Hebrews

Faith is.......

Chapter Introduction

The knowledge of Jesus changes us, not only allowing us to look beyond this life but making looking beyond a normal part of it. It's not right to see someone who professes Jesus yet continues on in their old ways, pulls away from Jesus, or denies Him in their life. That's what the writer sees in these Hebrews. Something is wrong. They either had a flawed understanding of Jesus or a wrong response to a right understanding.

When we hold fast to our confession, it is a reminder of where we once were and where we are now.  In our confession we acknowledged we are sinners.  We weren't good people who made a mistake.  Our confession is that we aren't good, can't be good; in fact, we were a lost cause.  We aren't sinners because we sinned.  We sinned because we are sinners.  Our confession is that by myself and of myself, I deserve the full wrath of God.  Our profession is a turning from our sin and all that we trusted in and turning fully to Jesus Christ.  We now trust Him.  Our profession and confession is that hope cannot be found anywhere else.  It is only found in Jesus Christ.

Now, when things get rocky, and they do and they will, we can't throw our confession away.  We can't say, I'm all yours, Jesus, and an hour later say, never mind, I didn't know it was going to be this hard.  When life is hard, faith is important.

The big question becomes, what is faith?  Faith is living today and every day like you know how the story ends.  Because if you are in Christ you do know the end.  And you know the end is just the beginning.

We know where we are and where we end up.  We just don't know what happens in between. If it takes faith to hold on in the middle of a storm or in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, then I want to know what this faith is.

At the end of chapter 10 we were encouraged, right along with these Hebrews, to keep on because it is only for a little while.  A day is coming when the Lord will return.  It might be today, this week, or this Year.  It might be a short wait to the rapture, or we might live long happy lives.  Whichever it is, it'll be a short time before we are there.  When that day comes, there will only be two types of people found by the Lord:  Those who drew away from the Lord and fell into the arms of a dark world that leads men and women to perdition.  And those who believe all the way to the end to the saving of their soul.  That declaration is how chapter 10 ended.  The writer says some will hear of Jesus and believe all the way to the end to the saving of their soul.  Others will hear of Jesus and do nothing with it and end up in hell.  Then, he jumps right into the topic of faith.

Hebrews 11:1-2

Faith is:

• The confidence (legal contract, Jesus as the express image) of things hoped for.
• The evidence of that hope that can’t be seen.
• The confident assurance in what God has promised.
• The proof and validity of the unseen things we believe.

There is an unwritten question that hangs between the end of Chapter 10 and the beginning of Chapter 11.  The question is, how?  How can I be one of those who believe all the way to the end to the saving of their soul?  Every person has asked that question or some form of it.  We don't normally ask it in church though.  That question is asked in foxholes.  It's asked in a hospital room and doctors' offices.  It's asked in funeral homes and in the shadow of death.  It's asked in the dark of the night when all your fears seem to come crashing in on you.  It's asked in a million dark and lonely places in a million lives.  How?  How do I hold on to you, Lord, when my life is filled with pain and anguish?  How do I make sense of death and disease?  How do I have a blessed hope when I am being mocked and persecuted?

Every day, in a thousand ways, in each of our lives, we are asked by God, do you trust Me?  Do you trust that God can make sense of a tsunami that kills thousands of people?  He is right in the middle of it.  Do you trust that God can make sense of the death of a teenager who was so full of life and had such a bright future?  He's right there working.  Do you trust that God is living and active when a child is diagnosed with cancer?  He's right there.  Do you trust Him with the circumstances of your life?  No matter what they are?

My answer is like Mark 9:23-35 and probably similar to yours, “I believe Lord, yet help me in my unbelief.”  I believe, but it is a weak, imperfect, and beat-up belief that’s damaged because of sin.  I believe, but it is flawed and I fear it won't hold up when it matters.  Yet, my belief is in the One that is all-powerful and perfect.  The strength of my belief isn't based on my abilities or my power.  It's strong and empowered and stable because of the One I believe in. 

Right in verse one, we get the answer to the unwritten question between chapters 10 and 11.  How, O Lord?  The answer is by faith; that's how.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. 

The word translated to substance means foundation, firmness, resolution, conviction, or commitment. Faith is a prerequisite for belief, the foundation on which we build. 

Before we go on, we need to clarify what faith isn't.  Faith isn't blindly chasing after an unseen thing.  Faith isn't belief beyond reason.  Faith isn't thinking you will get rich if you say it and think it long enough and hard enough.  The world says, you gotta have faith.  Oprah says it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.  Joel Osteen says you just have to think positive thoughts and happy thoughts, and your life will be positive and happy.  The world, Oprah, and Joel, are all wrong.  The conviction of our faith comes from the One we believe in, not from ourselves.  I can believe I want to go to heaven very sincerely, but it won't happen unless I'm found in Christ.  If I put my faith in a golden calf, and I'm really sincere and dedicate my life to that golden cow, I will still stand before God in my sins.  My faith was unfounded.  It wasn't faith, after all, because it had no substance.  There was nothing behind it.  While the world says, you gotta have faith.  Christianity says you gotta have faith in Christ.  He is behind our faith.  He gives it power and substance.

One man said,

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation (D. Elton Trueblood). 

Faith only works when there is a trustworthy God behind it all.  And we can trust Him without reservation.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

What are 'things hoped for'?  Hope is not gambling on a favorable outcome.  The hope we have about our team winning a ball game isn't the same kind of hope we have regarding the outcome of life.  The substance of things hoped for isn't a game of chance.  This kind of hope is the knowledge of a sure thing that is inevitable if we are in Christ.  Our hope is the knowledge that all God's promises are true.  Hope is knowing we'll stand before Him someday because we are forgiven.  Our sure hope is knowing we'll be in heaven soon.

For these Hebrews, and for us, all this previous theology of who Christ is, what He's done, the sacrifice he brought, His priesthood and the temple and everything else, are sure things.  We believe these things and know them to be true.  They become our hope.  Faith is born out of these things and it becomes the substance or the foundation of all we are.  Suddenly, all that heavy lifting we did in the last ten chapters has become very important.  The knowledge of who Jesus is and what He's done brings about a resolve that no matter what this life brings we understand it is for a brief time and on the other side of this life is an eternity in paradise.  That's our hope.  Then Faith is the action and mindset brought about by that hope.  And a life is changed.

I hope in a day when this corrupt body is upgraded to an incorruptible.  I hope for a time when I won't be subject to the sinful temptations of the flesh.  I hope for a day when there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more sin, no more evil, no hunger, disease, or illness.  These are the sure things I hope for because they are promised to us by a faithful God.  These are the things of our inheritance.

I love this life.  It is a precious gift from God, and I don't wish it away.  But I long for what is coming.  And that life to come is what drives me.  The knowledge of that life to come changes us and forms our thinking and what we believe is seen in our life.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

My faith is being certain of what I don’t see.   My eyes see physical things.  Where I walk and don't walk is decided by what my physical eyes see.  I don't walk off cliffs; I don't walk in front of cars, and so forth.  I make wise decisions based on what my eyes tell me.  They are an important part of directing my physical life.  My eyesight gives evidence of seen things.  In the same way, my faith gives evidence of unseen things.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples went on to live and die in horrible circumstances in their life.  Most were martyred, some in horrible ways.  Why didn't they choose an easier path?  Because there was a faith in their life in something that could not be seen.  That hope that couldn't be seen showed up in their life and walk as faith.  Their lives became evidence of something very real that was coming.

