The Book of Life; and, Hope
RO45-01

© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1977)
We are studying the effects of justification which are summarized for us in Romans 5:1-5.

The Book of Life

As you know, justification means that a person has the absolute righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to his account in heaven. This has to do with the fact that God does keep records in heaven. The Bible tells us that God has a book which he calls the book of life. In Revelation 3:5, we read that there is a book in heaven called the book of life, from which names may be removed. Revelation 3:5 says, "He, that overcomes (that is, the believer – the born-again person), the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."

On the basis of the doctrine of eternal security, we know that this cannot be a reference to a person's name being blotted out in reference to salvation. It has to be some other kind of roster of names, out of which names can be removed. This book actually refers to a divine roster of every human being who is born into the human race. It indicates potential salvation. So, the moment you took your first breath when you were born, in heaven an angel recorded your name in the book of life. The book of life means that you were born into the human race. It is a book representing potential salvation.

Unlimited Atonement

The reason your name is put into the book of life is because of the doctrine of unlimited atonement – that Jesus Christ paid for the sins of the world as per 1 John 2:2. He is the propitiation not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. So, because the death of Christ has covered the sins of the world, everybody is in a position potentially to be born again, and to have justification. So, his name, at the point of physical birth, is put here into the book of life.

Those who die, while they are still in the status of spiritual death, have their names removed from the book of life. This is referred to, for example, in Psalm 69:28: "Let them be blotted out of the living, and not be written with the righteous." Here again is a reference to these who can be blotted out of this book of life. It is people who have died physically while in a condition of spiritual death.

So, here you have the book of life. It is arranged in alphabetical order, and you come here to "T. Alcorn." Then there is another name that would normally come after "Alcorn," and it has been blotted out, indicating that T. Alcorn" corn goes to heaven, but the next one didn't make it. Then you have "Mary Cross" here; you have "Wayne Cross;" and, then you have another name that you would expect here that's not here. That indicates that that one died in the condition of spiritual death, and he didn't make it. Here you have "Sharon Brandon." You have "Gilmore Holt, Sr.;" you have "Christine Holt;" and, then another name has been blotted out. It would have come under that category in that order. Here is "Kay Newman," or here is "Buddy Rouch;" here is "Dorothy Rouch;" here is "Alma Stemmons;" and, then here is another name you would have expected that is blotted out.

These people (whose names are blotted out of the book of life) died physically while in the condition of spiritual death. Those who are not found recorded in the book of life at the great white throne judgment are going to be doomed forever to the lake of fire. In Revelation 20:15, therefore, we read, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Their names were blotted out because they did not possess justification.

Revelation 17:8 tells us that the non-elect never were in the book on a permanent basis: "The beast which you saw was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And they that dwell on earth (unbelievers) shall wonder whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, is not, and yet is," and so on. Here are unbelievers during the tribulation who, from eternity past, were non-elect. Their names never were intended to be left in the book of life on a permanent basis.

We're entering an area of the sovereignty of God – divine election. We're not going to get into that in this session. But everybody's name is in here as of the point of their physical birth. To die without justification then is to doom yourself forever to the lake of fire.

Now those whose names are left in the book of life forever, at the great white throne judgment (when this book is opened, and all these names that are in this book at the great white throne judgment) are people who have been justified, and therefore, they are destined for heaven. Revelation 3:5: "He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I'll confess his name before My Father and before His angels."

Luke 10:20 also indicates that if your name is in there at the great white throne judgment, that's the thing to be happy about: "Notwithstanding, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The people whose names are going to be left in the book of life (because they have been justified) are those who died before they came to an age of accountability; that is, infants and small children, before they came to the point of God-consciousness. Their names are left in the book of life. Those who are mentally incompetent, and those who are not mentally normal, and therefore, cannot exercise volition toward the gospel – they are automatically saved, and their names are left in the book of life. Then those who have come to the point of adult competency, to the age of accountability, and who have received Christ as Savior, so that they have been born again spiritually – their names are left in the book of life. All others are going to be forever and permanently removed.

