Back in Genesis 22:15-18, God swore certain promises to Abraham. Of course, this was the kind of swearing that affirms a promise with an oath, not profanity or taking God’s name in vain. In fact, as described in that passage from Genesis, it seems like God used His own name in this oath, but certainly not in vain.
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.
Hebrews 6:16-18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.6.16-18.NIV
(By the way, some might think that it’s wrong to swear an oath at all, based on passages like Matthew 5:33-37 and James 5:12. Those teachings were probably getting at some bad practices and habits of Jesus’ day, where people’s word couldn’t be trusted. Getting into those details is a topic for another day. However, since God clearly swore an oath, as described here, it seems like there must be a right time and a right place for doing so.)
So, let’s talk about what it means when we swear that something is true. Today, when someone does so, they typically swear on someone or something else, like the author of Hebrews talks about here. You might have heard someone “swear to God” or “swear on a stack of Bibles”. As I understand it, an oath made in someone or something else’s name is calling upon that thing or person to enforce the truthfulness of the one swearing it. Said another way, it’s like saying, “May lightning strike me if I’m lying”, or “May God strike me down if I don’t do what I swear to do”. While not all people today necessarily think about swearing like that, I believe that this is what it means when we swear an oath by someone or something else. In simple terms, I see this as calling upon that person or object (or the person whom an object represents) to hold us accountable: to enforce punishment for any lies we might be telling, and to enforce our compliance to what we promised.
There’s also an element where lying or failing to keep a promise demeans the object by which it was sworn. I encourage you to read Leviticus 19:12 as an example; then, read the previous verse, Leviticus 19:11, to see that God was pretty clear that His people shouldn’t be lying in the first place!
Think about the problems that happened in Jesus’ day, which He seemed to be addressing in Matthew 5: Apparently, the exact thing that was being sworn by determined whether or not the person making the oath could “weasel out of it”. After all, if someone swore by a person or object with no means of holding them accountable, they may have thought, “Who cares if I’m lying or don’t follow through on my promise?” However, trying to swear by something that couldn’t enforce the oath, just to have an excuse for lying without fear of punishment for doing so; well, that was still lying and they – like us – simply shouldn’t lie.
When God wanted to confirm the seriousness of His promise, and the certainty of it being fulfilled, He sort of ran into an “obstacle” that human beings don’t have: There was no one and nothing greater than God for Him to call upon to hold Himself accountable. So, He swore by Himself. His very nature; His holiness; His character; His integrity; His knowledge of all time – who He was – would ensure that this promise to Abraham would be fulfilled.
Since God’s promises are always true, anyway, why did He use an oath in this case? After all, it seems like we should trust God when He says something. Hebrews gives us insight into God’s motivation: For one thing, He wanted to make the constancy of His purpose crystal clear for those who would receive His promises. This promise of God was made to Abraham, but it describes part of God’s purpose, and that purpose hasn’t changed – and won’t change – from Genesis through Revelation. Even today, we can receive the fruit of God’s promises (which are part of God’s purpose), like membership into God’s family, success (in the Kingdom of God), and blessings through Abraham’s descendants throughout history (especially Jesus Christ).
And, as verse 18 shows us, with God not only always being truthful, but also having sworn to hold Himself accountable to His promise, God’s swearing an oath to Abraham gives us encouragement as well. Just like persecuted first-century Christians, we can hold to a certain and confident hope that God’s faithfulness is 100%: then, now, and forever.
In conclusion, I like how verse 18 talks of those “who have fled” [NIV] or “who have taken refuge” [NASB]. Clinging to this anchor of hope is not a crutch or convenience – it is our last, best, and only means of survival in a fallen world where our sins would otherwise condemn us to separation from God.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 22, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