With our spiritual eyes, we see a truth that changes our life.  It is spiritual; it can't be seen with the eyes, but it is no less real.  Just like the air that keeps me alive, I can't see it, but I'm sure of it.  And I am certain of gravity, but I can't see it.  Yet I can see evidence of it in many ways.  I am certain of God.  I am certain of His promises.  I can’t see Him, yet, I see the evidence of His hand in everything.

Being faithful seems to be evaluating all the evidence in this life and coming to the correct conclusion.  If you've come to the correct conclusion, then the conclusion becomes conviction.  The conviction becomes a fact in your life that doesn't change when your mood changes, health changes, or anything else.  That conviction should drive you to believe all the way to salvation, all the way to the end.  That's what the writing is trying to get across to these believers.  This conclusion of who God is, what He's done, and all of His promises change a life forever.  Your life and walk can't help but be affected by this conclusion.  That what's faith is.  It's holding onto the factual end of the story, even when you don't know the details of your journey there.  We may run off the road.  We may break down.  We may get lost from time to time.  But our destination remains fixed and factual.  The difficulties of this life don't change the realities of the next.

The person who hasn't come to the correct conclusion lives their life for today.  Their hope is in today, in the flesh, in this world.  They are gambling on a long life with lots of joy, happiness and so on.  They can't help but be self-centered because it is all about them.  They are bound only to this world; eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die; sex, drugs, and rock & roll.  Their idea of faith is a manufactured "hope so" feeling.  That's all an unbeliever has.  There is nothing behind their faith.  There is no unseen reality.  All they have is a deep want based in the flesh.  Faith in an unbeliever is gambling all of eternity on today's happiness.  Jesus said, for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  We see evidence every day of a life with no hope, with no future.  We've all seen folks living that way.  It's all around us.  And I certainly remember when my life was that way.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.  Our faith becomes evidence that God has saved us.  We believe even though we haven't seen.  Our belief not only forms our thinking, our speech, and the path we walk in life, but it also becomes our testimony.  Others look at us and can see our faith.  We've all met folks like that.  We say that person has faith because they live it out; they never waiver; it is visible in their life.  There is evidence of what they believe and what they hope and long for.  Hopefully, we desire to be those types of folks.

There is a bible called The Cotton Patch bible.  It's a paraphrase written with a southern, folksy flavor.  I don't necessarily recommend it, but I like the way it phrases the first few verses of Hebrews 11.

Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on the unseen realities. It was for such faith that men of old were martyred. And by so relating our lives, we become aware that history is woven to God’s design, so that the seen event is a projection of the Unseen Intent.

Because God is in charge and we trust Him, we can bet our lives that events are driven by an unseen intent. God has a plan. The seen event, the story we see with our eyes, is a projection; it's a movie playing out that reveals the unseen intent. The event is a life lived. That unseen intent is the story of a believer betting their life on the unseen realities. That is faith. By it, the elders obtained a good testimony. 

We're about to embark on a tour of the history of the world where we get to see the good testimony from God's people.  We'll see the events that were the real lives of real men and women.  Because these people trusted God, their lives looked very different.  They believed in a reality we can't see.  That faith in the unseen is their testimony.

Hebrews 11:3

Our tour starts at the very beginning of time.  God was already there in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Time began when God declared there to be a first day.  All of the world, all of history was framed when an unseen God spoke the world into existence. 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”;

By faith, we understand this, not because we've seen it but because we see evidence of it. We see creation, and we see amazing design in it, from the highest mountain to the deepest sea. From the microscope to the telescope, we see evidence of God's design.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.  (Psalm 33:6)

For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:9)

To define faith and clarify the role of Jesus Christ in the life of the believer, we begin at the beginning.  Jesus was from the beginning and will be to the end.  He is eternal.  No man can prove that to you because God alone was there.  So it is by faith we receive that, not without evidence, though.  We have the evidence of God's word and the evidence of creation.  God completed His creation but He never stopped working in this world.  He always had a plan for us.  That plan requires faith.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith is that unwavering commitment to walk onward toward the Lord, regardless of what this life throws at us.  It's believing His promises in spite of any evidence or feelings to the contrary.  Oswald Chambers said, faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.

Hebrews 11:4

Go to Genesis 4 to see the story of Abel offering a better sacrifice than Cain.  Why was the sacrifice of Abel better than the sacrifice of Cain?  Cain probably looked at his sacrifice and believed it to be sufficient.  In his eyes, it was a good sacrifice, or at least it was good enough.  He probably worked hard to grow the crops.

Able's sacrifice was better, though.  We know he brought the firstborn of the flock.  It wasn't that the firstborn of the flock was a better sacrifice than Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground.  The real difference was that it was offered in faith.  And the conclusion is that Cain's sacrifice was not offered in faith.

Cain and Able were the first generation to have the need for faith.  Their parents dealt with God face to face in the garden until their fall to sin and subsequent expulsion from the garden.  Now, outside the garden, out in the world, all future generations, starting with Cain and Able, had to deal with an unseen God.  But God didn't just kick man out of paradise without a plan.  Right from the beginning we see that God called for the shedding of blood for the covering of sin.  Even though the law wasn't given to Moses for hundreds of years, God had already made Cain and Abel aware of the holy requirements of a just God.

God told Moses in Exodus 13:2 to “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”  Yet, from the very beginning, we see Cain and Able knew this, and Able was obedient to the command.  I suspect they learned that from their parents, who came to know it right after they sinned.  God had given Cain and Able direction.  He had spoken a truth into their life.  And we see the stirring of that truth in the life of Abel.  That stirring may be witnessed by a man who was a keeper of sheep in a world that didn't eat meat.  God didn't give men animals to eat until after the flood.  So why raise sheep if you don't eat the meat, because they come in handy to sacrifice to the Lord and to make clothing.  God had given them the design that would be woven throughout history.  There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.  The very first sacrifice made by Adam to cover his sin was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.

Able was obedient, and his sacrifice was offered by faith and pointed to Jesus Christ, who would someday die for his sin, and the bible says God respected it.  That means God looked on the sacrifice.  Many commentators believe this means God burned it up.  We can't say for sure but it was clear that God received it and was pleased.  Abel obtained witness that he was righteous.  He brought a sacrifice from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.  Abel heard God's word, it stirred Him, he responded with obedience and God bore witness to him and his act of faith.

Now, the world would respond and say a lot of good faith did him since he was killed.  And verse 4 of Hebrews 11 even acknowledges that.  Right from the beginning we see that faithfulness isn't rewarded with long life and wealth and riches in this world.  But Abel had laid up riches in the next world because of his faith and belief in what God had instructed.

Cain brought what may have been, in his eyes, an excellent sacrifice.  It was produce of the land.  It was designated as set apart from the Lord.  It was probably very nice.  But Cain brought what he thought was good enough, not what was perfect in God's eyes.  It wasn't the firstfruits.  It was his offering offered his way, not what God instructed to be offered in the way God instructed.

Cain's offering was the first act of dead works.  It was the first empty religion.  It was trying to make peace with God on man's terms instead of God's terms.  The result in Cain's life was anger and a fallen countenance.  Why was he angry?  What was he bummed about?  It is an offense to the natural man to swallow his pride and relinquish ownership to God.

