When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Have you ever wanted to make a promise so strong you would do anything in the world you could … to keep it? I have made a few of these types of promises. First, I promised to love and cherish my wife, until death do us part. Second, when I was in high school, I promised to not drink alcohol until 25, in a pact with a good friend whose father was an alcoholic.
On the first one, my marriage vows, I have remained faithful to my wife, but I have to say that try as I did, I did not love her well all the time. Sometimes I was selfish. So, my promise was well intended, and I kept the heart of it but failed at times. The second one I kept. Some promises are easier to keep than others.
God made a promise and an oath. And to confirm the promise and the oath, he swore by himself (as no one is greater). He then fulfilled both his promise and his oath. Abraham received what was promised. And God's promise to Abraham stands today, fulfilled throughout the ages, in this time, and it will continue to be fulfilled in the future. God has made a great nation out of the heirs of Abraham. Jews are the original heirs of this promise. But they, in large part, turned away from God. And so, through Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross (paying the price for our sins), now Jews and Gentiles can enter into the family of God.
God always keeps his promises. Do I remember the promises of God, found in the Bible, each day?
Lord, thank you for your promises. They are so precious. They are so true. Help me to remember and claim them every day as I wake and get ready to serve you.
