We are at Chapter Eleven- the Hall Of Fame of Faith, as it is called. This is another chapter that could lead me down extensive bunny trails, with all these characters. With one or two exceptions, though, God is leading me to stay away from the 'fun stuff', and concentrate on the MESSAGE. There are four big statements about faith in this chapter; the 'superstars' are but the connecting tissue. Let's dig in.
Statement #1:
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Heb 11:2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Have you ever heard scientists talk about 'dark matter' and 'dark energy'? The calculations show that, given the observable matter and energy in the universe, everything should be falling into entropy- but it continues to expand, at an accelerating rate. The only way to explain this is 'dark matter'- supposedly 26% of the total universe- and 'energy', a whopping 68%. They cannot see it, cannot detect it, and yet only 5% of what is, is what we can see. Kind of gives you perspective on what Paul said:
Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
So faith means that you have to trust that what you can see was made by WHO you cannot. Now before the
Author goes from this to the next statement, he invokes the first two heroes. Abel and Enoch had a similarity and a difference, and they are key to the next statement.
Statement #2:
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
What was the difference between Abel and Enoch? Abel had faith, yet was the first to die. Enoch had faith and was the first to NEVER die. Two very different earthly outcomes. But the common thing: Abel by his sacrifice, and Enoch by his walk, PLEASED GOD. Faith doesn't guarantee a pleasant outcome. It DOES guarantee a pleased, God, and a pleasant future beyond this life.
The author's next connecting tissue involves Noah and Abraham. One would watch his world destroyed; the other would venture out into a whole new world.
Statement #3:
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
Heb 11:15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
Heb 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
These two believed the promises, and ACTED, with nothing to tell them the rightness of their actions except the word of God. And why they did this we see in what the author says about the third character in this section, Sarah:
Heb 11:11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
From here, the author settles in to a long list of those who believed the promises and acted thereon, featuring all the things done by Moses. But before we get to that last statement, I want to settle on two sections that have an impact on OUR faith.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
Heb 11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
I want to give you another perspective on this, that I heard the other day. Remember, it wasn't the noise that the Israelites made on day seven that brought Jericho's walls down; it was the six days they walked in faith, saying and doing nothing but, seemingly, going around in circles! This is prayer, my friends. Praying the same thing over and over again, seemingly without result, until the 'seventh day' ( a symbol of completeness), at which point, the Lord acts, and out of the chaos and death, ONE LIFE is saved. Never stop marching around your walls.
The other section:
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--
I want to say something about the choice of those first four heroes- three of which Samuel himself mentioned in his great prayer at Saul's anointing (1 Sam. 12:11). Gideon was called, but needed a parade of absurd signs before he had the confidence to act in faith. Barak traded his personal glory for the assurance God would be with him (through Deborah). Jephthah saved a people who had hated him, at great personal cost. Samson struggled with sin, and yet God answered his faith in the end. Do you see yourself in any of these? I sure see myself, especially in Gideon and Samson.
The author then proceeds to describe some of the horrible things both known and anonymous believers went through 'to obtain a better resurrection'. One of them stands out to me...
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.
Sawed in two. This was according to tradition, the fate of the prophet Isaiah at the hands of King Manasseh. A man who had seen Heaven itself at the beginning of his ministry. I can think of no better set up to the last statement.
Statement #4:
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, did not receive the promise,
Heb 11:40 for God had provided some better thing for us, that they should not be made perfect without us.
They did not so much as have Jesus to look back on. They would have to wait, beyond life on this earth, for the promise to them to be fulfilled. But what they had, was this:
Gen 15:5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Gen 15:6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
So four big, and two 'small', takeaways this week.
- BELIEVE the invisible.
- BE PLEASING to God.
- ACT on the promises.
a) PRAY without ceasing.
b) TRUST in God's strength, not your weakness.
- The promise is NOT OF THIS WORLD.
