Before we begin this study, we need to be aware of what the word hope means in both Greek and Hebrew to give us an appreciation what scripture is telling us. I will be using the NKJV unless otherwise noted in this lesson.
In today’s world, hope means something that may or may not happen. We sure hope today would be a good day. Or we hope our spouse washed the dishes before we arrive home. However, the word “hope” in the Bible means something totally different. It calls God “the God of hope”. Certainly, the Lord isn’t an undecided being. Instead, He’s extremely trustworthy and can be relied on. When we place our hope in God, we shouldn’t feel unsure of His actions and intentions. Let’s see exactly what the Bible means when it mentions the word “hope”.
Meaning Of the Word “Hope” In Greek
elpizo– this verb means “to hope”. The verb is accompanied by one of three prepositions:
• eis– “on”. Usually translated “in” and used in John 5:45:
“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in (eis) whom you trust (elpizo). “
• epi- “on”. We find this in Romans 15:12:
“There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, On (epi) Him the Gentiles shall hope (elpizo).“
• en- “in”. Used in 1 Corinthians 15:19:
“If in this life only we have hope (elpizo) in (en) Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
These prepositions express that Christ is the sphere and element where this ‘hope’ is placed. Since hope is a verb, those who walk in this hope are considered “hopeful” and have a character of hope.
elpis– to anticipate, usually with pleasure. As a noun it means, “favorable and confident expectation, a forward look with assurance.” Elpis refers to the future and the unseen such as in Romans 8:24-25: “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
Elpis is found over 50 times in the New Testament. The apostle Paul was constantly talking about anticipating future events with joy, such as in these scriptures:
“And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. -Acts 26:6
“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” -Galatians 5:5
“If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” -Colossians 1:23
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. “-Romans 5:1-2
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power“ -Ephesians 1:17-19
Hope is a purifying power. It says so in 1 John 3:3: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Conclusion
Since the term hope in Greek means anticipation, we could read all these scriptures with the replacement of those words (to get a deeper talking about expecting or waiting with absolute certainly for the Lord’s promises.
Meaning Of the Word ”Hope” In Hebrew
chacah– to flee for protection; to trust; confide in; to have hope; to make a refuge. This term is used when God is compared to a shield, a rock, or described as one with protective wings.
“He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense; “ -Psalm 62:2
yachal– to be patient, hope, wait, trust, to stay in expectation.
“O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption. “ -Psalm 130:7
“Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me. “ -Micah 7:7
mibtach– confidence; trust; assurance; hope. This word means “the act of confiding” as found in Proverbs 21:22, “A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.” (KJV) Mibtach is also used in Job 8:14 referring to the “object of confidence”: “Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web.” There’s another meaning of this term meaning, “the state of confidence or security.” Used in Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. “
machaceh– a shelter; hope; a place of refuge, trust.
Sabar (shabar)– to scrutinize, to expect with hope and patience, hope.
“The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.“ -Psalm 145:15
towcheleth– expectation, hope.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. “ -Proverbs 13:12
tiqvah– expectation; hope.
“The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.” -Proverbs 11:23
Conclusion
The word ‘hope’ in Hebrew actually means ‘to expect’ or have some sort of ‘expectation’. This means we aren’t merely hoping it to be completely. We’re 100% expecting it to be completed. There should be no doubt anywhere in our mind concerning the Lord’s promises to us.
Now with this brief understanding of what Hope means in both Hebrew and Greek we can begin to understand more fully what we are reading in scripture.
Hebrews 6:17-20: 17 In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
It was a long time, or what seems like a long time since March 17, 2020, when everything was basically shut down in Nevada due to the Corona Virus (Covid-19). What people thought would be a few days or maybe a few weeks dragged into months: agonizingly long months. For some, it may have seemed that all hope was lost; maybe they lost their faith; when in fact God was choosing to give us this time to ponder how we, as Christians, could be more effective in our daily lives. How we could be more of a witness to others; even while staying at home. How you ask? When we ordered food for pick up or to be delivered; items we purchased online that were delivered to our homes; and while we attended to those things like a doctors’ appointment or grocery shopping?