How did God respond to Cain's insufficient anger and subsequent anger?  God didn't banish Cain or punish Him for his sacrifice.  He just refused Cain's offering.  He said to Cain, If you do well, will you not be accepted?  Instead of doing well, Cain thought he could get away with lowering the standard of what was acceptable.  In pride, he thought he could bring what he thought was sufficient.  God stirred Cain and called him to obedience.  Faith calls for obedience, but Cain had no faith.  Hopelessness and faithlessness lead to disobedience.

God warned Cain that if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.  That very moment God was speaking the truth to Cain again.  He was warning him, calling Him to obedience and faith, calling him to repentance.  This was Cain's opportunity to listen to God, agree that what he did was wrong, and then be obedient.  Go a little further in this story to Genesis 4:8-9: 

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. ⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Cain ignored the warning, opened the door, and allowed sin to come in and rule over him.  He rose up and killed His brother.  Did Cain think that killing Abel would somehow make things better?  Abel had nothing to do with Cain falling short.  Abel's sacrifice offered in faith made Cain look bad.  Cain's pride was bruised and he responded in anger.  This is the first persecution of a believer.  Abel was killed because of his faith, which led him to obedience.  Cain was the first to allow anger and pride to lead to sin.

Even now, with his brother dead, God didn't strike Cain down.  God is longsuffering, patiently calling men to repentance.  God knew what Cain had done but He asked Him, Where is your brother?  That was Cain's opportunity to confess and repent.  Instead, he defied God and tried to hide what he had done.  Then God laid a curse on Cain and Cain had the audacity to complain to God that the curse wasn't fair.

Abel was found righteousness in God's eyes.  Cain could have also but he didn't respond to the stirring.  He didn't move on the word of God.  God could have and would have forgiven Cain, but he never repented.  His rebellious heart led him to wander the earth as an earth dweller, cursed to a sinful world.  While Able will be a citizen of heaven because He trusted God and was obedient and faithful.

From the dawn of man, we see an example of faith and one of rebellion.  Both men had God's word.  Both were stirred.  But only one was obedient.  In Abel, we see the events of his life reveal the intent of God.  God wasn't surprised at Abel's death.  He used it as a testimony.

Hebrews 11:5-6

This story is found in Genesis 5.  Enoch was Noah's great, great Grandfather.  He was seven generations from Adam.  Here is what Genesis says about him:

 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²² After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Enoch lived 65 years, then he walked with God for 300 years.  Then, one day Enoch went for a walk with God and never came back.  The Lord took Him home.  All we know about Enoch is summed up in a few passages in the bible.  We get one verse in Hebrews, a couple of verses in Genesis, and then a short passage in Jude.  Jude called Enoch a prophet.  Here is what Jude said as he was speaking about apostasy:

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Clear back to the seventh generation from Adam, Enoch was speaking and prophesying against apostasy.  He was testifying of a coming day of judgment.  We can see that God had spoke truth into Enoch's life.  We can see Enoch was stirred and he responded in obedience.  Enoch was prophet, speaking the truth openly to a world that was quickly falling away from the Lord.  Enoch pleased God.

If you are without faith, it's not just difficult to please God; verse 6 emphasizes that it is impossible!!  Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.  We can draw the conclusion that Enoch was a man of great faith because God was so pleased with Him that they went for a walk together one day, and Enoch didn't come back.  Enoch was, and then he was not.  God took him.  Enoch didn't see death because he believed in God.  He believed that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Enoch was just a man, just like you and I.  He didn't just believe there was a God; he believed that there is only one true God.  And He trusted in what God said and it changed his life.  All that Enoch said and did was a direct result of his belief in God.  But it wasn't always like that.  He lived 65 years, he had Methuselah, and then he walked with God for 300 years.

It sounds as though it took him 65 years to come to know the Lord.  Frankly, that makes me feel better.  The birth of Enoch's son, Methuselah, changed something.  This is fascinating because we all know that life changes when you have kids.  Having kids will teach you to trust in the Lord; you learn to pray and ask for patience and all kinds of things happen.  We can all relate to that.  That may well be the exact thing that happened to Enoch.  He simply had a child.  He came to realize that there was something greater beyond himself.  A child will break you of pride and selfishness.  That may be what brought Enoch to repentance and faith.

At 65, Enoch had Methuselah, and it's interesting because Methuselah’s life became a picture of God's patience with men. Methuselah’s very name is a prophecy. It means, “After death, judgment comes.”  At the birth of Methuselah, Enoch came to the understanding of judgment. A truth was spoken into his life. He was stirred and obedient to the Lord. And the Lord still gives testimony to His life that ended without death. Enoch's life was an event that revealed the unseen intent.

It's interesting to note that Methuselah became the oldest man ever to live (Do you see God’s long-suffering in this?).  When he died, judgment came in the way of the flood.  Methuselah may have watched his grandson Noah build a boat.  When Methuselah died, the flood came.

Hebrews 11:7

Let's look at the account of Noah in Genesis 6:

⁵ Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Then jump down to verse thirteen:

¹³ And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

God warned Noah of something that had never happened before.  That warning became an unseen reality in Noah's life.  It drove him. It inspired and motivated Him.  He didn't believe it because there was evidence. He believed it because God said it.  Noah responded in obedience to build something that was never needed before.  It is believed that the earth was watered from the deep and that all the world was like a big terrarium, and the first time a raindrop fell was when the flood began.  All known logic and reason of the day would have come to an agreement that Noah was crazy as a loon.  Yet, Noah believed and was obedient to the point of ridicule and mockery.  It took him 120 years to build the ark.  That is faith.  Someone said, the way to see by Faith is to shut the eye of Reason.  Noah had to shut the eye of reason.

Real faith results in something being done.  After you finish the book of Hebrews, you’ll go right into the book of James, where you’ll hear this over and over again.  Real faith drives us to move, to speak, to work or act, to trust God.  In Noah we see a story that was an event in the world that revealed the unseen intent.  In Noah, we see God's purpose woven through history.

Hebrews 11:8-10

It is by faith Abraham obeyed.  Not because it made sense.  Not because he could see it was a better thing or a better way.  Abraham believed in God, closed the eye of reason, and was obedient.

Let's go back to Genesis to see the story of Abraham.  In chapter 11, the bible gave us the genealogies of Noah's sons.  After Noah, there are about 8 generations of ‘begatting’ when a man named Terah begat Abram.  Then, we pick up the story of Abram in Genesis 12.

¹ Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.

² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Lord spoke to Abram seemingly out of the blue!  Although I suspect it wasn't as random as it sounds.  God made him a promise, and Abram believed the promise; he acted in obedience, packed up his life, and moved to a new land.  Now, if you study this passage of scripture carefully, you will find out that God came to Abraham that first time when he was in Ur of the Chaldeans.  God said to get out of your country, from your family and your father's house, and go to Canaan.  Abram left Ur and went to Haran, not to Canaan as God had called him.  He was only partially obedient in leaving Ur.  And even at that, when he left, he took his family, including his Father and Lot.  Abram stayed there in Haran quite a few years until his father died.  Then he moved on to Canaan.

Abraham is considered a man of faith in Hebrews even though he wasn't immediately and entirely obedient.  As we read of Abraham's faith in Hebrews, we can know God doesn't remember the hesitation of many years.  God spoke into Abraham's life and the stirring in him took many years before he responded to it and pursued God.  In this we see a patient God, a loving God who goes to great lengths to call us, to move us.  God is a rewarder of those who seek him, even if we are a little slow to respond.  For some of us, it took a little longer for the truth to permeate our hard hearts and thick skulls.  It's good for us to remember that we can never be so far away or so disobedient, so lost or so rebellious that God can't reach us.

