Hebrews 6:19, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;”
While fishing for salmon on the Columbia River, I watched three men in a small aluminum boat throw out an anchor. Though the water appeared to be as still as a lake, it was actually moving faster than one would think. They had thrown the anchor out on the downstream side of the boat. When the anchor took hold it turned the boat upside down. Tackle boxes and beer bottles were floating downstream and the men were shouting for help. Some boats immediately rescued the men. The boat had a small bow that captured enough air to keep the front tip of the boat afloat. We tied onto the boat and tried to drag it to shore. Another man came by and relieved us. He hooked onto the bow and began circling it. His circles became wider and wider. Soon the boat began to make a circle, coming up to the surface on its side. This allowed most of the water to empty and the boat to sit upright.
The lesson from this event is to be careful where you throw your anchor. When it comes to the anchor of the soul it is eternally important. As we move down the river of life there are dangers that are not apparent on the surface. We see the crowd drinking and smoking it up like they are having a good time. We might throw in with them and get hooked on horrible habits. If only we had abstained from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22). Some things are not so obvious. We might find ourselves anchored into a losing relationship or adventure. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
So how do we anchor the soul? The text talks about a “…hope we have as an anchor of the soul.” This hope is Jesus, who is both sure and steadfast. The text also says that He enters into the veil. The veil refers to the holy of holies. God said He would dwell between the cherubim in the holy of holies. This was the place the high priest entered once a year. Hebrews 6:20 is very clear that Jesus, forever a high priest, ran before us into the veil. He did it to bring us into God’s presence with favor. Jesus did this immediately after He yielded up the ghost on the cross (Matthew 27:50-51, Mark 15:37-38). Many believe the crucifixion happened to the west of the temple mount. The south end of the the west wall was the location of the priest gate. I believe the very first thing Jesus did when He was freed from His body was to run through the priest gate and tear the veil apart from top to bottom so that by Him we could enter into the presence of God.
Hebrews 6:18 talks of the consolation of those who lay hold on Jesus—the hope set before them. Our text says that Jesus, our hope, is the anchor of our soul. Lewis E. Jones wrote, “I’ve Anchored in Jesus.” Have You? You can still be rescued by the ANCHOR OF THE SOUL!
