The scripture we’re going to study today is one of my favorites. It has brought me great strength and comfort through the many years that I’ve known the Lord. I pray that Holy Spirit will use this Word to bring encouragement, comfort, help, and strength to you today.
Hebrews 13:5b, NKJV says, For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
I use the NKJV almost exclusively in my personal devotion time, but the NKJV translation of this verse is “weak sauce.”
Hebrews 13:5b from the Message Bible is a little stronger. It says, “God assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.’ “
But to really plug into the powerful truth in this verse we need to dig down into some of the key Greek words and phrases used. In doing so, we will gain a more profound understanding of our absolute security in Christ!
Let’s look at just the negatives in the original Greek text of this verse:
- “ou me” This phrase means “never not”
- “oud” means “neither; nor”
- “ou me” same phrase as #1 above “never not”
In English a double negative means a positive.
For example, someone might say, “I ain’t got no money!” That would be considered to be bad grammar because it could be interpreted as “I do have some money”.
But, in Greek, a double negative intensifies and strengthens the negative. Daniel Wallace, on page 468 of his book “Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics” says that the double-negative “is the strongest way to negate something in Greek.”
Yet, our scripture goes even further! It uses, not a double, but a triple negative!
All these negatives, crammed into one verse is unprecedented! Do you think God is trying to tell us something? During my study and meditation of this verse a while back I saw it! Why did God repeat the negatives three times? It wasn’t that He was stuttering. It wasn’t that the keys of His typewriter got stuck (do they even have typewriters in heaven?).
God wanted to assure us of His absolute love and commitment in the strongest possible way!
That’s why He said it three times!
- GOD the FATHER said, “I will not leave you, nor forsake you!”
- GOD the SON said, “I will not leave you, nor forsake you!”
- GOD the SPIRIT said, “I will not leave you, nor forsake you!”
It reminds me of Hebrews 6:17 which tells us in the Passion Translation, ” So in the same way, God wanted to end all doubt and confirm it even more forcefully to those who would inherit His promises. His purpose was unchangeable, so God added his vow to the promise.”
When God wanted to assure Abraham of the absolute certainty of His covenant guarantees, He swore by Himself. Hebrews 6:13 says, ” Now, when God made a promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater than Himself, He swore an oath on His own integrity to keep the promise as sure as God exists.”
No one forced God to swear an oath. He swore it to give Abraham and his descendants absolute confidence in His Word. I believe that is the exact same motivation behind each member of the Godhead guaranteeing their forever-promise to always be present with us.
Repeating the same promise three times wasn’t really required, because every word from God, even the jots and tittles, will be fulfilled, outlasting the heavens and earth.
(Matthew 24:35)
But, though it was not required, God wanted to give us the strongest possible assurance of His covenant commitment to us!
Only God could bring such a powerfully positive message from such a nucleus of negatives! And He did it for us!
The combined meanings of this power-pack of “positive-negatives” would be “Never! Positively not! It will never happen! It is unthinkable that I will ever leave you! There is not even the slightest possibility that I will ever forsake you!”
It sounds like there is “less than zero chance” God will ever leave us or forsake us!
The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition is the closest to the original Greek text. It translates Hebrews 13:5b like this: “He, [God] Himself, has said. I will not in any way fail you, nor give you up, nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree, leave you helpless, nor forsake, nor let you down (relax my hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”
You may be so battle-weary right now that you are just one more fiery dart away from going down, collapsing in total defeat. You may feel like God is a million miles away from you. But He is right there with you in the midst of the battle. He will hold you up. He will never allow your defeat. He will deliver you from the battle-field in victory and give you much needed rest.
(Isaiah 41:10 and Matthew 11:28)
You may have just received terrible news from your doctor. It seems like fear is smothering you, cloaking your mind and heart in overpowering darkness. You feel the fear, but don’t feel His presence. But He is faithful. He is right there with you! There is peace in His presence. There is healing in His hands. Fear melts away in the fire of His perfect love. He will make you whole. He will fill your heart and mouth with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 23:4 and 2 Timothy 1:7)
You may be so entangled in webs of lies and chains of sin that you have almost given up hope that the Lord could ever forgive and accept you again. It seems like your sin has finally separated you from God. Never! He is ever there, His loving arms extended to you! His mercy is there! His love is eternally there! He will forgive you, embrace you, and pour out a fresh anointing of His love in your life! (Romans 8:38,39)
Whatever you are going through in your life, you can be absolutely sure that He is there with you, always ready and willing to save, heal, comfort, strengthen, and deliver you!
When we feel like we’re “going through hell,” we need to listen carefully! We will hear His Word. We will hear Hebrews 13:5, faint at first, echoing and reverberating, louder and louder, through those dark demonic corridors… “I WILL NEVER… NEVER… NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU!
His Word, His promise, and His oath give us the faith, the courage, and the strength to overcome. Never forget, “WHEN YOU’RE GOING THROUGH HELL, DON’T STOP! HE IS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU! KEEP GOING!”
His Heart, My Home 
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