So, God called to Abram.  Can you imagine what it must have been like for Abraham?  First, I wonder how he heard from God.  There had to be a relationship that we're just not told about.  You don't just hear a voice in your head one day that says pick up all own and move and obey it without some idea of whose voice it is that you hear.  However, it worked. It didn't freak Abraham out when God spoke to Him.  This may have been in a vision, in a dream or it may have been an Old Testament appearance of Christ.  However, it happened, and Abram knew he had heard from God.  Then, he packed up his family and his life to go to a place that God would show him.

Continuing in Genesis 12:

⁴ So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Abraham's faith caused him to walk in obedience.  He went to this strange land and he was a foreigner there.  Abram passed through this strange land that was promised to him and came to Shechem.  He did this by faith, only responding to the promise and the stirring the Lord put on him.  At Shechem, He met the Lord.  Shechem became a special place.  You can imagine the fear and doubts, and concerns that Abram experienced.  Any time you walk by faith, Satan is whispering in your ears, “Did the Lord really say that?  Did the Lord really mean for you to go here?  Surely not!  He would have sent someone more important, someone better equipped, someone else.”  Satan will constantly tell you that faith makes no sense and offer you an alternative that seems very logical, comforting, and non-threatening.  For Abraham, it was probably the comfort of the land of his fathers and his family.  These were the things Abraham found hard to leave behind.

Similarly, I'm sure Satan offered Noah an opportunity to rid his life of this ridicule.  "Put down the hammer and the saw Noah."  Don't be so radical. Get along with folks.  It's never rained before, anyway.  For us, it might be money, power, career, or some other idol.  It might simply be convenient.  Satan says, don't chase after God; you won't get to golf on Sunday mornings, or you'll miss American Idol on Wednesday nights.  Satan will constantly offer you reasons why you should avoid faith. 

Abram walked in spite of any distractions.  And his walk of faith was rewarded by meeting the Lord there in Shechem.  Abram built an altar to the Lord.  This altar was a place to commemorate, worship, and sacrifice.  The altar said I met the Lord here.  It was a place to return to when doubt and unbelief made its way back into your life.  Even after meeting the Lord, Abraham was still human and had a short memory, much like us.  You can see that in Abram's life.  And you'll see that he comes back to this place because this is where he met the Lord.

When God met Abram at Shechem, He told him this land on which he stood; the land he walked through and saw before him was given to his descendants.  God loaded him up and moved him to another land but didn't give that land to him just yet.  He's going to give it to his descendants.  Abram responded with worship and he dwelt in the land.  But his residence there was as a foreigner, dwelling in tents as a sojourner, a stranger, a noncitizen.  Abram was living by faith.  He came to this place by faith, and his family would inherit it someday.

The only part of Abraham's land he ever owned was his burial plot, where he and Sarah were buried. In Abraham, we see that faith is a man who hears the word of God, is stirred by it, and is obedient to it, even packing up his family and moving to a foreign land.

Ultimately, though, Abrams's hope wasn't found in this land. It was found in another promise. That was the promise that after this life, he would go to the permanent Promised Land. This is a city built by God, a place where he would be a full citizen and would reside there as a permanent resident for all eternity.

Hebrews 11:11-12

In Genesis 17, God confirmed His covenant with Abraham.  The main part of that covenant is that God would make Abraham the father of many nations.  The descendants of Abraham and Sarah would be countless, and they would live in the Promised Land, and all the world would be blessed by them.  Except there was one little problem, they didn't have a child.  You can't have heirs without first having children.  We're going to jump back to Genesis 17 this time.  God had just given Abraham the sign of his Covenant.

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

There was Abraham, this great man of faith who we saw leave his home to go to a land God would show him.  There he was, laughing at God's plan, thinking that it was ridiculous and untenable.  Abraham even went so far as to suggest to God a more workable plan and he gave God his idea, that of making Ishmael the son of promise.  But Ishmael was the offspring of doubt.  Abraham and Sarah wanted a son so bad they took matters into their own hand, and Hagar had a son for them.  God, however, disagreed with their plan.  Ishmael wasn't the son of Promise God had spoken of.  Sarah would bear a son.  God even clarified for Abraham in verse 19, “Sarah, your wife”, not another Sarah or another woman, but, “Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son.”

Then, in Genesis 18, Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent one day when he looked up and saw 3 men.  He came to know one of these men was the Lord.  He ran to them and fell face down to worship the Lord.  He quickly invited the 3 visitors to stay and he prepared food for them.  Abraham told Sarah to prepare some bread while he went out and killed a calf to prepare.  Later, he took all this food to them and they ate.  Then Genesis 18:9 says......

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

¹⁰ And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

¹³ And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Sarah is remembered as one who judged Him faithful who had promised.  That's what it says, she judged God faithful who had promised.  Yet, we can see that in the beginning.  It didn't seem like she was so sure.  She and Abraham had probably had several good laughs as they sat around the dinner table talking about this promise that God made.  We can imagine her saying, hey, I have faith, but come on, having kids at this age?  Are you crazy?  And who could blame her?  They had this great promise of God that a nation would come from them, yet, they were old, way too old to have kids.

Jump forward to Genesis 21.

And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. ² For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

God's timing is perfect every time.  At the set time that child was born.  God's ways are not our ways.  His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Still in Genesis 21:

And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. ⁴ Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

This is the sign of the covenant.

Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:5)

The laugh now is a joyful laugh.  God had made them laugh with joy in doing what was seen as impossible.  Even though they laughed and had some doubts in the beginning, God still put them right in the middle of the hall of faith.  Their faith wasn't perfect but God's plan is always perfect.  We should draw encouragement from that.  These were normal folks who had faith in a God that doesn't always work in ways that we call normal.  Yet we know they diligently sought Him, and in that, they were rewarded.

Here's the conclusion.  This is the testimony of their lives.  It's the result of their faith in a faithful God.  All the promises came true.  As far as the world was concerned, Abraham and Sarah were going to die away with no descendants.  Then, instead, they became innumerable.  Millions of ancestors came from that child Isaac.

We see these events in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, and they tell the story of the unseen in their lives. There was something more happening. God was working his plan through all of history. He used the lives of two humble, imperfect servants to advance His plan. Their lives are the events that reveal God's intent.

Hebrews 11:13-16

Abraham and Sarah died having never received the promises; as well as Isaac and then Jacob.  These patriarchs all received the promise, and all believed it but never got to see it come about.  They didn't see the multitude that would eventually be brought out of Egypt to come and possess the land that was first promised to Abraham.  They didn't see these things but they believed them.  They were assured of them and they embraced the promise.  That means those beliefs were just part of who they were.  Their very identity was all wrapped up in the Lord.  Their confession was that of being strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  They were sojourners, just passing through for a time, on their way to the eternal promise.  This was their confession; they could declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  Their entire lives were lived as strangers in a strange land.

They could have looked back to the land of Ur or Haran.  They could have returned there and probably found a comfortable home on this earth.  We can imagine Satan tempted them toward this many a time.  But that wasn't what they sought.  They had been changed forever by God.  They sought something better.  They were chasing after a heavenly city.  And because of that, God rewarded their faith by preparing a city for them.

