HEBREWS - Chapter 11 - HERO HALL OF FAITH (2024)
HEBREWS CHAPTER 11
Hero Hall of Faith
Tuesday, May 7, 2024, February 7, 2012
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is one of those words too wide, too high, and too deep for the human language to express. It believes the promise though the promise is not yet manifested. It is the absolute knowing there is a God; that His Word is sure; and that which is unseen in the realm of the Spirit is as real as that which we see and feel with our natural senses.
How do we know this? Faith is a conviction that arises from within. The source of conviction is the Holy Spirit. Faith is a Fact! Hope is a Certainty! Love is a Reality! Without Faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the opposite of fear.
There are many ways we are able to please God with our Faith.
1. We receive our Salvation by Faith.
2. We receive Christ’s righteousness by Faith.
3. We believe the Word of God by Faith and walk in obedience to His Word by Faith
4. We receive the Holy Spirit by Faith.
5. We prophesy and operate in the Gifts of the Spirit by Faith.
6. We obey His spoken Word. As we walk by Faith in that Word, then we receive the promises.
6. We are led by the Holy Spirit by Faith.
7. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
8. Faith is the evidence of things not seen.
9. Faith has the invisible backing of the great cloud of witnesses.
10. Faith trusts in an unknown future.
11. Counts things that be not as though they were.
12. Assurance of God’s faithfulness.
13. Confidence in things to come.
14. The lifeblood of the just.
15. Faith is the shield of the Christian armor.
16. Faith is the down payment of things desired.
17. Faith is our guarantee of answered prayer.
11:2-3: For by it (Faith) the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
This is the first step of faith. Until we believe that the world was created by the word of God, we don’t have a starting point for faith.
God merely spoke and the entire universe appeared made out of things we cannot see. That means this physical world is a manifestation of something unseen. The apostle Paul assures us that “…the things which are seen are temporal, and the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Nuclear physics proves that what appears to us as matter is made entirely of spinning bits of energy; that which appears as solid matter is made entirely of non-material-energy.
What are examples of non-material energy? Love, light, heat, rainbow, a vacuum, time, emotions, gravity, memories, dreams, magnetism, music, etc.
God is in complete control of everything that happens to His people. The ages were planned by the Word of God. The Book of Genesis declares that God spoke and the world came into existence. The writer of Hebrews confirms that truth.
The elders here are the list of faith-worthies beginning with Abel. There is no report given of Adam and Eve.
Each of the heroes of the Faith listed in this chapter released their Faith for the supernatural power of the Lord to manifest in the natural in different ways. Their Faith advanced the Kingdom of the Lord on earth with regard to His eternal purposes to reveal Himself through a people through whom His, Son, Jesus Christ, would be born to save the world from sin. Through their Faith actions, we have a testimony and witness of the Lord’s great power to reveal Himself from the invisible realm of the Spirit to the visible.
1. Abel – Faith’s worship ---atoning or sacrificial faith---11:4: By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it being dead yet speaks” Cain gave to the Lord begrudgingly. Abel gave in love and faith. Abel died because of his faith.
2. Enoch—By Faith pleased God --- 11:5: By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Enoch walked with God 300 years. He could not be found because God took him (Gen. 5:22-24). Enoch also had the faith to prophesy of the Second Coming. Jude 1:14: Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Faith will seek the will and purpose of the Lord in the visible realm of life and the living.
Rev. 22:12: Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
3. Noah ---received the righteousness which is by faith---Faith’s word ---active and preservation faith---Faith’s obedience condemned the world. 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Because of the word spoken to him by the Lord, he had reverential fear of the Lord. Through his obedience to that word and acting on it in faith, he condemned the world. The Lord chose one man who had the faith to trust and obey. Through that man’s obedience, judgment was released on the world. When the Lord asks us to obey him in the face of scorn and mocking, our faith walk will bring judgment on those who are ungodly. Not that we purpose, declare, or desire to bring judgment, but the righteousness of the Lord will judge the wicked.
4. Abraham ---Faith’s obedience---11: 8-10: By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he would receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.
By Faith the Lord spoke into Abraham’s life and from his loins a nation was birthed that would carry the royal seed of the Son of God. Through his faith out of the invisible realm of the Spirit, a visible nation was born that had Kingdom destiny.