The Lamb's Book of Life

Now, someplace along the line, eventually, this book is complete. And the last name that has been recorded in it is left in it, and the last name to be removed has been rubbed out. When it comes to that point, then this book has a little different name in Revelation 21:27. It is then called the Lamb's book of life: "And there shall in no way enter into it (that is, heaven) anything that defiles; neither he that works abomination or makes a lie, but they who are written in the Lamb's book of life. If you're not in the final edition of the book of life, you will never enter heaven.

Revelation 13:8 can be added to that, which says, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world." This passage is referring to the fact that there will be people on earth during the tribulation who will worship the antichrist himself. These people will not be in the final edition of the book of life. It is, in effect, the book salvation. Only those who are justified are in this book. And that's why justification (to have absolute righteousness credited to your account) is so vital and so critical to every human being, because it means that you're in the one book that you need to have your name in, and in it permanently.

The Book of Works

Now, there is another book. We have the book called the book of works. This is a series of books in which are recorded all the evil deeds (including the sins and human good) of those who died as unbelievers. You have this in Revelation 20:12, a series of books containing works: "And I saw the dead small and great stand before God. (This is the great white throne judgment.) And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. There are many books, because it takes many volumes.

Well, here we have volume number 30, for example. And now we see who these names are who were left out here. After "T. Alcorn" should have come "U. Alcorn." And under "U. Alcorn, here's that list of all of her sins, and all the lists of her human good – all the evil. But there is not the merit of Christ. So, she was wiped out. But God will look at this. He will say, "Here it is. This is what you have done." Why? The good works are going to help for merit. There is no need to consider those. We know that the sins are not. Well, here we come into another factor &about these people whose names are not in the Lamb's book of life, and who did not have the justification that Paul has been teaching us about. Here's another fact that they are going to have to face now, and that is the degree of their punishment. And that is going to be determined on the basis of these deeds. They are judged on the basis of their works. And the frame of reference of their judgment is the standard of the Word of God.

Now the books of works is mentioned only in connect with the great white throne judgment. Here again in this section under "Cross," it was "T. Cross." He was the one that was left out. Here's his record, and he doesn't make it. And here under "Holt," is "G. Holt, J.R." He didn't make it. And here under "Simmons, here's "J. Simmons" who didn't make it. There's all the record. The names are blotted out. ...

Degrees of Punishment

This is the picture. What is missing in one book, the name is going to be found in the other book of all the records of the works. So, God is very much interested in our works. If you're an unbeliever, you betcha He's interested in your works, because your evil deeds and your human good are the bases upon which you are going to be judged for the degree of your punishment in hell. And as a believer, God is very much interested in your works, because He's going to judge what you've done with your life, and with your spiritual gifts, and how you have reacted to the intake of doctrine, and how you've responded to what you have received; and, then you will be judged relative to rewards or loss of rewards. Salvation with you will not be an issue as in the case of the unbelievers. But there will be these degrees of punishment on the basis of these works.

We have this established, for example, in Luke 12:47-48, where the Lord says, "And that servant who knew his Lord's will and did not prepare himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many strikes. But he that knew not, and did commit these worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few strikes. For unto whoever much is given, of him shall much be required. And to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask for more."

That same principle really apply to us as believers too. You can just bet your bottom dollar that those of you who are five-spiritual-gift Christians are going to be called upon to account for a whole lot more at the Judgment Seat of Christ than some believer who is only functioning with one spiritual gift. To those to whom more gifts have been given, more will be expected than to him who has fewer gifts.

So, God is going to look at what you have, and what you did with what you have. This is not to say that the person who has five spiritual gifts, and is functioning on all five, is going to find himself with more rewards in heaven than the person who had only one spiritual gift. What you did with what you have is what God is concerned with. And on that basis you are to be judged.