We need to see a couple of things before we move on.  First, we need to once again remember the Hebrews to which this letter was written.  The writer is speaking of this faith being present in their life.  They were suffering persecution for walking with Christ.  And they were falling away or stepping away.  Verses 15 and 16 are life applications for these people:

And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

These patriarchs could have turned back, but they didn't because they embraced the coming promises. They were moving forward in pursuit of the Lord, no matter what. Even though they didn't receive the promise on earth, they knew there was something greater coming. They stood fast and held on, knowing God would reward their faithfulness.

 And that's the second point.  This word to the Hebrews is also given to you.  Life isn't always what we think it should be or could be.  We often find ourselves looking to God and asking why, how, when, what.  Guide us, Lord, because we are confused.  Maybe we'll never understand some of the junk we walk through and live through.  But that is part of our sojourn.  This is our confession.  We are strangers in a strange land.  We are but pilgrims, not citizens of this land, because our citizenship is in heaven.  If we are in Christ, our home is in heaven in a city whose maker is God.  Our lives are all wrapped up in an amazing and awesome God who has given us a great promise.  We embrace that. We walk on.  Remember what happened to Abraham.  He walked in obedience and faith, and at Shechem, he met God there.  Wherever we are we need to hold fast, continue on, holding to the promises of God.  And you can hold onto the promise that God will reward those who diligently seek Him. 

Abraham responded by building an altar.  It was a place and a time to be remembered.  It was when God came to him.  It was a place to go back and worship God and remember His faithfulness to His promises.  If you've never trusted in the Lord, all this may sound rather strange.  Is there a stirring of truth in you that comes from hearing God's word?  There is no better day to respond to that truth than today.  You can't put this off so that you can play in your sin or avoid what God is calling you to.  Today might be the day you stand before the Lord.  When we stand before Him, there will be no excuses or justifying ourselves and our sins to God.  Without Christ, we would all be found guilty, every one of us.  We need to realize our guilt now while there is time, and we need to do something about it.  The only way our sins can be forgiven is by turning from them and turning to Jesus.  He died to pay the penalty you deserve.  It is a great gift, given by grace.  If you sit here today in your sins, that truth should stir you.  Listen to that stirring and respond in obedience.  Ask Him to save you.  Grasp the promises and begin your life of walking by faith.  Then, as believers, the story of our life becomes the event that reveals the unseen intent of God.  Some day our faith will be rewarded by going home to be in Paradise with the Lord.  Washed clean and forgiven, we'll stand on those golden streets of Paradise; this is the end that is really just the beginning.

Hebrews 11:17-19

Abraham was faithful in the test when he was told to sacrifice his son.  He believed that God was true to his promises.  God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a chosen people.  And that many would come from his offspring.  They would be like the sand on the seashore.  On one hand, God made these promises to Abraham.  On the other hand, God told him to sacrifice his son.  Abraham looked at these two things that don't go together and concluded that it was his job is to be obedient.  It was God's problem to work it out.

Look at the story in Genesis 22.

There are a couple of things we might consider at the beginning of this story.  First, Abraham heard from God again.  There was clear communication between God and Abraham.  God called; Abraham said, here I am.  Abraham is at God's beck and call, available to Him for whatever he is called to.  That was the first test. God called, and the person of faith responded, here I am.  What will you have me do, Lord?  How many times have we responded to God's calling with a list of questions?  Tell me more, God, before I agree to do anything.  How much will I be inconvenienced?  What's in it for me?  I know I've stood on the brink of moving into something I know God had called me to, only to hesitate and begin to consider the effect on me and my life.  Faith says go.  Whatever it costs you, it's nothing compared to what it cost Jesus Christ.  He gave it all so you might be in the right standing with God.  The right response is, here I am, Lord and Abraham, responded that way, here I am!  You are my Lord, give me my marching orders.

Now, if you or I heard a voice that said we were to go do this, we would immediately think we'd lost it.  So again, I believe this is evidence of a deep and abiding relationship with the Lord.  Hearing from the Lord was the normal business for Abraham.  When the Lord said this to him he didn't argue or question it any way, he just obeyed.  He knew the voice of his master.  Abraham loaded up Isaac and some wood and made the journey to a specific mountain.  Abraham said to the other young men that they were going to worship and they would come back.  Abraham had faith in God that his family would become a nation and that somehow God would work this out.

Abraham was being obedient in offering this sacrifice that had the appearance of ruining the first promise.  Abraham thought he was offering Isaac but he also expected him to return with them.  He had to wonder, how is God going to work this out?  Here, Hebrews 11 says he believed God was able to raise him back up.  Abraham walked on, though, confident that God had a plan.  God would work it out because His promises are sure.  This is this exciting part of our faith.  We get to see God do some pretty amazing things.  Sometimes, you just see some circumstances developing in life, and you know God is about to do something amazing.  And you just watch with confidence because you know it is coming.  Then, even when you're watching, God often surprises us just because He's that way.  He not only comes through on his promises, he comes through in a way that is grandiose or phenomenal.  It often leaves you standing there with your mouth hanging open in surprise, saying, no way!  I didn't see that coming!  God, you are awesome.

Abraham continued on, walking by faith, not by sight.  The sight of what he was about to do was frightening.  Isaac was catching on that there was a problem. just to make sure you have this picture right in your mind.   Abraham's an old man.  Remember, he was a hundred when Isaac was born.  In fact, Abraham is probably pushing 120, while Isaac is twenty years old.  That changes the picture of this story, doesn't it?  All the picture books have this young helpless lad being strapped down for sacrifice.  As a 20-year-old, I'm pretty sure he did this voluntarily.  Isaac was operating by faith also.

What's Isaac thinking?  If God is going to provide for Himself a lamb He better get going.  Dad just tied him down, and suddenly, he pulled out this knife.  Abraham raised the knife because he trusted God.  You know he had to be crying and scared and calling out to God to intervene; to be faithful in His promises.  And there is no indication in this story but I'm sure Satan was whispering in his ear, did God really say that?  Surely not; you must have heard God wrong.  He would never ask you to do that.  Satan is always resisting the moves of faith.  And this is just a very strange scene spiritually.  It took a lot of faith to stand on Abraham's part.

Abraham was still listening for the Lord, seeking Him, desiring His will, desiring to hear from Him.  Here I am God.  Figuratively, Isaac was as good as dead for 3 days during the travel to Mt. Moriah and then returned from the dead.  This story is a prophecy of Jesus.  Abraham saw it as a test.  I'm sure it was a horrible thing to live through.  But he responded in obedience to the word that God stirred up in him.  That response of faith created a picture of Jesus Christ.  Abraham's life was the event, the intent was God's plan woven through all of history.  Abraham offered his son.  But he was allowed to live because God would provide the perfect sacrifice on that same hill sometime later.

Mt Moriah is often associated with the temple mount, where many sacrifices were offered. At the peak of Mt Moriah, God sacrificed the lamb that would take away the sins of the world. Many scholars believe that the very place where Abraham offered up Isaac would later be the place known as Golgotha, where Jesus, the Lamb of God, would be sacrificed.

