An Anchor for the Soul

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:19, 20

We understand that the great Abrahamic Covenant [God’s promise to Abram when he departed Haran, as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3, that he would make a great nation from Abram and bless all the peoples on earth] was made to a man who had no physical offspring. We also understand that the reiterations of the covenant promise were also made when he still had no children [Genesis 13:14-17]. Another ten years in the land go by and Abram still had no children, when one fateful day while suffering from post-battle fatigue incurred from defending the land from four kings [Genesis 14], he drifted off to sleep. Suddenly God spoke: “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward” [Genesis 15:1]. Despite these rallying words, Abram, still discouraged, voiced his fear that because he was childless his estate would go to his servant. At this low point, God spoke to him, “‘A son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” [15:4,5]. Abram’s response sealed his fate as the father of our faith: “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” [15:6]. The aged patriarch rested everything on God’s Word. As a result, he was declared righteous apart from works, fourteen years before circumcision [Genesis 17] and hundreds of years before the Law!

Finally, Abraham and Sarah were given their dream in baby Isaac – and in that little boy, soon grown to manhood, they saw the promise in full bloom. Yet there was one more test and perfection awaiting the patriarch’s faith. Abraham was well over 100 years old according to Genesis 22, when God said to him, “‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about’” [22:2]. Easily, this is the most shocking command ever given to any human being by God! We can imagine the numbing horror that must have spread over Abraham’s soul. This makes his ready obedience almost as equally shocking, because with the first glow of dawn, without a word to aged Sarah, Abraham saddled his donkey, quietly called for two servants and his son Isaac, split wood for the sacrificial pyre, and began the terrible journey [v. 3]. How could he do it? We wonder. Our text gives us the answer: “On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you’” [vv. 4,5]. Abraham was confident they would return together! This was because, as the writer of Hebrews reveals, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” [11:19; vv. 17-18].

Imagine the poignant exchange between father and son as they ascended Mt. Moriah – Isaac’s dawning realization that he was the sacrifice – the construction of the altar – Isaac’s voluntary submission to his father as he was bound – the sobbing, the kisses, the tears, the terrible blade in the father’s trembling hand – the nausea, the darkness – the imminent convulsions of his only son – all this shows the tip of Abraham’s emotions as he faithfully carried out God’s will. Then with the blade poised for descent, the angel of Heaven called out, “Abraham! Abraham!” and we know the rest of the story in all its tender redemptive glory. But do we remember the final pronouncement of the angel of the Lord – because it has everything to do with our text in Hebrews: “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” [Genesis 22:16-18].

The significance of this from the perspective of the writer of Hebrews is that whereas God had repeatedly promised Abraham he would make a great nation from him, He here swore an oath to do so. Here in Hebrews 6 tells us: “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.’” God was so pleased with Abraham’s supreme act of faith that He did something He had never done before – He swore that the promise would come to pass. The pertinence of this to the little Hebrew church as it braced for the tempests ahead is expressed in the next line: “And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised” [v. 15]. This is an implicit call to the church for a faith that is so firm it enables steadfastness through the uneven seas of life. Abraham’s faith saw the unseen. He saw a living God who was sovereign in all of life – he saw his sacrificed son resurrected and living on – he saw himself fathering a sea of humanity – he saw blessing for the whole earth. And because he saw this, he was gloriously long-suffering through many years.

Many wonder why the God of the universe would swear an oath when He had already given the promise repeatedly. Regarding human oaths the writer says, “Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument” [Hebrews 6:16]. This is essentially why God chose to swear by an oath. God did not have to swear by an oath, but He did so as a condescension or accommodation to human weakness. Of course, in choosing to make an oath, He could only choose to swear by Himself because there was nothing or no one higher to swear by. And why was God so premeditative about making His oath? Verse 18 answers, “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 offered to us may be greatly encouraged.” This is powerful encouragement indeed because the “two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie” are His word of promise and His oath. His promise to Abraham, and to us, can do nothing but come true because God’s “Word is truth” [John 17:17] and because God “does not lie” [Titus 1:2]. He is the author of truth, the essence of truth. His oath, though unnecessary, is the double assurance that He cannot lie. Truth has sworn by truth that its truth shall truly be fulfilled. His Word is eternally sealed with the double surety of promise and oath.