So, we have the book of life, and we have the book of works. Those who find themselves in the book of works are not in the book of life. When the Lord looks over these records, it's going to be done one person at a time, page-by-page. And it will be a very fair court situation, and a very fair evaluation. And finally, the person will not be able to say a word. He'll be silenced. There'll be no arguing. There'll be no appealing from this court. All the record is there. It will be obvious that this person has evil on his record, but he does not have the only thing that will rub the evil off the page. And that is justification. So, because he did not rub the evil off the page in the book of works, he has caused his name to be rubbed out of potential salvation in the book of life.

So, finally, the last page will be considered. The last piece of evidence will be put in. The Lord Jesus will close the book, and He'll look at the person standing in front of him, and He will say something to the effect of the words that he declared in Matthew 25:41: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire," prepared for the devil and his angels. What a pity. God says, "I didn't even prepare hell for you. I didn't even prepare this type of torment for human beings. It was strictly prepared for Satan and his angels, but you elected to pledge allegiance and loyalty to Satan, and thereby you have rejected allegiance and loyalty to My Son. And because of that, I have no alternative, on the basis of the records, but to send you into the lake of fire." And the person is in terror and in tears. And the Bible says that grinding his teeth together in the horror and the agony, and trying to control himself, is removed from the presence of God into the lake of fire.

Justification

I hope this will give you a little more appreciation of what it means to be justified. There is a great deal at stake. And the consequences of not possessing justification are horrendous beyond imagination. The most wonderful thing a human being can possess is justification, which means that your name is permanently in the book of life.

The Effects of Justification

Now Paul, in the opening part of Romans 5, has been explaining to us that justification has three monumental effects in the life of a believer. One is relative to our past. And that is that absolute righteousness has been imputed to our account. Then relative to our present status, the effect of justification is that we are in a state of peace with God. We are not facing God in terror. Furthermore, we have a permanent standing in the grace of justification. Salvation is thus eternally secure. That's the past; and, that's the present.

Rejoice

The third one is that Paul begins, at the end of verse 2, to deal with the Christian's future, which he presents in these words: "And rejoice in hope of the glory of God." The word "and" is the Greek word "kai," which indicates a continuation of his line of discussion, indicating the addition of the third consequence of justification. This one is relative to the Christian's future. The consequence is to rejoice. This is the Greek word "kauchaomai." "Kauchaomai" mean "to rejoice." "Kauchaomai" means to exalt. It means "to boast," more exactly. It connotes a joyous quality. That's true. It connotes actually a joyous exaltation on the part of a believer – an exaltation in the form of a self-congratulation for the fantastic future that has befallen you in eternity. When something good and tremendous, that you really appreciate, happens to you, you have the feeling: "My, I am really fortunate," and you almost congratulate yourself for the fantastic good fortune that has befallen you.

Well, that's what this word "kauchaomai" connotes in the Greek. It connotes the idea of a joyous exaltation almost bordering on relief of what might have happened if you had missed it. It is a sense of tremendous joy that you did not miss it. When you look back on salvation, this is a very apt word to describe what our feelings normally are, because once you understand that nobody seeks God, and that the only reason you are saved is because God reached down and brought you to Himself, your normal reaction is to breathe a sigh of relief, and then to be overwhelmed with joy that such a blessed thing was done in your behalf – that you were not passed over. That's what "kauchaomai" is conveying to us.

Paul says, "This fantastic, joyous exaltation." It's in the present tense, so that it indicates that this is a constant attitude of exalting on the part of the believer. It's active voice. This is one of those Greek words that has a middle form, but it has an active meaning. So, it's the Christians own personal feelings that are indicated here. It's indicative in the mood, which is a statement of fact.

This is the same word that you have in 1 Corinthians 1:31, where we are told to exalt in Jesus Christ: "That according as it is written, he that exalts (or glories), let him glory in the Lord." That is the word "kauchaomai" – boasting in the Lord.

Confident Exaltation toward your Future

So, here we have a word that means a happy, thrilling anticipation of a future blessing in which one is fantastically privileged to have participated. We describe this as the normal mental attitude of a mature believer. This is confident elation toward his future. If you are a grown-up Christian, there is only one attitude that will characterize you toward your future: confident exaltation toward what is ahead for you.