After this event on Mt Moriah, Isaac disappeared for a few chapters.  It doesn't say Isaac went home.  The Bible doesn't say anything about Isaac for several chapters.  It's as if he went away.  During these chapters, when he is gone from the picture, the father, Abraham, sends an unnamed servant to find a bride for his son.  The son doesn't make another appearance until he meets his bride.  The unnamed servant prepares the bride for the day she will meet the bridegroom.  This is the story of Jesus.  Isaac, after being essentially dead for 3 days, is figuratively resurrected, then disappears from the scene until he meets his bride.  Jesus died, was raised in 3 days, and ascended.  In the unnamed servant, we can see the work of the Holy Spirit sent to prepare the church, which is known as the bride of Christ.  All this happens while the bridegroom is out of the picture.  And the bride is brought to the bridegroom by the unnamed servant.  The Holy Spirit will deliver those saved in Christ unto him as soon as we meet the Lord in the air.  He doesn't come get his bride on earth; His bride meets Him in the air.  It's all a very neat prophetic picture of Jesus.  God would someday provide the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all man.  For Abraham and Isaac, the event seemed like it was all about life and death for them.

Abraham was faced with a promise and command that seemed to contradict each other.  With his limited sight, this made no sense.  We've all experienced that.  Yet Abraham walked by faith.  He understood it was God's problem to work out, not his.  And God was more than capable of working it out.  In reality, it was the unseen intent of God working it all out and creating a prophetic picture of the perfect sacrifice that would one day come.  Faith wasn't about finding perfection in the eyes of the Lord.  It was setting the direction of our life according to His perfection.

Hebrews 11:20

What part of faith was in this blessing?  We need to start this part of the study in Genesis 25:23.  Isaac and Rebekah were married and God blessed them with twins, Jacob and Esau.  Before they were born, Rebekah was worried because they seemed to struggle within her.  God responded, Genesis 25:23:

“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”

Before they were ever born, God had ordained that the older should serve the younger.  That was backward and not normal, especially in that culture. 

Now we jump forward to when Isaac is an old man.  He told his oldest son Esau to prepare a meal for him and he would bless him.  Isaac's wife Rebekah overheard him and helped Jacob, the younger son, deceive his father into thinking that he was Esau.  Esau was out hunting some wild game to make a meal.  Rebekah ended up dressing Jacob up as Esau using Goat skin.  Jacob took a meal to his father and pretended to be Esau.  And Isaac was deceived by the feel and the smell.  Isaac ended up giving his blessing to the younger son Jacob by accident.

²⁸ Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.

²⁹ Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!” (Genesis 25:28+29)

Jacob received this blessing.  Then, not too much later, Esau returned expecting to feed his father and receive a blessing.  Isaac realized that he had been deceived.  The Bible says he trembled exceedingly.  Why did Isaac tremble that way?  Isaac thought the older son, Esau, was more fitting to carry the blessing.  This was the tradition, the culture, and the way of their world.  Isaac was going to bless Esau even though God had already made it clear before they were ever born that Esau would serve Jacob.  God had a plan.  Isaac tried to mess it with it or alter it to what he saw was a more fitting or appropriate way.  And it's a shame Jacob thought he had to lie and deceive to receive the promises of God.  Even through lies and deceit, God worked His perfect plan.  Many times, we feel as if we have to help God out, and we make a hash of things.  This deception cost Jacob a lot over the course of his life.

Isaac told Esau, “I gave your blessing to Jacob.  I have blessed him—and indeed, he shall be blessed.”  Suddenly Isaac knew God worked his plan as He saw fit in spite of the faults of all involved.  I wonder if, at that very moment, Isaac remembered the plan of God when he was nearly sacrificed.  I wonder if that's why he trembled.  By faith, Isaac knew that the blessing on Jacob was the blessing God intended for him.  This was the intent of God to work through the events of the lives of his people.

Hebrews 11:21

Jacob was a deceiver.  He was also repeatedly the victim of deception.  He lived a pretty carnal life.  Jacob was far from perfect, yet here he was in the hall of faith.  When Jacob was dying, he blessed his sons.  In spite of the mistakes he had made, he knew God was faithful and His promises true.  Jacob believed in the promises of God and passed these things on by the way of a blessing to the 12 tribes.  Jacob didn't feel as though he wasn't good enough to pass these promises on or that his family didn't deserve what God promised.  It's not perfection but the direction God seeks.  Jacob spoke God's truth to this family and gave them direction; to be devoted to the Lord.  You can read about this in Genesis 49.

Within these prophetic blessings, Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manassas as his own, as though it were a double portion for Joseph. 

Hebrews 11:22

Joseph's life was a life of faith and trust in the promises of God.  Joseph's faith got him in trouble a few times.  But he didn't waiver.  His brothers sold him, Potiphar's wife accused him, and he was forgotten in prison, but he didn't lose faith.  He said to his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.  This is faith.  It's the intent of God.  It's his design woven throughout history within the lives of His people.  And when Joseph's life was nearly over, he knew the intent of God went on.  The promises would be fulfilled even though he wouldn't live to see them. 

And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:24-26)

Joseph didn't want to be buried in a foreign land.  It was faith that informed his thinking that someday these people would be going home to the Promised Land.  And when they went, they were to take him home.  For the next 400 years, the testimony of Joseph's faith was before the people because they put his body in a coffin, but they didn't bury him.  Somewhere in Egypt, for 400 years, sat Joseph's coffin, ready for the trip home to the Promised Land.

Now, if you jump forward to Exodus 19, four hundred years after the promise was made to Joseph, Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  It says:

¹⁹ And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

Joseph knew God's promises were true.  He didn't know when. He didn't know how.  But he knew.  He lived his life with that assurance.  And we can too.  We can have faith in the promises of God through His word.  And the thread of His intent will be woven through our lives.  It's not about perfection, it's about direction.

God will use our devotion and commitment and the direction of our life for His glory.  Then, the events of our life will reveal the intent of God.  That happens when we hear his word. We recognize the stirring and respond in obedience.  And God gets all the glory in the testimony of our life.

Hebrews 11:23

The king's command was that the male babies were to be killed.  The Israelites had grown into a nation, mighty in number.  The king was afraid of them, so he put them in bondage under taskmasters and sought to control their population.  But the midwives who were supposed to kill the male children feared God.  They couldn't kill the babies, they were pro-life. 

During this time, a baby was born to a couple named Amram and Jochebed.  They named their son Moses and kept him hidden for 3 months.    They soon realized they couldn't hide him forever.  They saw he was a beautiful child.  This term "beautiful child” actually indicates they knew there was something special about him.  At first, I thought, well, any parent would say that about their child.  But there was something special about him that caused his parents to do something of faith.  They knew God was calling this baby for something.  Amram and Jochebed knew the promises of God and He stirred in them and moved them to hide Moses for 3 months in spite of what the king said.  And by faith, one day, they put him in a basket and floated him down the Nile to be found by Pharaoh's daughter.  And she took him as her own.  Think of the faith involved in putting your baby in a basket and floating him down the river so the people you fear most, the ones who declared he is put to death, would find him.

In this case, faith called for the believer to let go of the most precious thing in their life.  Parents live through little snippets of this when we release our kids out into the world: the first time on the Bus going to school, the first time they take the car out, releasing them when they get married.  Letting go takes faith.

Hebrews 11:24-26

There was a choice before Moses when he came of age.  He could have easily lived a life of luxury.  Great riches and treasures could have defined his life.  Instead, by faith, Moses rejected that. 

In this, we see faith called for rejection, rejection of all that would appeal to the flesh, all that would make any person happy, the finest, the most luxurious, the best tasting, the softest, and so on.  The world would say we deserve those things.  Satan will try to convince you that you not only deserve those things, but you need them.  God asks, are you willing to forsake all to follow me?  You can bet some demon was whispering in Moses' ear to stay in that palace and live the good life; you deserve it.  After all, God wants the best for you, doesn’t He?  Moses' faith informed his life to reject these things.

