Chapter ten ended the doctrinal lessons and began the practical application portion of Hebrews. Also in chapter 10, we found another warning to remain steadfast in genuine faith. With that warning as the context, this chapter of Hebrews talks about genuine faith and illustrates it by pointing to the heroes of the Old Testament. Those members of “the hall of faith,” some named and many unnamed, serve as witnesses surrounding us, as we will come to find out in chapter 12. But let’s look at the encouraging chapter 11 first.
1) V1-6 – 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for. 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
The audience has stood firm in their faith in past persecution from unbelievers, but they are struggling to do so this time around, with the infiltration of false teachers promoting a return to some form of Judaism. So the author reminds them of their past success and encourages steadfastness in chapter 10. Then he follows that up with an explanation of what genuine saving faith is. It’s “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (v1). We hope for eternal life in heaven, and having faith means that we are sure of it. We don’t see heaven in eternity right now, but we are certain of its reality. That’s genuine faith; certainty. And the author has already gone to great lengths to show us the object of our faith – Jesus Christ – previously in this book. So throughout the rest of this chapter, he will labor to prove that those faithful believers who came before also remained steadfast in their faith, and they were commended for that (v2), despite serious and significant challenges.
The author begins with the very act of creation (v3). The importance of this verse cannot be overstated. It has been said that if you can believe the first verse of the Bible, then the rest is easy to believe. That’s essentially what the author of Hebrews is saying here. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” This is the doctrine of God’s special creation ex nihilo – out of nothing. People make stuff, but God creates stuff. The difference is infinite. The stuff we make comes from other, pre-existent stuff, raw materials of some kind. And those raw materials come from nothing. God made them when He spoke the universe, which literally means, “Single spoken sentence,” into existence, “Let there be…” We “understand” this, though it is incomprehensible, because it cannot be duplicated or observed (as in the means by which scientific knowledge is declared to be known). We “understand” it by faith. It’s not a blind leap of faith, for actual physical evidence supports the claims, contrary to the views of atheistic evolution today.
In v4, the author mentions the faith of Abel, which was evident by his offering to God, the best of his flock, contrary to the faithless offering of his brother Cain, perhaps some leftover grapes. Abel’s faith still speaks, for we recognize his fruit – generosity – as evidence of faith in our own lives. In v5, we learn of Enoch’s faith, which must have been remarkable. So pleasing was his faith that he did not die; God spared him. Not only do we learn that such faith pleases God, but we also learn that, on the contrary, “it is impossible to please God” without such faith (v6). To please God, we “must believe that He exists;” but we must also “earnestly seek Him,” for God is not pleased with stagnancy, backsliding, or lukewarm ness. The reward received from having this kind of faith is pleasing God and also assurance of salvation!
2) V7-16 – 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he [Or By faith even Sarah, who was past age, was enabled to bear children because she] considered Him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
The list of faithful Old Testament saints continues here with Noah in v7. He was warned of a flood, though he had never experienced one before. (He may have never even seen rain prior to the flood). His faith is called “holy fear,” and it led him to build the ark for his family’s salvation. He was only believer at that time, and he, through the evidence of his faith – the ark – condemned the world. In other words, his faithfulness proved that salvation comes by faith, and the chief sin of unbelief secures condemnation. He was rewarded with an inheritance; he “became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Next the author mentions Abraham, and focuses on his faith for several verses (8-12, 17-19), with a brief aside (v13-16) for application purposes. Abraham’s obedience to God, as seen in his leaving his homeland and leaving his people and leaving his family to go to an unknown place, is evidence of his faith. He settled in the land that would be given to him by faith, because it wasn’t given to him at that time, and it would turn out not even to be granted him during his lifetime. He, as did his sons evidencing their faith, settled among strangers, looking forward not to some particular earthly city to dwell in during his earthly life, but “to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (v10). Abraham sought eternal life with the dwelling provided by God. Another evidence of Abraham’s faith (and that of his wife Sarah) was their parenting of Isaac (v11-12). This was impossible, due to old age and barrenness, yet it happened by faith. They believed God’s promise (a topic dear to the author of Hebrews). Paul, in Romans 4:18, uses similar language to describe justification by faith – hoping in God when there is no earthly hope.
