Hebrews 11:1-16, Faith and the Divine Eternal Kingdom

Here we are given an essay on the importance of faith, with some historical models to imitate. And this is a major point of this letter, for the Hebrew Christians have been facing persecution and wondering where God is in all of this.  The response, here, is helpful and discouraging, all in one, for it points out a longterm view that the readers may not have....

Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.

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.

We open with a description of faith and why it matters.  Note that this is not intended as an axiomatic definition (following Euclid) but a statement about the importance of faith for believers.  Furthermore, this is not "blind faith".  It has reasons, support, arguments.  To make that clear, we follow with some examples.

Hebrews 11:4-5
By 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.

By 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.

Apparently Abel's dispute with Cain had to do with faith?  (This is not clear from Genesis.) Similarly, another ancient hero, predating Abraham, is recommended to us as walking in faith.

Hebrews 11:6
And 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.

A commonly quoted verse.  But does faith here mean the same as the popular definition?

Why is faith a requirement for engagement with God?

Hebrews 11:7`12
By 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.

By 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.  By 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.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.  And 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.

More examples.  An honor roll.

Verse 11 is unclear.  Who had faith, so that Abraham became a father?  An alternate translation (NIV Footnote) is "By faith even Sarah, who was past age, was enabled to bear children because..."

If we read back in Genesis on this account, we don't really see much evidence of faith -- Sarah even laughed at God!

Hebrews 11:13-16
All 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.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, 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.

Here is why faith is important.  Because we are aliens and strangers here; this is not our "natural" home anymore.

There is a much more important citizenship than anything a country on Earth can offer.

We continue on Hebrews 11 in the next post.

Hebrews 10, Entering the Holy of Holies

We continue examining Jesus's sacrifice

Hebrews 10:1-4, The Law, a Shadow

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.  If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.  But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,  because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Once again, this sounds like Plato!  C. S. Lewis notes this with the psalms....

Hebrews 10:5-7, Jesus comes to fulfill the Law
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.  Then I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" [40]

The quote in verse 7 is from Psalm 40:6-8 (the Septuagint.)
Quoting from Psalm 40, claiming that Jesus had one goal, to complete the mission of God.

Hebrews 10:8-9
First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made).  Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second.

And in so doing, Jesus sets aside the old covenant, the Law and its sacrifices.

Hebrews 10:10-14, The Final Sacrifice
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

So it is Jesus who is the Lamb of God, the very final Lamb.  And so He will eventually defeat every nation, every enemy, every pain and evil.

Hebrews 10:15-18, The Covenant written on hearts
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:  "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

The quote in verses 16 and 17 is from Jer. 31:33-34.

And so we are done with sacrifices and, in a sense, done with sin and forgiveness!

Hebrews 10:19-22, Enter the Holy Place with confidence!
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

This passage is the height, the climax, of the book of Hebrews.
This should then change how we think for we, just like the ancient high priest, can go right into the Throne Room!

Hebrews 10:23-25, and then go out to change the world!
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Now that that mission has been accomplished, it is time to move on, as Kingdom citizens.

Hebrews 10:26-31, One more warning about the danger of disobeying God
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.  Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The quotes in verse 30 are from Deut. 32:35-36 and Psalm 135:14.

And so a caution, a warning, about the need to leave the old ways behind.

Hebrews 10:32-35, Remember your early enthusiasm ...
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.  Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.  You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

Remember how excited you were!  Remember your earlier enthusiasm!  Kindle it again!  (A message for all ages, for indeed we can lose that old enthusiasm!)

Hebrews 10:36-39, ... and so persist.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.  But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

"But my righteous one" or  (NIV footnote) one early manuscript had "But the righteous one".

The quote in verse 38 is from Hab. 2:3,4.