When God Makes Promises

Read Hebrews 6:13-20

Context: In this chapter Paul is taking the Hebrews beyond the basics to learn how to be spiritually mature.

Text:
13 God made a promise to Abraham. And as there is no one greater than God, he used himself when he swore to Abraham,14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."[a]15 Abraham waited patiently for this to happen, and he received what God promised.
16 People always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they swear. The oath proves that what they say is true, and this ends all arguing.17 God wanted to prove that his promise was true to those who would get what he promised. And he wanted them to understand clearly that his purposes never change, so he made an oath.18 These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he makes a promise, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given.19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong. It enters behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in heaven, 20 where Jesus has gone ahead of us and for us. He has become the high priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.[b] (NCV)

Footnotes:

Hebrews 6:14 "I . . . descendants." Quotation from Genesis 22:17.
Hebrews 6:20 Melchizedek A priest and king who lived in the time of Abraham. (Read Genesis 14:17–24.)
taken from www.biblegateway.com

So what is the difference between a promise and an oath? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, an oath is "a solemn usually formal calling upon God ...to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says."

A promise, on the other hand, is "a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified." The definition goes on to state that many promises can be upheld by the law (wow...I'm glad my kids don't know that).

I try not to promise things that I won't do, but sometimes it happens. This summer I promised that I would take the boys to Six Flags at least once...after all they had worked hard for their free tickets. I'm not sure where the summer went, but August came around, school started, and their tickets expired. While I feel (yet again) like a scum mom, they are slowly forgetting about it as they focus on upcoming holidays.

But when God makes a promise, he is obligated to fulfill it. When he goes further and makes an oath, represented by something tangible, it's almost like a double dare promise. Either way, when God says he'll do it, we can be sure it will happen. And think of what he's promised us! That he is watching out for our best interests, that he has plans for our future, and that he is preparing a place for us in heaven. These are promises that we can trust.

Hey...God does all things in his own time, right? Maybe I can use that line with the boys and take them to Six Flags next year!