V13 makes a poignant observation: “All these people were still living by faith when they died.” This is what perseverance in genuine saving faith looks like. We can’t win a battle and then forget it. We press on until death, even then not having received that for which we lived in hope. But we can already see it; we know it by faith, and we acknowledge that this world is not our home, because a greater life waits for us. When we testify to this truth (v14), we prove our faith; we reveal that our hope is in God to provide a place of our own, a place suited for the Christian life, when sin cannot dwell. Keep in mind the context of Hebrews when you read v15-16; the audience is toying with a return to Judaism. But the author says these Old Testament faithful saints did not look back. They had no opportunity to return, because they had moved on in faith. Once you come to faith in Christ, there’s no going back. You’re focused on your heavenly home, and nothing here can satisfy. You realize you weren’t made for this world. The author wants his audience to understand that they cannot go back, because their focus is on heaven, and faith in Christ is the only way to heaven. There is nothing of value left from whence they came. Because of that kind of faith, that level of devotion, “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (v16). Think about that. Is God ashamed to be your God? If you live for Him, of course He is not. So live for Him; don’t go back.
3) V17-28 – 17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring [or seed] will be reckoned” [Genesis 21:12]. 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. 23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
After the brief practical application aside, the author picks back up with his examples of Old Testament faithful saints. And he starts again with Abraham. Abraham’s faith was evidenced in testing (v17); he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac – notice the specific terms, “his one and only son,” which ties to God the Father’s sacrifice of His one and only Son, Jesus – despite God’s promise that Isaac was the son of promise, through whom God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled. And we’re told something remarkable in v19: “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.” Abraham’s faith in God’s promise and his willing to obey God were so strong that he was led to reason that God would simply raise Isaac from the dead in order to keep His promise. That’s faith. Faith perseveres through testing and trial. Then we read of Isaac, blessing his sons “in regard to their future” by faith (v20). Isaac, and likewise Jacob (v22), knew what God would do for his offspring, though he had no physical evidence or proof.
Moses is the subject of the rest of this passage (v23-28), although at first we learn of the faith of Moses’ parents (Jochebed and Amram). The evidence of their faith, which led them not to fear pharaoh, was in their hiding him for three months, realizing that “he was no ordinary child” (v23). Then Moses himself, as a young man must have come to the realization that he was not an Egyptian (v24). By faith, then, he “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (v25). There’s a lot of evidence of faith in that verse. The Charleton Heston movie, The Ten Commandments, portrays this portion of the Scripture in an interesting way. Moses actually visits the Hebrews, meets his mother, and yields to slavery for the sake of the dying, striving to save some of them by taking their place. There’s a type of Christ in that imagery. Whether it happened like that or not, we don’t know. But it seems from this passage that Moses made a conscious choice to identify with the Hebrews and their slavery instead of staying in the comfort of the palace, referred to here as “the pleasures of sin.” Genuine faith chooses what is right over what is wrong, though what is right brings temporary suffering in light of eternal peace and what is wrong often makes for a fleeting life of pleasure, yielding to an eternal hell. Nevertheless, it’s hard to bear hardship now, when you could choose ease, and the sin nature will do its best to make you choose pleasure over pain every time. Faith overcomes.
In v26, we learn similarly that Moses saw “disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Again the movie mentioned above brilliantly portrays this reality. Moses wants nothing more than to know God and to be known by God. He wants that eternal and lasting intimate relationship with his creator; he wants that for which he was created. And that is evidence of faith. To pursue the unseen in the sight of “the treasures of Egypt” requires faith. Moses left Egypt by faith, “not fearing the king’s anger” (v27). We wonder if he fled to escape pharaoh’s wrath, but here it seems he left “because he saw Him who is invisible.” Once again, the film portrays this beautifully. Moses could see – looking forward – his reward, though it wasn’t in this life. We spring forward for the final illustration of Moses’ faith, the keeping of the Passover. This final plague on Egypt required faith by Moses and the Hebrew people. They observed the feast and sprinkled the blood, believing God’s word to protect them and their firstborn, though nothing like that had ever happened before.
