For men indeed swear by a greater, and with them the oath is a term to all dispute, as making matters sure.
Hebrews 6:16 points to a habit everyone knows: the oath that ends an argument. The writer uses this custom to explain a puzzle — God's bare word is already perfect, yet He added an oath to His promise to Abraham.
An oath calls God in as witness. Once a person swears, the argument is over.
A solemn declaration with an appeal to God that what is said is true. The apostle said that among men an oath for confirmation is the "end of all strife" or dispute.
People can question a man's plain word. His sworn word closes the case. God chose to put that same weight behind His promise.
People give far more weight to an oath than to a man's mere word. So grace on God's part stoops to make this solemn oath, to give us unshaken assurance of His blessing. In fact His word is just as certain as His oath. But the very fact that He swore shows His tender compassion toward man, because He wants us to be fully sure. How marvellously gracious He is!
This verse treats the oath in court as good, not evil. One writer draws out what that means for the courtroom today.
But we must carefully remember that our Lord in no way forbids an oath before the magistrate or judge. This is not evil but good, being of divine authority. For men swear by a greater, and the oath puts an end to all dispute by making matters sure. To refuse it is to deny God's authority in those who represent Him in earthly things. Scripture calls such men by His name, translated "judges," as in Ex. 21:6, Ex. 22:8-9, 28.
Courts still put witnesses on oath, and the reason says something about us.
Why are men put on oath in the law courts of the land? Because they are capable of lying. The psalmist said in his haste that "all men are liars" (Ps. 116:11), and men have not changed. In happy contrast we are told that it is "impossible for God to lie."
One case breaks the rule of verse 16. There is no one above God.
When God made His promise to Abraham, He could swear by no greater, so He swore by Himself. The entire glory of God is therefore involved in this great oath. Wonderful, unchangeable, absolute certainty!
If God's word alone is enough, why the oath? The answer lies in the state of the person receiving it — not in any deficiency in God.
God had already given good ground of assurance to Abraham, who led the way. He had added His oath to His promise: a wonderful confirmation for the tried, even though they were far from being opposers. When the conscience is in earnest, we feel our own weakness, and the way of Christ seems difficult, dangerous and off-putting. So the gracious wisdom of God gave His oath in addition to His promise, as we may read in Gen. 22:17-18.
The verses that follow turn this everyday custom into a guarantee for everyone who has run to Christ.
It was not for Abraham's sake only that God gave this twofold guarantee, His Word and His oath. God acted on certain principles towards the fathers of old. He applies those same principles to the children of faith now, so that "we might have a strong encouragement." … He gives strong encouragement to everyone who has fled to Christ for refuge from judgment. They can take hold of the hope set before them, instead of turning back because of the difficulties on the way.
And that encouragement asks very little faith of us.
This same strong consolation is designed for us in connection with the very smallest measure of living faith in the Word of God. It is not a question of great attainments in knowledge, experience or devotedness … The very feeblest spark of God-given faith secures eternal life, strong consolation and everlasting glory, because "it is impossible for God to lie."
- Custom — An oath calls God in as witness and ends a dispute. It carries far more weight than a bare word.
- Exception — God had no greater to swear by, so He swore by Himself. His whole glory now stands behind the promise.
- Reason — The oath adds nothing to God's truthfulness. It is tender compassion meeting a tried conscience that feels its own weakness.
- Reach — The double guarantee was never for Abraham alone. God applies it to everyone who has fled to Christ for refuge.
- Result — It is impossible for God to lie. So even the faintest real faith rests on His word and His oath, and need not turn back.
Wherein God, willing to shew more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, intervened by an oath,
God gave Abraham a promise, and then He swore an oath on top of it — and this verse tells us why He did it. God's word never needed propping up; the heirs of the promise needed convincing.
God's word was already certain, so His oath added nothing to it. What the oath added was reassurance for the people who inherit the promise.
Notice first that His counsel cannot change: change is absolutely impossible. The oath adds nothing to the Word; it only confirms it. But it shows the abundant goodness of God's heart. He is willing to give the heirs of the promise every encouraging assurance.
God gave this oath in Genesis 22, after Abraham had been willing to give up his son Isaac and had received him back. The extra assurance came to a man who had just been through the hardest test of his life.
He had added His oath to His promise: a blessed confirmation for those under trial, even though they were far from contradicting Him... When the conscience is in earnest, we feel our own weakness, and the way of Christ looks hard, dangerous, and unattractive. So the gracious wisdom of God gave His oath as well as His promise, as we may read in Genesis 22:17-18. It was a precious encouragement to a man who at that very moment received his son back, as if raised from the dead.
Where the ESV says "purpose," older translations read "counsel." The word does not mean advice. It means settled intention. The first readers of this letter had left Judaism for Christ, and others pressed them hard to go back. They needed to hear that God's intention toward them could not be revised.
The word "counsel" really means purpose. Who would know better than God how much these hearts needed strengthening? They had turned from Judaism and accepted Jesus as their Lord... So God led the apostle to tell them that He had an unchangeable purpose, and that He had bound Himself with an oath to carry it out. That purpose had their eternal blessing in view.
The verse does not say God swore the oath for Abraham alone. He swore it for "the heirs of the promise" — everyone who believes.
God did not give this twofold solemn guarantee for Abraham's sake only, or for those who came right after him... So He stepped in with an oath. He wanted to lift the eyes of all who believe away from present, visible things to that hope which rests on His word, confirmed by His oath. What love, that He stoops to those who march through enemy country!
The two unchangeable things are God's word and God's oath. Both come from one side only. That is the whole point. A promise rests on one party keeping it. An agreement between two parties fails if either party fails.
Where the principle is promise, the blessing depends on only one... Now in this matter of our eternal salvation, God wants us to have absolute certainty, sure and steadfast. So He gave us two things in which it was impossible for Him to lie — His promise and His oath... As with Abraham, God confirmed the promise of Genesis 12 when Abraham received Isaac back from death as a picture, in chapter 22. So the promise is fulfilled to us in the actual death and resurrection of Jesus. What certainty! What strong encouragement!
The image here comes from Israel's cities of refuge. Someone who killed a person by accident could run to one of these cities and be safe there. That is the picture behind fleeing to Christ for refuge.
So there are two unchangeable things: His Word and His oath. In both of them it was impossible for God to lie. Through them He gives strong encouragement to all who have fled to Christ for refuge from judgment. They can take hold of the hope set before them, instead of turning back because the way is hard. The picture is the city of refuge, where a person who had killed someone could flee.
- Purpose. God's purpose is settled. The verse says it cannot change at all.
- Promise. God gave that purpose to Abraham as a promise. A promise rests on one party alone, which makes it safer than any two-sided agreement.
- Oath. God added His oath after Abraham was willing to give up Isaac. The oath added nothing to His word. It showed His goodness: He stoops to reassure people who feel their own weakness.
- Heirs. The two unchangeable things were not for Abraham only. They lift the eyes of every believer off what is seen and on to the promised hope.
- Refuge. The result is strong encouragement for those who have fled to Christ, as people once fled to the city of refuge. That is a reason not to turn back when the road is hard.
that by two unchangeable things, in which [it was] impossible that God should lie, we might have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.