Abraham by faith got hold of the promise of the Son of God, Resurrection of the dead; the eternal city, New Jerusalem; and the Kingdom of God. When Abraham reached the promised land, none of it was his, except a grave site which he bought from the inhabitants. Though it was all his by promise, he had to live in it as an alien. What a test after having been assured by God that the land was his. Often it is harder to wait on God than it is to work for Him. Abraham never waivered in faith.
5. Sarah---Faith’s Reckoning---life giving faith--- 11: 11-12: Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Thus, it was that Abraham, even though his body was as good as dead, was able to become a father. And from there sprang such a flood of descendants that it is impossible to count them, for they are as numerous as the stars of heaven and as numberless as the grains of sand on the seashore. Sara reckoned or counted God to be true to His word.
11:13-16: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a heavenly country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he has prepared a city for them.
It is clear from this that the promises of God went far beyond any earthly blessings and that they expected God to do all that He had promised them, even after their deaths. The patriarch’s eyes were not on inheriting the land. Their hopes were fixed on something infinitely greater than a piece of real estate. They’d been promised a spiritual inheritance which exceeded anything this world could offer. They viewed their lives as a journey to that inheritance.
We must keep our eyes on the heavenly city. That’s where “our citizenship” is, says the apostle Paul (Phil. 3:20). One of the stumbling blocks of Christianity is that many, who profess to receive Christ, never get their eyes on that city. It is a glorious thing to catch sight of the celestial city of eternity.
Abraham saw that city by faith and gladly exchanged the world for it. The Lord honors them by saying, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Ex. 3:6). What a fantastic honor to have God call Himself our God and their God. Those who lived before Christ are part of the same family of God and share the same glory as we who have received Jesus after Pentecost.
6. Abraham again---Faith’s test---tried faith---11:17-19: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his “only begotten son. Of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall your seed be called; accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead; from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Abraham is listed twice in God’s hero hall of faith. This great man is worthy of double honor. He was first written up for three specific acts of faith; (a) leaving his home to follow God’s leading, (b) living as a stranger in the land that was promised to him, (3) trusting God for the birth of Isaac when it was a natural impossibility. Now he is honored again. This time for when his great faith was put to its severest test. God put Abraham’s faith to its greatest test when He asked him to offer up Isaac (the promise) (4) as a sacrifice. This great man, to whom the promises were made, didn’t waver. God had made it clear that all the promises were to be fulfilled through Isaac; and all of Abraham’s descendents were to come through the Son of Promise.
Abraham simply reasoned that God must be able to raise people from the dead. He took it on faith that God would solve the dilemma by restoring Isaac to him. We know this from what he said to his servants when he ordered them to wait at the foot of the mountain, You men wait here while the lad and I go yonder, and we will come back to you (Gen. 22:5). This is perhaps the most outstanding act of faith in the whole bible with the exception of the faith of Jesus Christ who was crucified, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead.
7. ISAAC---revelation faith---faith’s material blessings— 11:20: By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Just before his death, Isaac made powerful decrees which showed his faith in the promises of God. Yet he died without seeing any of those promises fulfilled. Isaac is a type of the Son of God who receives all the inheritance and blessings by Faith. Isaac as a young man submitted to his Father Abraham, willing to die in Faith. Isaac was a well digger until the Lord dug a well in him.
8. JACOB ---Prophetic faith---Faith’s tribal blessing--- 11:21: By faith Jacob when he was dying blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. When it is Jacob’s turn to be written up, the writer brushes past the feeble struggles of his faith during his life and zeros in on the brightness of his Faith at his death. This man had been a schemer all of his life. He lived by his wits rather than complete trust in God. At death, he summoned his son Joseph, then the Prime Minster of Egypt. By faith he could see that the younger son, Ephraim, had the larger place in God’s plan, and he blessed the younger above the elder. Now Jacob did this hundreds of years before it came to pass. It was all by faith in the promises that God had made to Abraham. No wonder Jacob is listed in the hero hall of faith. He also blessed his other sons, but it is the blessing on the sons of Joseph that gives him the honor to be in the Hebrew Hall of Faith.
9. JOSEPH ---Faith’s authority--- 11:33: By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. Joseph’s faith in the promise of God had to reach out more than 300 years into the future. By faith he saw the day when the Israelites would leave Egypt en masse and be reestablished in Canaan.
