God Makes Oaths by the Highest Authority

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. (Hebrews 6:13-14)

There were times when a man’s word was his bond. When a man promised something, he was expected to fulfill it and hold to it. In that time, an oath meant everything. Breaking an oath was not just a personal failure; it brought public disgrace. People were careful about what they swore because once they swore it, there was no taking it back.

When God wanted to make His promise to Abraham immovable and beyond all question, He made an oath. But He wanted to use something sure to make the oath by, and there was nothing greater than Himself to swear by. When humans take an oath, they swear by something higher than themselves, sometimes by God, by their family, or by something they hold sacred. But there is nothing higher than God. So He swore by Himself. “I swear by Me,” He was saying. “By My own nature, by My own righteousness, and by My own character, this is what is going to happen.” And what did He swear? That Abraham would have blessing and multiplication.

The Hebrew construction in the phrase used means an intensifying repetition. In Hebrew, it sounds like this: “I will absolutely, thoroughly, completely, and in all fullness bless you. I will truly, fully, and without question multiply you.” This is the God who cannot lie, swearing by His own name, that your life in His hands will be marked by blessing and increase.

This is what you are standing on when you stand on the Word of God. You are not standing on a hope or a wish. You are standing on an oath sworn by the only Being in the universe who cannot lie and cannot fail. If He said He will bless you, He will bless you. If He said He will provide, He will provide. If He said He will make a way when there seems to be no way, the way will be made. God swore it. And the oath of God is the end of all discussion.

Practical Application

Find a promise in Scripture that speaks to your specific need today. Read it out loud and remind yourself that this is not just a verse. This is an oath sworn by the God who cannot lie and who swore by Himself because there is nothing greater. Stand on it today as though your life depends on it.

Psalm 110:4; 2 Peter 3:9