Voluntarily staying at home during that time caused some of us to go “stir crazy” thinking we need to do something more normal. What we will have to learn and accept that what we used to accept as normal is no longer our normal. Society has dictated that we will have a “new normal” which will become our normal; different than what we knew previously; but nonetheless, just as exciting as God has determined it to be for ourselves. We will learn how to live this new normal life in family, business, church, and in everything we do. Our hope is being restored.
Hope is important because it gives us 3 things, we all need and that is something:
1) To Talk About it,
2) To Work Toward it,
3) To Hang Onto it.
Let’s look at each of these 3 things and discover what we really mean. What do we mean when we talk about hope?
People get together and because they love to talk about their plans for tonight, next week, next month or even next year.
Young people talk about their plans for going to college, where they are going to live after graduation, and, most importantly, where they are going to work.
Working people talk about their vacation plans of where they are going; or where they have just come back from, excited to share their experiences.
Older people talk about their retirement plans and what they are going to do with “all that time”; spend it with family, travel to places they always wanted to go to, buy that extravagant item they have always wanted, or just retire, basking in the sun and relaxing. Or, in some cases, doing more than they did when they had a full-time job, like becoming a pastor.
Jesus spoke of plans to his disciples. Jn 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”
Peter spoke about his hope for the resurrection. 1 Pet 1:3, 21, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”
Paul spoke to the church at Thessalonica words of encouragement in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
What do we mean when we say hope is what we work toward in our lives? Surprisingly it is hope that motivates us to work.
It is the expectant father with a new baby who is trying to ensure that his little one will be better off than he is in life; or the young person seeking to figure out how to pay for school loans or tuition; or the working man looking forward to his vacation and how he can make it the best one ever. Yes, hope motivates us to work.
Hope motivates Christians to work. We may have hopes for our future works here; if we take a mission trip, we elevate our hopes in how we can be effective in helping others; we plan to work for the congregation, we elevate our hopes
Paul spoke of his future work as well in his letter to the Romans when he wrote, “So when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain.” (Romans 15:28)
He told Timothy: 1 Tim 3:14, “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that….”
John wrote in, 3 Jn 14, “instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.”
But hope for Eternal Life should motivate us the most.
Paul states in Titus 1:1-2, “… In the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…”
Peter said our hope motivates us to be sober and “…be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13.
John reminds us that our hope motivates us to live pure and godly lives as he wrote in 1 Jn 3:2-3,” … And every man that has this hope in him will purify Himself, even as he is pure.”
Last, we have our hope to hang onto and God has given us that ability to trust Him in all things. God can and does get us through difficult things; we can see the “light at the end of the tunnel”; we can do the daily chores because of our hope for some future event; we raise our children in the hope that they have a good life; we can work through difficult times in marriage, if we have hope for better days ahead; hope provides a way for Christians to deal with life’s problems.
So, again I ask you why do we need hope? We need it to talk about it, to work toward it and to hang onto it. Our trust, faith and hope in God is our everything we need as Christians. It sustains us like nothing ever before and it keeps us focused on God knowing he answers all prayers all the time. God is good all the time; all the time God is good.
Sarado ang templo, ang Simbahan ay nasa ating tahanan, sapagkat ang Diyos ay nasa lahat ng dako. The temple is closed, church is in our home, because God is everywhere.
I would like to close by with a poem by Emily Dickinson, one that has meant a lot to me for so many years.
by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard.
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
This is an amazingly detailed study that clearly took much time and consideration to assemble. It serves as a ready resource for anyone interested in the subject of hope from a Biblical point of view.
My favorite takeaway is:
”But hope for Eternal Life should motivate us the most.”
Powerful.