10. MOSES – Faith’s declaration ---sacrificing, suffering, and enduring faith--- 11: 23-26: ---By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses when he was coming to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
The faith of Moses’ parents was fearless faith. They believed God had a kingdom destiny for Moses. Centuries earlier God told Abraham that the great nation which was to come from him would go into bondage for 400 years. Moses had the faith to trade the temporary for the eternal. To him, the shame of being identified with the coming Messiah (Christ), was greater wealth that the treasures of Egypt. The Hebrew nation belongs to Jesus. He is the One who appeared to Abraham and spoke the nation into existence. He is the rock that followed them in the wilderness and led them as a pillar of cloud and fire. He is the King of the Jews. So, for Moses to be identified with Israel was to be identified with the Messiah, the Christ.
HEBREWS – Chapter 11: 27-40
HERO HALL OF FAITH – Continued
As we continue our study of the Hero Hall of Faith, we see the Lord perfecting his love in these faith-worthies.
Hebrews 11:26: By Faith, Moses… Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
Moses refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter (Vs. 24). Neither history nor the Bible tell us just who this daughter of Pharaoh was. However, as her son, Moses would have been in line for the throne. According to Jewish tradition, he was indeed headed for the throne. In any event, he was treated as an Egyptian prince. While his fellow Israelites were suffering, he was getting the finest education Egypt could provide. He enjoyed all the comfort, ease and privileges his rank brought him. Then, as Stephen puts it, “when he was fully forty years of age,” he came to a tremendous crisis. He found himself wanting to be identified with the down-trodden people of Israel.
By faith he came to know they were God’s chosen people and that God would fulfill his promise to lead them to their own land.
11. MOSES ---Faith’s fearlessness---Moses feared not the visible king because he saw the invisible one.
11:27: By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeking Him who is invisible.
As is stated here, before the visitation of the “burning bush,” Moses had already experienced a visitation of the Lord in Egypt. It would have been at that time he knew he was called to be the deliverer of the Hebrew nation.
Moses went to the Hebrews to offer himself as their deliverer. In the process he saw an Israelite being abused by an Egyptian and slew him. When word of it reached Pharaoh, he wanted Moses’ life. So now Moses was in trouble. But that wasn’t all. His own brethren also turned against him, saying, “We won’t have you as our judge!” Pharaoh wanted to kill him; his own brethren refused his leadership. There was no way for him to do what God had called him to do. So, he wisely chose to retreat to the Sinai desert. He was now aware that he had made a mistake in judging the Lord’s timing. He fled to Midian, hopefully to pray and seek the Lord. It took great faith for Moses to sit out 40 years of inaction. “You receive the promise early, but God fulfills it late.”
12. MOSES – Faith’s Protection--- 11:28: Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, less He that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
When the day finally came for God’s people to leave Egypt, Moses was commanded to do two unusual things; (1) have the people eat the Passover lamb; (2) put blood on the doorposts.
As strange as these orders were, Moses proceeded to obey the Lord without batting an eye. So completely did he trust God, it no longer mattered what He asked Moses to do. This institution of the First Passover is a shadow and type of the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Passover Feast. Observing that feast that night was an act of faith. But Moses didn’t stop there. He went on and laid down regulations for the keeping of that Passover throughout all future generations as a witness of their deliverance from Egypt until the fullness of time when the feast was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Moses never once doubted that God meant to deliver His people out of Egypt. The second act, putting blood on the doorposts, also required a lot of faith. As part of the 10th plague on Egypt, the death angel was to go through all Egypt, slaying the firstborn of man and beast in every household. To prevent this from happening to the Israelites, God instructed Moses to sprinkle blood on their doorposts. With unflinching faith, he proceeded to do exactly as he was told. As a result, the plague did not touch the firstborn in any Israelite family.
13. ISRAEL - -Faith’s Preservation—11:29: By faith they (Israel) passed through the Red Sea on dry land; which the Egyptians attempted to do and were drowned.
On the day of the great exodus, the people of Israel gathered their families and belongings. At this point only Moses’ faith was in operation. They simply acted on his orders. Their march halted at the Red Sea. Then they heard that the Egyptian army was bearing down on them from the rear. In fear, they cried out against Moses, “You brought us out here to have us killed!” Then the rugged 80-year-old leader commanded them “Fear not, but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!” As they watched, Moses’ faith went into action again. He lifted his rod and the sea divided before their eyes. It was thrown back, says the Scriptures, so that the water was walled up on both sides (Ex. 14:22).
