Threefold plea

In the Old Testament, if God repeated something, it meant business and you should pay attention. The Pharaoh's two dreams-about the seven cows and then about the seven ears of corn-were actually the same prediction of the next seven years of Egyptian economy:

"The doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the matter is fixed by God" (Genesis 41:32).

So if two are solemn, what are three?

Notice the threefold repetition of the following exhortation in the letter to the Hebrews:

"And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope" (3:6).

"For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end" (3:14).

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (10:23).

God must know we have trouble holding on! So he insists on it!

The author, taking the guesswork out of what the main point of his letter is, says:

"Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven . . ." (Hebrews 8:1).

It is because we have a high priest like that-not like all those other dead guys who amounted to nothing-that we should not let go of our confidence. Our new and final high priest said about himself:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18).

That's more authority working for you than you will ever need. All we need to do-no matter how we feel, no matter how bad things look, no matter how perplexed or discouraged we are-is to "hold our original confidence to the end."

And if you never had much confidence to begin with, now is a good time to start.

Listen to commentaries by Andrée Seu.