Hebrews 11:32-40

Hebrews 11:32-40

Having followed the fateful up to the conquest of the promised land, the author moves on to a quick overview of the time of the judges through the prophets. Certainly there is not enough time for us to cover in detail all the heroes of the faith. But we can offer a summary that helps us put this in perspective for both ourselves and the original readers.

We see here the story of great men and women who did great things, experienced great power, and suffered great hardship because of their great faith in anticipation of the great promise. The heroes of the history of Israel were not heroes because they kept the rituals of the temple worship or the codes of the law. Their ritual and moral faithfulness came out of what made them heroes, namely their faith. Indeed, we can see that at times they violated both the ritual and the law, but it was their faith that brought them through and brought them back.

Special note should be given to the suffering and hardship that they endured. So much of our faith today is based, falsely, on the promise of ever-growing prosperity, wealth, health, and success. In this Hall of Fame of faith, we do see success, but to a greater degree, we see suffering. The last three descriptive words in verse 37 will suffice for a description of what they suffered. Those words are “destitute, afflicted, and ill-treated.” The word destitute literally means “depleted, having nothing, having used up everything, and that was not enough. Afflicted means pressed or crushed; it is related to the word for a crowd or thick mob pressing in. Ill-treated is a compound word from “ill” and “bad,” meaning to be held in someone's power in which you are treated badly. The description is no small inconvenience. Faith, both then and now, has often required suffering. But it is by faith that the promise is received.

For these Hebrew Christians, who were tempted to leave Christ for Judaism, it is shown that all the heroes of the Old Testament were living in faith for the coming of Christ. These Jewish Christians are invited to join in this throng of heroes, indeed to complete this hero band in Christ. Nothing could be greater for a Jew than to be numbered among the likes of Abraham, David, the Judges, and the Prophets, and this is done by faith in Christ, who is both the promise and the promise giver. 

“Lord, grant me a faith that I will be numbered among the heroes of the faith.  AMEN”

Hebrews 11:17-31

Hebrews 11:17-31

In the incredible and wonderful description of the Hall of Fame of Faith, we must be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. Each description of great faith is worthy of study, but their uniting theme, as with the whole book of Hebrews, is a superiority of Christ to all else. In the verses before us, we see a summation of the beginning of the nation of Israel from the great Abraham to the entry into the Promised Land. Covering hundreds of years of history and only barely touching on the lives mentioned, the author points out the real source of the life of Israel. The real source of the life of Israel, as God's chosen people, wasn't the rituals of the temple, the work of angels, the life of Moses, or the giving of the law, but it was faith.

The appeal of Judaism to draw Hebrew Christians back was a mistaken appeal because the foundation of the ancients was faith, and that faith is now expressed in Christ. A Jew was never less Jewish than when they failed to have faith in Jesus as the Messiah. A Jew was most consistent with the heroes and the patriarchs of old when they placed their faith in Jesus. In the novel In His Steps, we often hear the question, “What would Jesus do?” The writer of Hebrews is almost subliminally asking that question and another form of “What would Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the patriarchs do?" The question is answered: they would have faith in God in the person of Jesus.

We need for a moment to take a glance at one specific incident. All those magnificent moments of faith deserve detailed study; however, the most we can do now is take a quick glance at the greatest act of faith in the Old Testament: the near sacrifice of Isaac. The original Jewish readers would have studied this event and would have had a depth of knowledge far beyond what we typically have. What they would have seen in this event was a vivid picture of the death of Jesus on the cross. The most important and defining moment in the life of the father of the Jewish nation was a picture, an acted prophecy, of the sacrifice of Jesus. What would it mean to be a true descendant of Abraham was bound up in the death and the resurrection of Jesus!

“Grant me Lord a faith so deep and committed that I will never fear man nor circumstances. AMEN”

Hebrews 11:1-16

Hebrews 11:1-16

We come to what has been called the Hall of Fame of Faith. In the context of this letter to Christian Jews being persecuted and leaving the faith, the author presents some of the history on which they would have grown up. The readers were not given a new history or new information but were invited to join in the long heritage of the faithful. At the close of chapter 10, the author quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4, in which there is the promise of a coming, a call to live by faith, and an exhortation to not give up. Chapter 11 is a description of people who did just that.

Each character in this history is worthy of individual contemplation and study, but for our purposes we are going to look at a couple of general principles. Principles that would have been important to the first readers and can apply to our lives as well.

First, faith is not always, if ever, the perfect, whole, complete expression or conviction we might want it to be. Abraham was not always fully convinced about his heir; at one point he lamented that Eliezer of Damascus was going to inherit all that he had. Sarah was also a faith struggler. When God told her she would have a child, she laughed at God, not a particularly strong expression of faith. Sometimes faith lives in the same heart as doubt or questioning.

Second faith never exists apart from behavior or actions. We have often incorrectly understood the relationship of faith and works. But clearly when a person has faith, it always produces actions. Abel offered, Enoch walked, Noah built, and Abram left. We never see the presence of faith without an action or behavior to go with it. So much so that that behavior is a good indicator or evidence of what the faith is like, if it is there at all. If there is no action, then whatever is there is not real faith.

Third faith will cost you. Ultimately it will be worth the cost, but in the meantime faith will require giving up some short-term advantage for the long-term benefits. It is the confidence in the long term that makes the short-term decision so reasonable. Abram’s pursuit of the eternal city was at the cost of a secure life in Ur and spending a lifetime of being a wandering pilgrim. Faith is not easy, but it is absolutely worth the cost. 

“Help me, Lord, to live out my faith every day. AMEN”