4) V29-40 – 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient [or unbelieving]. 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned [and put to the test]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
In the final passage of Hebrews 11, the examples continue. The Hebrew people were faithful in leaving Egypt, passing through the Red Sea, something the pagan Egyptians tried to mimic but were drowned because of their faithlessness (v29). With Joshua leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, their faith fell the walls of Jericho as they obediently marched around the city for seven days (v30). Rahab, in v31, revealed her faith in the God of Israel by welcoming Hebrew spies; her countrymen were killed because of their disobedience (or unbelief; they are one and the same). In v32, the author realizes that there are so many more examples of Old Testament faith, and he doesn’t have time (in his sermon) to cover them all. He briefly mentions Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jepthah, only four of a possible thirteen judges (v32). Of course, Barak was the male military commander under the female judge, Deborah, but given that this was a first century sermon to a Jewish audience, it’s not surprising to find his name listed instead of hers. The final named examples of faithful Old Testament heroes include David, Samuel, and the all-inclusive “prophets” (v32).
In v33-34, the author lists some of the accomplishments, or fruits of faith, of the names listed in v32. All of them “became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies;” they all played roles in conquering kingdoms (notably when significantly undermanned, as in Gideon’s case); all of them “administered justice” (though this was the specific role of Deborah); in these ways, they “gained what was promised.” Samson and David, as well as Daniel, who was certainly included in the all-inclusive mention of prophets, effectively “shut the mouths of lions.” Daniel may be the only one to have “quenched the fury of the flames.” A number of faithful saints “escaped the edge of the sword,” but many of them fell valiantly and faithfully as well (v37). A very interesting point the author makes is that their weaknesses were oftentimes turned to strengths. Perhaps there is an opportunity for you to testify of weakness becoming strength in your life as a result of your faith.
In v35, after issuing the example of faithful women receiving “back their dead, raised to life again,” the author turns to examples of faith from a different perspective. Not only is faith seen in victory against all odds, as the previous personal illustrations show, but it is also seen in enduring pain, loss, and even death, as the following anonymous pictures indicate. When a person perseveres in faith, standing firm under duress, and not yielding even at threats of death realized, that’s strong evidence of faith. Calvin comments, “The victory of faith appears more splendid in the contempt of death than if life were extended to the fifth generation. It is a more glorious evidence of faith, and worthy of higher praise, when reproaches, want, and extreme troubles are borne with resignation and firmness, than when recovery from sickness is miraculously obtained.”
Whether torture or refusal to leave prison when released due to certain injustice, the faithful saw “a better resurrection” (v35). Earthly, or physical, resurrection is good, but it can’t last; heavenly, or spiritual, resurrection is better, because it is permanent, and it also includes the physical by superceding it. People faced jeers (public mockery), flogging, imprisonment (v36) and death – by means of stoning (as tradition suggests of Jeremiah), being “sawed in two” (as tradition suggests of Isaiah), and beheading by the sword (v37). Those who weren’t killed for their faith were shunned, isolated, and threatened to the point that they “went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated” (v37). They lived in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the ground (v38).
The author concludes with a humbling point in v38 – “the world was not worthy of them.” These people of faith were more valuable than any this world would have a right to keep. They “were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (v39). So not only do they serve as examples for us to follow, but as we will see, they also stand by as witnesses, as supporters, as an audience for us, cheering us on as we run our race, as we make our faith journey (Hebrews 12:1-4). Ultimately, God’s plan is better than even what they had hoped for in faith, for “together with us…they [will] be made perfect” (v40). Only at the return of Jesus will all things be consummated and completed, and when we die in faith, we join the audience in heaven to cheer on God’s elect and cheer on the second coming of our Great God and Savior, King Jesus.
Footnotes
- 11:11 Or By faith even Sarah, who was past age, was enabled to bear children because she
- 11:18 Greek seed
- 11:18 Gen. 21:12
- 11:29 That is, Sea of Reeds
- 11:31 Or unbelieving
- 11:37 Some early manuscripts stoned; they were put to the test;
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.