This is not only in terms of eternity. This is in terms of your life here on earth. Get it both ways. The normal, stabilized mental attitude of a Christian who is mature is described by the word "kauchaomai" as a confident elation toward your future. The Christian who is not confident toward his future, and the Christian who is fearful, is one who is spiritually, mentally insane. He is out of order in is thinking.

This is based on the fact, first of all, that the eternal security of the believer in salvation. Facing death, when you're not sure as to what's awaiting you on the other side in terms of your eternal destiny, obviously does not produce a spirit of joyful elation and a spirit of joyful exaltation." So, the beginning point for this kind of exultation is that you know where you're going, and you know that you have a sure thing in terms of heaven.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty breeds fear, not exaltation. And insecure people in daily life produce a lot of misery, obviously, not only for themselves, but also for those who are around them. They're basically unhappy people. The religiously insecure person is the worst kind of all. He causes more grief for himself, and everybody around him, than you can imagine. He has no secure future, and thus, everything he does in life is pointless to him, because he does not know where he is going. Unless you understand the fact of the doctrine of eternal security, and that structure upon the doctrine of unlimited atonement, you really open up a can of worms for yourself, and for your personal happiness, and for your being a successful person now in your daily life, as well as out in eternity.

So, the Christian who understands God's plan for bringing the sinner into heaven will automatically realize that his salvation is secure. Once you understand how God does it, you know that it can't be undone, and you cannot lose it again. The Bible makes it clear that there is absolutely nothing precarious about this divine justification that we have. So, there is no possibility of losing it. You cannot agonize over it. You can only do one thing. You can have nothing but a glorious, exalted feeling of relief.

Martin Luther, as you know, went through great agonies of soul. He did many things to himself physically, and was torn apart internally over the agonies of his sin. That was because, under the Roman Catholic system which, by the time he came along there in the Middle Ages, had so completely distorted the doctrine of salvation, and Luther knew something was wrong. Well, you know the story of how finally God in his grace led him to the point where he knew that salvation was a grace gift from God on the basis of what Christ had done, not on the basis of what Luther, as an Augustinian monk, very sincere and very devoted, could produce by his human good works.

The time came, of course, when Martin Luther himself faced the threshold of death, and was about ready to cross over. What's on a person's mind at a time like this? What would be on the mind of a man like Luther who had gone through the agonies of soul that he had done, who had stood, as it were, and locked into the very mouth of hell itself, and the flames looking out at him? At the time, that's where he was going, and he knew it. But he did not know how to secure the justification that his soul longed for. He didn't know how to enter into this "kauchaomai" that Paul spoke about as being the future of the believer, and he was no mean student of the Word.

Finally, he hit it, and in this very book: "The just shall live by faith" on the basis of their confidence in what God has provided. So, when it came time for Luther to die, his final words were a phrase which he repeated three times that tells it all. Luther said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, Thou faithful God. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, Thou faithful God. God." Then once more, as his final breath was coming: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, Thou faithful God."

Hope – a Favorable Expectation

So, what Luther, earlier in life, could not do in "kauchaomai," on his deathbed, he did it a fantastically marvelous way, as few people perhaps have ever done. He knew what it was to have this joyous exaltation in his justification. This exalted rejoicing is in way Paul says is "in a hope." The word "in" is "epi," which means "on the ground of," and it is on the ground of what he calls "hope." This is the Greek word "elpis," and the word "elpis" means "a favorable expectation."

There is a preacher in Dallas that has a five-minute radio program called "Five Minutes that will Change your Life." And it's the biggest pile of junk that I've ever heard. It should be called "Five Minutes that will Foul-up your Life." It is a human viewpoint put out. The only I listen to it is because I'm so fascinated by the fact that one human being could consistently give out that kind of inane, asinine human viewpoint that he's putting out there. I can confidently tell you that we are going to be looking at words that can change your life for more than five minutes – but for all eternity.

