{"id":9364,"date":"2019-01-28T16:23:29","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T22:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/?p=9364"},"modified":"2019-01-28T13:07:57","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T19:07:57","slug":"the-oaths-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2019\/the-oaths-of-god.html","title":{"rendered":"The Oaths of God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yesterday, after much Sunday morning anticipation, we reached Hebrews 7 and the discussion of the King-Priest Melchizedek<\/strong>. Fascinating chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some writers seem to suggest that the author of Hebrews grabbed an obscure verse from the Bible (Psalm 110:4) in order to teach a somewhat novel theology. And, in some ways, the verse is<\/em> obscure – Melchizedek is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament – in Genesis 14 (the historical description), and then a thousand years later in Psalm 110.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another 1000 years later, the author of Hebrews blows the dust of the story and gives it another go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hebrews has been making a big deal of the oaths that God made, so I did a quick study of God’s oaths in the OT – places where God specifically swears about the truth of something, or He swears that He will keep a promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, here’s what I discovered – but you might like to do a more in-depth study. There are two main streams of oaths that God makes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, an Oath of Judgement<\/strong>. He swears to punish Israel when she is unfaithful. He also swears to punish the nations who are against Israel – actually a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram – “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”<\/em> (Genesis 12:3). Those are the two main types of judgement oaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, an Oath of Blessing<\/strong>. First, and probably most commonly mentioned in the Bible, His oath to Abraham<\/strong>. To make Abraham a great nation, and to give his descendants the Promised Land. Take for example the classic from Genesis 22:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord … I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies…<\/p>From Genesis 22:15-18<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the greatest blessing comes not from Abraham’s descendants<\/strong>, but from his Descendant, Jesus (Galatians 3:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second main oath of blessing is for David<\/strong>. The classic passage is actually 2 Samuel 7, but the actual reference to God swearing an oath comes up in other passages – such as Psalm 89:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.<\/p>Psalm 89:35-36<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 110 falls directly into this second important stream. It’s a promise to the royal Descendant of David Himself, King Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LORD says to my Lord:
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>Psalm 110:1<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So all of a sudden this verse about Melchizedek isn’t as obscure as I thought, but part of the second great stream of oaths of blessing.<\/strong> But, of course, it still appears out of nowhere in some ways. The most surprising thing is that the Messiah-King would not just be a king like David, He would also be a king-priest, like Melchizedek:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>Psalm 110:4<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There are hints of this in other places in the Old Testament, but this verse really does explain how it would be possible for a king to be a priest, something forbidden under the Mosaic Law. Jesus’ role would come from an earlier tradition, something outside of, and greater than, the laws about Levites and descendants of Aaron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, prophetically, David pulls together various hints in the Scriptures in Psalm 110 (read more about this Psalm in Promises of a Messiah<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One other interesting note<\/strong> – at least three of the main types of oaths are directly mentioned in the Psalms, a book that the author of Hebrews quotes from frequently, including a lengthy discussion of God’s judgement on the unbelieving Israelites (Psalm 95:7-11). Psalm 110 also mentions judgement of the nations (Psalm 110:6). And of course the promises to Abraham and David are very important in various Psalms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author of Hebrews – ultimately the Holy Spirit – knew what he was doing when he pointed us to the oaths of God – kind, precious confirmations that He would do as He promised – bring us salvation and finally bring peace to the earth under His Son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, after much Sunday morning anticipation, we reached Hebrews 7 and the discussion of the King-Priest Melchizedek. Fascinating chapter. Some writers seem to suggest that the author of Hebrews grabbed an obscure verse from the Bible (Psalm 110:4) in order to teach a somewhat novel theology. And, in some ways, the verse is obscure – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[2036,2037,449,1186,1763,405,2038,1345],"class_list":["post-9364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional-and-bible","category-ministry-glimpses","tag-1samuel","tag-abraham","tag-david","tag-genesis","tag-iglesia-biblica-sendero-de-vida-las-palmas","tag-melchizedek","tag-oaths","tag-psalms","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\nThe Oaths of God - Finding direction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2019\/the-oaths-of-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Oaths of God - Finding direction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday, after much Sunday morning anticipation, we reached Hebrews 7 and the discussion of the King-Priest Melchizedek. 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