Because of this, “the hope” we have fled to and take hold of is sure. We must understand that it is an objective hope, and not the subjective, sentimental optimism the world so readily embraces. It is true that optimism is certainly better than pessimism. Yet, blind, secular optimism flourishes best where the ground is shallow and without the real difficulties of life. Optimism is good for the body, but it will not save us. I have seen a number of hopeful, optimistic people die, many of whom were cancer patients. Looking at the bright side of things may seem bold and brave, but if it involves a foolish neglect of facts that suggest the opposite, it only makes the subsequent failure more bitter. Bankruptcies often visit those who insist on only looking at the bright side of their finances without considering the potential negative possibilities.

However, the hope spoken of here by the writer of Hebrews does not originate within us, but comes from the outside. New Testament scholar William Lane says categorically, “In Hebrews, the word ‘hope’ never describes a subjective attitude [i.e. ‘our hope’ or ‘hopefulness’] but always denotes the objective context of hope.” Here our hope centers on the objective promises of God, which are fleshed out for us in the ultimate blessing of the world through Jesus Christ. The “hope offered to us” comes from the fact that we are in Christ, the Son who fulfilled Abraham’s covenant – and that at the last we will be with Christ and like Christ [John 14:3, 1 John 3:2]. Jesus is the foundation and the substance of our hope.

Now, having God’s Word for it, He gives us His “anchor” – a metaphor which suggests deepest security: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” [vv. 19, 20]. To appreciate what is said here, we must remember that the curtain was a thickly woven piece of tapestry hung between the inner and outer chambers of the Tabernacle. No one could see through the curtain, and the Holy of Holies was inaccessible to all but the high priest, who passed within only once a year. It was between these two compartments of the Tabernacle – the Holy Place representing the earthly worshipping life of God’s people, and the Holy of Holies representing God’s presence – that the curtain hung. Together, these two sides of the curtain symbolize living spiritual realities – God’s presence in Heaven and the storm-tossed church worshipping below [Hebrews 9].

But then an anchor is hurled from the Church. But instead of falling to the depths, it rises through the blue skies and on up through the heavens where it passes unhindered through the curtain and anchors onto the throne of God in the heavenly Holy of Holies where Jesus is seated “at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” [Hebrews 1:3]. Our lives are accessed and anchored in Heaven! The significance of this was immediate in the ancient world because an anchor was everything to those at sea. A firm anchorage meant security. Well-anchored, the winds could blow, but the ship would not be awash or headed for the rocks. But there is something more, for there is another anchor who has pierced the veil, one who actually tore it in two – Jesus. “Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” [v. 20, Matthew 27:50, 51]. We are anchored in the Father’s presence for eternity – and Jesus at His right hand perpetually intercedes for His Church. His continual priestly prayer for us is the medium for our survival.

He is there as the one “who went before us” – literally as our prodromos, our “forerunner.” Just as forerunners were sent to explore the way for those who would follow, Christ, our prodromos, has gone ahead of us to prepare the way [see John 14:2-4]. If we are true followers of Christ, the bows of our boats will always be treading heavy seas and bucking contrary winds. The disciples found this out when they obeyed Jesus and launched out in the night for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The reason they were in stormy waters was that they were doing what Jesus said [see Matthew 14:22-32]. It has always been this way. Abraham’s ships – his camels and desert schooners – were always facing contrary winds, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” [Hebrews 11:10]. Paul concurs when he writes, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” [2 Timothy 3:12]. But we are not flotsam on the tides. We have a hope – a hope outside ourselves – an anchor for the soul.