Hebrews 6:13-16
For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
- Having boldly reflected on the faults of the Hebrews, and sufficiently alarmed them, he consoles them, first, by praises, and secondly (which also is the stronger ground), by the [thought] that they would certainly attain the object of their hope. Moreover he draws his consolation, not from things future, but again from the past, which indeed would the rather persuade them. For as in the case of punishment, he alarms them rather by those [viz. things future], so also in the case of the prizes [set before them], he encourages them by these [viz. by things past], showing [herein] God’s way of dealing. And that is, not to bring in what has been promised immediately, but after a long time. And this He does, both to present the greatest proof of His power, and also to lead us to Faith, that they who are living in tribulation without having received the promises, or the rewards, may not faint under their troubles.
And omitting all [the rest], though he had many whom he might have mentioned, he brought forward Abraham both on account of the dignity of his person, and because this had occurred in a special way in his case.
And yet at the end of the Epistle he says, that all these, having seen the promises afar off, and having embraced them, received them not, that they without us should not be made perfect. For when God made promise to Abraham (he says) because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. How then does he say at the end [of the Epistle] that he received not the promises, and here, that after he had patiently endured he obtained the promise? How did he not receive? How did he obtain? He is not speaking of the same things in this place and in the other, but makes the consolation twofold. God made promises to Abraham, and after a long space of time He gave the things [spoken of] in this place, but those others not yet.
And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Do you see that the promise alone did not effect the whole, but the patient waiting as well? Here he alarms them, showing that oftentimes a promise is thwarted through faintheartedness. And this he had indeed shown through [the instance of] the [Jewish] people: for since they were faint-hearted, therefore they obtained not the promise. But now he shows the contrary by means of Abraham. Afterwards near the end [of the Epistle] he proves something more also: [viz.] that even though they had patiently endured, they did not obtain; and yet not even so are they grieved.
- For men verily swear by the greater, and an Oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. But God because He could swear by no greater, swore by Himself. Well, who then is He that swore unto Abraham? Is it not the Son? No, one says. Certainly indeed it was He: however, I shall not dispute [thereon]. So when He [the Son] swears the same oath, Verily, verily, I say unto you, is it not plain that it was because He could not swear by any greater? For as the Father swore, so also the Son swears by Himself, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you. He here reminds them also of the oaths of Christ, which He was constantly uttering. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes in Me shall never die.
What is, And an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife? It is instead of, by this every doubtful question is solved: not this, or this, but every one.
Hebrews 6:17
God, however, ought to have been believed even without an oath: wherein (he says) God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it [lit. mediated] by an oath. In these words he comprehends also the believers, and therefore mentions this promise which was made to us in common [with them]. He mediated (he says) by an oath. Here again he says that the Son was mediator between men and God.
Hebrews 6:18
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible that God should lie. What are these two? The speaking and promising; and the adding an oath to the promise. For since among men that which is [confirmed] by an oath is thought more worthy of credit, on this account He added that also.
Do you see that He regards not His own dignity, but how He may persuade men, and endures to have unworthy things said concerning Himself. That is He wishes to impart full assurance. And in the case of Abraham indeed [the Apostle] shows that the whole was of God, not of his patient endurance, since He was even willing to add an oath, for He by whom men swear, by Him also God swore, that is by Himself. They indeed as by one greater, but He not as by one greater. And yet He did it. For it is not the same thing for man to swear by himself, as for God. For man has no power over himself. You see then that this is said not more for Abraham than for ourselves: that we (he says) might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. Here too again, after he had patiently endured he obtained the promise.
Now he means, and he did not say when He swore. But what the oath is, he showed, by speaking of swearing by a greater. But since the race of men is hard of belief, He condescends to the same [things] with ourselves. As then for our sake He swears, although it be unworthy of Him that He should not be believed, so also did [the Apostle] make that other statement: He learned from the things which He suffered, because men think the going through experience more worthy of reliance.
What is the hope set before us? From these [past events] (he says) we conjecture the future. For if these came to pass after so long a time, so certainly the others will. So that the things which happened in regard to Abraham give us confidence also concerning the things to come.