Hope Does not Mean Uncertainty

The first one is "elpis" ("hope"). The first thing I have to tell you is that it's not like English. In English, the word "hope" has one bad quality that we all attach to it, and it's just inherent in the word, and that is "uncertainty." So, you use the phrase, "I hope this works out," which means I'm not sure, but I would like it to." Understand right away that you've got to wipe your mind clean. Nothing could be further from this Greek word. That is absolutely never, never, never the meaning of this Greek word. And then we have to go back further than that. We've got to go back to the Hebrew words on which the Greek word is built. It's a continuation of it. We have to go back to the Old Testament and say: exactly what does the concept of hope mean? And I want to prepare you for the fact that it does not have a whisper of uncertainty. So, you're going to have to readjust your thinking when you read the word "hope" in the Scripture. It does not mean what we use it to mean in English. In the Bible, the word "hope" is never used with the connotation of uncertainty. There is no "hope so" mentality in the writers of Scripture.

This Greek word means a favorable and a confident expectation toward what is unseen and toward what is yet future? We have this demonstrated in Romans 8:24-25: "For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we do with patience wait for it." And what Paul is saying here is that hope is something that has to do with something that we haven't seen (heaven), and all of it joys, and all of its benefits. And it is in the future. It's not here. It is something in the future. When we say, "We hope for these things" – this future in heaven, with all of its blessings, and all that that connotes, we do not say, "We hope so" for it.

Hope Means an Absolute Certainty

This is like people saying, "Are you Christian? Are you going to heaven?" And the reply is "Well, I hope so." Immediately, you know that they don't understand the word "hope" in terms of spiritual things, or they would never say a thing like that. This word means an absolute certainty. It's different than anything we talk about in English.

Hope Means Actuality

So, here Paul says, "We don't see it, but we've got it. It's just as if we could see it. The Greek word "elpis" connotes the happy anticipation of receiving something that's good. For example, Titus 1:2 refers to that idea: "In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the war began. The person who does not understand eternal security of salvation, and who does not understand unlimited atonement, will read Titus 1:2, and think about "in hope of eternal life" as something that is questionable. To them it is just a possibility. And that is never the case. The word does not mean uncertainty. It does not mean possibility. It means actuality. It's a certainty. It's a sure thing.

1 Peter 1:21 also speaks about happy anticipation of receiving something that's good: "Who by Him do believe in God who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God." What God has done for His son gives us the confidence to trust the Father to do the same for us – a confidence of which we are certain.

The Glory of God

Now the object of this exaltation, Paul says, is "the glory of God"" In hope of the glory of God." This is the Greek word "doxa," and it has a non-biblical use which actually, in the Greek world, connoted an opinion, or a viewpoint. The Bible never uses it like that. The Bible uses it strictly in terms of honor and a praise. And here it is the glory of God ("theos"), and therefore, it is referring to a divine splendor and brilliance which pertains to God's holiness.

Hope and Glory

You see in this little phrase that there are two key words that describe the Christian's future. One is the word "hope." The other is the word "glory." These two words will change your life for all eternity as a believer.

The Doctrine of Hope

So, we're going to take a look now, beginning with the Old Testament, at the doctrine of hope summarized. We begin by looking at the Old Testament Hebrew words for hope. First we'll look at the verbs.

