation is unwavering because God is unwavering.
Second, God Himself decided to verify His promise through an oath. Now, there is nothing greater than God, so He had to swear upon Himself, but the fact still remains He swore an oath to Abraham. We tend to take for granted oath-swearing in our day. For Abraham and much of human history, taking an oath meant invoking a deity who would ensure the oath stood. You may have heard it said, “May God strike me dead if…”. The idea is simply that if the person is lying, God would strike them dead. This pattern is a simplified version of the ancient oath.
The oath is redundant based on what we know about God, but for Abraham (and for those who struggle in their faith) the oath puts assurance on His promise. It solidified for Abraham that he was not dealing with pagan deities who waver in their allegiance and duties.
Now, for us today, we are in a privileged spot in history. We have the privilege of reading this story of Abraham, as well as the entirety of human history, to see the faithfulness of God. Abraham lived some time around 2000 BC. We have 4,000 years of history that tell the wonderful faithfulness of our God. Just as Abraham was patient and received God’s promise, so too, can we read about the multitudes of people who believed God would fulfill His promises in their life, and they did. Hebrews 11 is known as the “heroes of the faith” chapter because the author lists many, many examples of the faithful who received the promises of God. Many more exist in Church History, and exponentially more exist that we know nothing about because their names did not get recorded in a history book.
Our hope in God has already been proven reliable time and time again throughout human history.
As we close today, look one more time at verse 12. Hebrews reminds us of these things so that we can live as imitators of those who inherit the promises of God. Our hope is not just so that we can die well. It is so that we live well. We endure the hardships of life because we know they will pass, and God will vindicate our faith. We celebrate the victories we have in life because we know it is God who gives us every victory. And we bring life to this life knowing that we get to take part in God’s restoration of all things. Abraham was promised that his people would be a blessing to all nations. We can join in this work of being a blessing to all nations because Jesus has made the way for us to inherit the same promises and blessings of Abraham’s children.