Friday, February 15, 2013
Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.
YOUR HOPE IS AN ANCHOR THAT RESTS SECURELY WITH GOD
A ship lets down an anchor into the unseen and there is the blind hope that it will find a resting place and hold the ship in place. Our anchor of hope rests beyond what we can see as well. reads: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil" (Hebrews 6:19). A more accurate rendering would be that it enters that which is inside the veil. The hymn "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less" (The Lutheran Hymnal, 370) has that corresponding thought: "In ev'ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil."
What is being referred to is the veil, that is, the curtain, that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple. The Most Holy Place was behind a thick veil because only the High Priest could enter there on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle blood on the Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Place was entered into on a regular basis by the priests, but the Ark of the Covenant represented the promise of the LORD Himself. There only the High Priest could enter, and only with blood.
Jesus, the true High Priest, entered the true Most Holy Place with His own blood. He offered that same blood to pay for the sins of all people. He came before His Father with His own blood to cover our sins. Our anchor of hope is linked with that sacrifice of Christ. Your anchor of hope is attached to Christ Himself. Where Christ goes we follow. We follow Him to death, to resurrection, and after that being face to face with God. Your anchor is not in the depths of the sea, but rather in the heights of heaven.
It is rooted so firmly in heaven so the earth won't drag you down. In fact, this anchor will pull you up to heaven because that is where Christ now is. The hope that you have clung to for many years will become a reality. The oaths and promises of God will not let you down. The hope of a Christian is not a guess or wish, but it is a fact based on our eternal High Priest and the sacrifice that He made on our behalf.