A Patient, Confident Expectation
The first one is "qawah." "Qawah" means "to be stretched out toward;" "to long after;" "to wait for;" or, "to expect." "Qawah" was the word that the Hebrews used when they took string (twine), and they stretched it out; pulled it; and, then they wove it together to make a heavy rope. So, the idea here is enduring under tension. It means something that you can pull, and you can put under tension, and it will stand. If you do that to the little string, it would break. But by weaving it together, you have created a condition of "qawah" – a tension that will stand (of reliability) that cannot fail. It is a fail-safe piece of rope. And that conveys the first Hebrew idea of hope. It connotes hope as a patient, confident expectation.
In Psalm 27:14, you have this word "qawah" used, and it is translated by the idea of "wait:" "Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." Twice he puts it in there. What's he saying? He is saying, "Let the Lord be like a rope." Get yourself entangled in God, and you will have a strength; you will have a confidence in life; and, you will be a winner. Again I say that we're not only talking in terms of eternity. We're talking about right now. This is the hope that makes a winner.
You may add to this Psalm 37:9, where again "qawah" is translated as "wait."
In Isaiah 40, we have that tremendous, wonderful verse that you're all acquainted with. Isaiah here uses this word that means to have a patient, confident expectation. Notice again the certainty of what the word connotes in terms of hope. Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait (they that 'qawah') upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Now that verse gives you a definition of "qawah." And you can see that what comes true is patient, confident expectation: "They that hope upon the Lord shall renew their strength. (That's a winner.) They shall mount up with wings like eagles. (That's a winner.) They shall run and not be weary. (That's a winner.) They shall walk and not faint. (That's a winner.)" And what this Scripture is telling us is that this kind of hope brings you a confident result.
This, incidentally, was a key word in David's life. We have this particular Hebrew word used again and again in the Psalms, as David would describe his hope in God. What was he saying? David says, "I know how to stand up under tension. I know how to stand up under the stress of life. I know how to get a rope that we can depend upon. When you get in some situations in life, you want this kind of a rope that's described by the word "qawah."
Years ago, one of our most tremendous Berean Youth Club campouts (it happened to be our very first one) was to Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the things that we did one day, was that I took the kids up to one of the five live glaciers in the park; that is, glaciers that are actually moving – building up and actually moving. It was Andrew's Glacier. The Rangers had discontinued tours because they got gotten in a problem with some people on how they were acting on the glacier. The YMCA had been up there the week before us, and some girl had gone off in the wrong place and gotten killed. So, they kind of briefed us on what it was like.
So, we went up there with some trepidation. There was Mr. Gitchell, and I was there, and we had another man. So, we had to look around among us. We decided somebody's got to go out on that glacier and test it out to see what the surface is like. So, we had to decide who was the most expendable, and they gave it to me. So, what we did was got a rope that was "qawah," and tied it around me. And I gingerly walked out on the glacier, and went down the thing to check it out. We wanted to slide down it. And sure enough, we were headed right for a big rock.
So, I came back up, and I said, "Let's move over this way." On the other side was a drop-off, but we had plenty of room to stay away from that. So, after we had it outlined, we took the rope of. We no longer needed the security. And did we have a ball? That was the one time we didn't get out of the mountains till dark. When we got back to our cars, it was dark, because we had so much fun there that I couldn't get Gilmore Holt to go home and to quit. And it was all because we had a "qawah" rope that we could depend upon to check things out. That's what David means in the Psalms. Again and again, he says, "The Lord is my hope," and he uses the word that means, "He is my confident expectation. He's not saying, "The Lord is my possibility of getting someplace." David says, "The Lord is the reason I am going to get someplace." You only need to look at the life of David. He had some rough moments, but always he went forward with the Lord. At the lowest ebb of his life, he was still looking to God as the rope that would carry him through. And the finest 25 years of his life came after some of his worst sins.
A Determined Attitude Waiting for a Sure Result
The second verb is "yachal." "Yachal" means "to wait" or "to long for." Now this connotes hope as "a determined attitude," again, "waiting for a sure result." Job 13:15 uses this word "yachal," and it translates it as "trust:" Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him, but I will defend my own ways before Him:" "Though He slay me." Here is Joe hurting badly in his spirit and his soul, because of what's been said to him by his friends and family. He is hurting in his body. And he uses this word: "Though He slay me, yet I will 'yachal' Him? I will have a determined attitude of waiting for a sure result. Whatever the rest of them thought, there was no doubt in Job's mind that he was going to come through a winner.
