A Promise and an Oath!
Abraham waited a very long time for a promise that God gave Him to come to pass. No doubt with every year that passed, he kept looking up into the heavens, saying, “surely this will be the year”. And, as the year closed out, without the promise fulfilled, he would probably say,”next year…” and so it went on year after year. If we are honest, we are looking at some promises and feeling the same way as Abraham. And some of us may not even be as righteous as Abraham was; we might be already gripping and complaining, even moving away from God because we are offended in Him. Yet the scripture tells us that “Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness”.
I don’t know about you, but I need to have some righteousness accounted to me. Fortunately, there is a way:
15 So Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled. 16 It is very common for people to swear an oath by something greater than themselves, for the oath will confirm their statements and end all dispute. 17 So in the same way, God wanted to end all doubt and confirm it even more forcefully to those who would inherit the promises. His purpose was unchangeable, so God added his vow to the promise. 18 So it is impossible for God to lie for we know that his promise and his vow will never change! Hebrews 6:15-18 (The Passion Translation)
It has been established that Abraham “waited patiently” for his promise, for he took God at His Word, and he knew God’s Word meant something. In today’s culture, when people’s word is no longer their bond, where there are meaningless words given as promises that are broken and scattered over the pages of our lives. it is easy to understand that it might be a little hard to wait for a promise until you are 100 years old! Yet, the point is not how long you have to wait, or even what your posture is in waiting. The point is that there is a promise-keeper who has told us that He vows to keep His promise.
While each person has to determine their belief in this promise-keeper God, it has also been established throughout scripture that this God cannot lie, that what He purposes cannot be changed. Knowing the frailty of man, God said He would go one better. He not only gave His promise, but He also gave His vow to that promise. Thus we have two things to let us know that His promise is sure, and that we can wait on it.
Maria