The writer even said this affliction Moses knew was like the reproach of Christ.  Moses held the reproach he experienced as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.  God was calling to Moses and stirring up the spirit within him.  It was by Faith that Moses was walking.

Hebrews 11:27

Moses responded to the call that was stirring in him.  He not only turned his back on life as an Egyptian, he turned his back on the entire country that had been his home.  For Moses, he had to leave it all.  This looks a lot like Abraham, as God called him away from his land and his family to bring him to a new place.

And wherever there is an opportunity to walk in faith, there is always an alternative that will look good to the flesh.  The path of faith is a rugged and torturous path.  It is narrow and sometimes it feels lonely.  If we get our eyes on our self we can easily begin to feel lost, as if we've made some mistake or wrong turn.  Satan and his emissaries are always there to whisper words of doubt in your ear.  The Hebrews this letter was written to had taken their eyes off Jesus.  They were focused on their flesh and their comfort.  They were hearing the offer of an alternative that would seem more acceptable, more logical.  These Hebrews could learn from Moses.  He forsook Egypt, his home, by faith.  He survived it because he was focused on the invisible God.

Moses left Egypt and settled in the land of Midian.  This was quite a different life than what he was used to.  Moses didn't go there or stay there because of the wrath of the king of Egypt.  Instead, he endured as if he were seeing the invisible God.  God was preparing Moses for a mighty work.  Read Exodus 3.

Here was the man of faith, once again making himself available to God.  “Here I am, God.”  God called and Moses answered, “Here I am, give me my marching orders, God.”   Moses went and presided over the plagues as God brought them down on Egypt.  Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he wouldn't let the people of God go.  But God was in control.  It would all happen as God saw fit on God's timetable.  The last of the plagues was a call for the death of the firstborn of all in the land.  God said He would bring death to the firstborn of every animal; this included man.  The Lord made a provision for his people to avoid the wrath that was about to come.  This provision called for the shedding of blood.

Hebrews 11:28.

In Exodus 12, the Lord gave Moses and Aaron instructions on how they were to prepare the Passover lamb.  The lamb was to be without spot of blemish.  Some of the blood of the lamb was to be spread on the doorposts and lintel.  Then, in verse 12 of Exodus 12:

¹² ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. ¹³ Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt

God promised that He would pass over the homes of those who were under the blood.  Moses believed that promise.  Likewise, he also believed if he didn’t put some blood on his doorposts that, they would be struck dead by God.  It was by faith that he kept the Passover.  It was by faith the people followed the leadership of Moses to do likewise.

Moses believed God's word to be true and responded to it in obedience. These Passover instructions must have sounded very strange to them, especially in their circumstances, but they were obedient.

At the death of so many firstborns, Egypt was devastated and Pharaoh said he would let them go.  Moses led God's people out of Egypt and they hadn't been gone too long when Pharaoh changed his mind.  He took horsemen and chariots and went in pursuit of Israel.  It was when Israel came to the Red Sea that they realized the Pharaoh and his army was coming after them. 

Hebrews 11:29

The Israelites and the Egyptians both entered the Red Sea.  The difference in the outcome was faith.  The Israelites walked on dry land by faith, even though moments before, they were grumbling and showing a complete lack of faith.  Our lack of faith is embarrassing to us when we suddenly see God move in amazing ways.  Of course, God’s faithfulness instills greater faith in us.

The Israelites walked through the Red Sea by Faith in God’s promise.  The Egyptians relied on the weapons of the world and on superior power, neither of which kept them afloat.  They were drowned.  The life of Moses was a picture of faith.  All along, we see the sovereign hand of God moving to accomplish his work through the man of faith.  His entire life of faith led him to this season of his life.  His walk of faith and trusting God, even though many things that made no sense, had all prepared him to do what God had called him to do.

In Moses's life, we see faith called for the release of that which was precious, rejection of that which would bring comfort, walking away from Home, trusting your life to a stripe of blood on a doorframe, and walking into a sea with walls of water on both sides, all the while trusting in the God that held them there.

The writer hits only a few highlights of this event. There are so many others. God spoke to Moses. He was repeatedly stirred to move on God's behalf. Repeatedly, Moses was obedient. The intent and the thread of God's truth were woven all the way through Moses's life.

Hebrews 11:30

What was the part of faith in this event?  Here's what was going on.  The children of Israel had just crossed the Jordan River, entering into the Promised Land.  The first thing they did was set up the memorial stones.  Then, all the men were circumcised.  And then they kept the Passover.  All this was done with Jericho in sight.  Read the story in Joshua chapter 5.

We see Joshua essentially saying the same thing Moses and many of the faithful were seen doing, falling before the Lord and saying, Here I am, Lord, give me my orders.

God said the victory had already been won.  All Joshua had to do was believe it and be obedient to the Lord.  Imagine for a minute what this must have been like.  Joshua is looking at this huge city fortress right before him.  It's closed up tight; no way in.  The walls are 25 feet high and 20 feet thick.  This place was built for war and to never lose.

Now, Israel is a huge camp—it was at least a few million strong. But it isn't equipped as an army, especially to siege a city like Jericho. The Canaanites had heard about Israel and their defeat of the kings of Sihon and Og on the other side of the Jordan. They've fallen back into a defensive position. They had heard about the God of Israel, but they weren’t overly concerned. They saw Yahweh as a God of nature. They felt very secure behind their walls.

Joshua met with the Lord who looked at this city that was impossible to penetrate and said it's done.  Not, it will be done; it was past tense as if it had already happened.  The Lord said, here it is.  It's all yours.  The Lord pronounced it, so all Joshua needed to do was act in obedience.  That sounded easy.  Now Joshua had to go to his commanders and the leaders of tribes of Israel and the priests.  He reported to them, "The Lord has given us victory.  Jericho is ours."  After all the high fives and war hoops subsided, then Joshua described to his military leaders how   Verse 3, still in Joshua 6.  He said to the people:

³ You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

You can imagine the generals, “Say what?  What's that again, Joshua?  You want us to do what?”  First, it was against the Mosaic law to take the Ark of the Covenant to war.  Second, it violated the Sabbath.  Third, it defied any logic or reason.

These people grumbled and rebelled at the drop of a hat.  There has to be a lot that happened that isn't written about.  Maybe the circumcision took the fight out of them. 

All we know is that they followed Joshua’s direction, which came from the Lord.  That had to be a long 6 days of silence, waiting for the trumpet to blow.  It was by faith they marched, believing the battle was already won.  All they had to do was march in obedience to the Lord and watch the Lord bring it about.

Hebrews 11:31

When the wall fell down, Rahab, the prostitute, and her family were saved from that godless city.  Joshua had previously sent spies to Jericho.  These men were nearly caught and Rahab hid them from the king.  Here's what she said to them.  Read this in Joshua 2.

By faith, the prostitute Rahab was not killed.  She believed that the Lord is God of all the heavens and earth.  She believed He was bigger than the biggest godless city and that he could even save a prostitute from the middle of it.  She trusted God and not the walls. 

The Israelites did as God instructed.  On the 7th day, they blew the trumpet, and the walls came down.  All that the Canaanites trusted in was flattened.  Their city and their lives were laid bare.  But because of a scarlet cord, Rahab was saved.