You have this word used in Psalm 71:14: "But I will hope continually, and will yet praise You more and more." There's is a good example of the confidence. There is no uncertainty here: "I will hope continually, and yet praise You more and more." There is never going to come a time when I'm going to not have reason to praise You. What You are going to do to me is going to cause me to praise You all the more. That is what he is saying.
In Lamentations 3:21-24 is an interesting example of this, because here's Jeremiah, who is facing a really very rough time in his experience. The Babylonians are about ready to conquer the nations. He has been warning them. He has been pleading with them. He's been telling them what's coming up, and what's going to happen. But the leaders of Israel put him in prison for it. They just considered him an alarmist, and they were sick and tired of his telling them that their State Department was all fouled up; what was going to happen to them; what the Babylonians were about to do; and, what they had done to their military preparedness. Finally, they simply threw him in prison. And in Lamentations 3:21-24, we have this passage where he uses this Hebrew word, "yachal," for hope:
"This I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope." And we have it translated here as "hope." And what he's doing is remembering what God has done. If you look at the context, you see how he has reviewed how God has cared for them: "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His companions do not fail. They are new every morning. Great is by faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul. Therefore, I will hope in Him."
Here is Jeremiah hurting about as bad as any man could. And what does he say? He says, "My 'yachal' is in God. Great is His faithfulness, and I will trust Him. And there was nothing on the horizon but absolute destruction for all of them.
Job 19:25 is another example of this word. The book of Job uses this word several times, but here is an example of expressing the idea of patient waiting under extreme pressure. The content of Job's hope is described in Job 19:25-27: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and that though after my skin, worms to this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God; Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, though my heart be consumed within me." What Job is saying is that his constant confidence; his constant expectation; and, his hope is going to be in God even after his body has died and decayed and deteriorated. Yet, the content of his hope is that he's going to bring me back. For all Job knew at the time, he was going to die. His condition was so bad that he perhaps didn't even expect to survive. But his confident expectation was: "I am going to come back."
To Wait
Let's add a few small ones. The next one is "chachah." It means "to wait." It connotes hope as full confidence. You have this in Psalm 33:20 where it's translated as "wait." Isaiah 8:17 has it translated as "wait." As you read these passages, you see that the thing that comes through is strong, full confidence.
An Expectation
Next is "savar." "Savar" means "to wait;" "to hope;" "to expect;" or, "to look intently at something." This connotes hope as an expectation. Esther 9:1 tells about how the enemies of the Jews had a confident expectation of being able to destroy the people. Psalm 104:27 may be add to that. It connotes the idea of waiting.
Confidence without Fear of Disappointment
Here is another big one. One more verb will complete the verb list of Old Testament verbs: "batach." "Batach" means "to trust;" "to rely upon;" or, "to feel safe." It connotes hope in the sense of setting one's confidence upon someone without fear of disappointment. Notice Isaiah 12:2 as an illustration of that: "Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust ('batach') and not be afraid, for the Lord, even the Lord is my strength and my song. He also is become my salvation." What Isaiah is saying is that there is absolutely no ground upon which there will be any concern for him relative to salvation. God is making a sure thing of that for him.
You may add Job 11:18, which reads, "And you shall be secure because there is hope. Yea, you shall dig about you, and you shall take your risk in safety." For Job, in spite of what was happening to him, there was going to still be hope.
What did Jesus Christ think upon in His situation on the cross? Well, you have that in Psalms 22:9, where the Lord Jesus uses this very Hebrew word "batach" when He expressed His hope in His darkest hour: "But You are He Who took Me out of the womb. You did make Me hope upon my mother's breast." The Lord Jesus said, "When I was but a nursing infant, I had full confidence and expectation in You. Now I'm a dying Man on this cross, and nothing has changed. You are still the God of 'batach.'"
So, this is a word that means confident expectation. David used this in Psalm 16:9-10, where it is translated "hope," in reference to the fact that his body would not be left in the grave. He had full hope of resurrection.

So, let's bring it together. The basic meaning of the Old Testament Hebrew verbs for "to hope" is a patient, confident expectation without fear of disappointment – a determined attitude waiting for a sure result (complete trust). There is no "hope so" anywhere in any of these verbs.

Now you have had a complete presentation of the basic Hebrew verbs. So, when you say, "What does 'hope' mean in the Old Testament, when these people talked about hope?" Every one of these words (and with this in mind, as you read the passage, you'll just see it standing out on the page) meant a confident expectation. When they said "hope," they meant "certainty."

Dr. John E. Danish, 1977

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The Book of Life; and, HopeRO45-01