Abraham, to whom all Jews look as their father, is mentioned as a man of faith deserving of their emulation (6:13–15; cf. 2:16; 11:8–19), but the theme now is not Abraham’s faith but the certainty of God’s promise. Since faith must wait so long for its reward, the believer may be sorely tempted to grow weary and lose heart. The wait cannot be shortened, but hope can be revived by a reminder that hope in God will never be disappointed. Abraham had to wait many years for even the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise God made to him (Gen. 12:2; 17:5, 19, 21), but he did not wait in vain. The Lord added a solemn oath to his promise (Gen. 22:15–18) to strengthen Abraham’s faith during the lengthy wait when all appearances would have been contrary to God’s promise.

Significantly, the in…