Hebrews 11:32-35

The list is not complete—not by a long shot. We could talk for weeks about many other examples of faith. The writer had only looked at a few, but a few more need to be honorably mentioned.

Gideon was like many of us.  While sitting around waiting for God to bring a miracle and move in someone's life and bring change, God looked at Gideon and said, you're the one.  You are who I'll use.  What's our response?  Oh, not me, Lord, I could never do that.  I'm not ready.  There are others more worthy and better equipped.

Gideon had doubts, also.  He needed confirmation from the Lord a couple of times, and then he went on to deliver his people.  He fought armies much larger and boldly threw down the idols in the land.  None of this happened by his strength or might.  It happened because of God's strength working in his life.  He dared to listen to God. 

We could also speak of Barak from Judges 4.  He led Israel to a great victory.  And we know the story of Samson, and with all his weaknesses, the Lord used him mightily.  How about Jephthah from Judges 13?  God used him to judge the Ammonites.  And we could talk of David, a man after God's own heart.  Even David fell to sin.  He is an example of an imperfect man being used by God because he was devoted and committed to the Lord.  That devotion and commitment don't mean he would never fall but that when he fell, the Lord would lift him up again and even use his failures as a witness to others.  David received chastening at God's hand many times and continued in faith and devotion.

As we look at all these folks, we can see ourselves because we see people who have failed, sometimes in significant ways, yet they were still people of faith. We could use this chapter to launch out to every chapter of the Bible to find normal, average people being used by God in phenomenal ways. In every chapter and every example, we would find something relevant to our lives in some way.

Verse 33 says some of these folks, through faith, subdued kingdoms.  David, Joshua, King Asa, Jehoshaphat, King Hezekiah, and King Josiah all did so.  In these men and in their lives, we see faith.  Others, by faith, worked righteousness.  We could look at Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the prophets.  In these guys, we'd see difficult lives and torturous deaths.

By faith, some obtained promises.  We could look at Caleb and Solomon for this. 

Then we could look at the lives of Samson, David, and Benehiah (one of David's mighty men) and Daniel for those who stopped the mouths of lions.

How about those who quenched the violence of fire mentioned in verse 34?  We could look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3.  They said to King Nebuchadnezzar:

 "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

They believed, and they were thrown into the fire.  Not too long later, they walked back out at the request of Nebuchadnezzar, and not a hair on their head was singed.

Many men escaped the edge of the sword because they were committed and obedient to the Lord. Others were examples of faith when, out of weakness, they were made strong. In this, we could look at Sarah, and we talked about her faith earlier in this chapter.

We could consider Esther as one who, by faith, out of weakness, was made strong.  Imagine how helpless Esther must have felt next in the presence of a king she feared and the evil Haman.  What could she do to influence these powerful men?  How could she possibly bring about change?  Mordecai brought an answer when he spoke this truth to her life.  He said,

“Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordecai saw the stirring in young Esther's life.  She could remain silent and live in the King's harem in luxury for a time.  But is that how God wanted her to spend her life?  Faith informed Esther it was time to make a move.  She dared to listen.  And then she moved.  It was bold and dangerous, and completely ridiculous in the eyes of the world.  Maybe God is stirring in you for such a time as this.  Is it time in your life to step out and be bold by faith?

Others not listed by name in this hall of faith became valiant in battle and turned to fight the armies of the aliens.   By faith, they realized that God had used them in a mighty way.  They didn't know they had it in them because they didn't. It was from the Lord.  They acted by faith.

The women who received their dead raised again must be the widow of Zarapheth when Elijah raised her son.   As well as the Shunammite woman when Elisha raised her son.  Jesus raised a child in Nain.  Peter raised a child.  Paul raised up the child that fell from the window.

There was a conscious choice before some of these people.  And they chose torture over deliverance as an act of faith because they believed in the resurrection to come.  In John 5, Jesus is talking about the coming judgment and resurrection and he says this: 

The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice  and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Some of this great cloud of witnesses believed unto death that there was a resurrection coming.  Those who walked by faith will be resurrected to life.  Those who walked in unbelief will be resurrected to condemnation.

Hebrews 11:36-40

We see this in Paul's life and others in the early church.  They were beaten and stoned, run out of town, only to make their way to the next town and have it all repeated.  And it seems as though they never lost heart.

Zechariah is an example of one who was stoned.  See 2 Chronicles 24, verse 20.  King Joash supported Jehoiadah in his efforts to restore the temple and begin to burn sacrifices to the Lord. But when the priest Jehoiadah died, other leaders went to King Joash, and the nation went astray, worshiping wooden Idols and false gods.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’” ²¹ So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The Lord look on it, and repay!”

Zechariah was faithful and believed to the end.  God moved him and stirred him to speak and take a stand.  He dared to listen to God and died in faith, going home as a direct result of faith and obedience.

Verse 37 says that others were sawn in two.  This is the Prophet Isaiah.  This is how King Manasseh got rid of prophets.  He put Isaiah inside the hollow log of a tree and then had the log sawn in half.

Throughout history, the servants of God have been despised and rejected by the world.  If you feel rejected and despised in this world, congratulations, you have joined a great company of the faithful.  The writer of Hebrews says the world was not worthy of the least of the faithful.  Even the destitute, afflicted, and tormented can walk by faith and live in obedience.  If you do, the Lord says, the world isn't worthy.

This chapter included many people from the bible; each walked with the Lord, looking forward to a better resurrection and longing for a better day.  Within this collection are those who suffered in their walk in their earthly life so that one day they would receive their reward.  Remember, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.  None of these Old Testament examples received the promise.  That promise was redemption and salvation by the hand of God.  That comes from Jesus Christ.  All these people were saved by faith, looking forward to Jesus, longing for the messiah that would come, believing and knowing it was true and would happen.

God provided something better for us.  We live on the other side of the cross.  We have the luxury of looking back and seeing what has already happened.  The Messiah, Jesus, came and paid the price so that we might all be saved by grace. 

This is the message received by the Hebrew men who first read this letter.  How can you walk away?  Now that you know of all those who went before you and walked in faith in as bad or worse circumstances than your circumstances so that they might receive the promise, how can you turn away?  Should you not turn to Jesus and affirm your death in him?  Should you not fall face down before the only one who will save you?  Should you not dare to listen to God?  Should you not surrender your life wholly and completely to Him?  That's the message we receive today as we finish this chapter and grasp the intent of the entire chapter. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor in Nazi Germany who stood against Hitler.  Hitler controlled the church and said he didn't want any more of this Jesus stuff taught, especially to the youth.  Most of the churches fell right in line.  They taught the principles of Hitler to the youth in the church.  While the rest of the church compromised and waffled to stay alive, Dietrich spoke out.  It eventually cost him his life.  This is what Dietrich said about grace:

“Cheap grace is our church’s deadly enemy. Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again. Such grace is costly because it costs one’s life; it is grace because it cost God His Son’s life. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon His son to be too dear a price to pay for our life.”

It is a costly grace that brings the promises of God before us.  We are eternal creatures, so God's eternal words stir us to the core.  Do we dare to listen?  It's not going to be easy.  Do you dare to listen to what God is saying to you?  It's the death of your desires, and it's rejecting the preservation of your flesh.  It costs you everything. Your very identity is given up to identify with Christ.  It's embracing the promises of God and walking in this world as if you've already received the promise of the next.  No matter what, no matter what!

© 2011 Doug Ford, Updated and revised 2019,2024