Then Moses gave the command to go forward between those quivering walls of water. Now it was time for their own faith to go into action. It did. They obeyed Moses’ command by faith.
The faith of the Israelites stands out against the presumption of the Egyptians. The author is specifically speaking of the faith of the Israelites here, not the faith of Moses. In all the 40 years of wandering which followed, they never again were able to trust God for a great deliverance such as this. It was the only time they appropriated the power of God as a people.
14. ISRAEL ---Faith’s Miracle ---11:30: By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”
Verse 30 moves forty years into the future. A new generation of Israelites have arrived at the border of the promised land. They are ready to act on God’s Word and take the land. Their path is barred by a great fortress, the city of Jericho. This high walled city was a formidable barrier. They couldn’t bypass it. If they did, they’d never have any peace in the land. Yet, from a military point of view, it was impossible to conquer.
The Israelites came as nomads off the desert. They had no battering rams or engines of war. God told Joshua and the people, “I’m going to give you this city.” They believed Him. They were ready to trust Him and carry out His orders no matter how foolish they seemed. Imagine how the soldiers manning the walls of Jericho must have laughed to see grown men hoping to conquer a fortress simply by marching around it.
Led by the priests blowing the ram’s horns, they marched around the city once a day for six days. On the 7th day, the Israelites shouted and the walls of the city came rumbling down---flat. There is archeological evidence that an earthquake may have occurred at that same time. In any event, the Israelites “went up into the city, every man before Him, and took the city” (Joshua 6:20).
The fall of Jericho was not a military conquest; it was an act of faith. They never expected to conquer the city in their own strength. They believed God was going to do it for them. The Jericho story teaches us that what is impossible for man is always possible with God through faith.
15: RAHAB – Faith’s Deliverance---11:31: By faith the harlot, Rahab, perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Here is one of the most surprising personalities in the hero hall of faith. Rahab, a Gentile woman, who was a prostitute and betrayer of her country is listed here because she told a lie---by faith.
When Joshua sent spies to scout out the military situation in Jericho, they took lodging in Rahab’s house. Somehow their presence was discovered and the city officials sent soldiers to Rahab’s house to seize them. The harlot hid them, lying to the soldiers as to their whereabouts.
After that she helped them escape from the city, the only thing she asked in return was that she and her family might be spared when Jericho fell to the Israelites. The people of Jericho had heard of the mighty deeds of the Israelites (Red Sea crossing and destruction of the Egyptian army); but only this woman interpreted these as being done by the God of Israel.
Of her own free will, she elected to put her faith in the Lord. To the spies she said, “I know the Lord has given you the land!” What a remarkable statement of faith! She made this prediction when the downfall of Jericho seemed impossible. She went on to say …the Lord your God, He is God in heaven and earth beneath (Joshua 2: 9-11).
By faith she joined the people of God and married Salmon. She became the mother of Boaz which makes her an ancestress of the Lord Jesus. This woman was far from great in the eyes of the world for she was a harlot, a betrayer, and a liar. But in the eyes of God, she was great enough for His Hall of Faith Heroes. That’s the difference faith makes.
16. GIDEON ---Faith’s Miraculous Victory
17. BARAK—Faith’s Triumph
18. SAMSON---Faith’s Physical Strength
19. JEPHTAH – Faith’s Boldness
20. DAVID –Faith’s utter reliance
21. SAMUEL – Faith’s Integrity
22. 17 works of Faith
11:32-35: And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Our writer employs rapid-fire phrases in listing the achievements of faith heroes. The history of Israel is full of them. The first four come from the time of the judges, and there is something comforting about his selection. When you read the account of their lives in the book of Judges, you wonder whether or not they had real faith in God.
But because of their faith in God, they were instruments in His hands. The only king mentioned is David. We know him for his sins and his great faith. God used him to build Israel into a powerful nation. David was definitely one who smashed kingdoms and ruled in righteousness. He took God at his Word and saw promises come true right before his eyes.
Samuel was the first of the prophets. He not only anointed Israel’s first two kings, but there were times when he and the prophets who followed him, stood alone against the entire nation of Israel in trying to bring the people back to God.
From the time of Joshua to the time of the Maccabees, men who were weak in themselves, became strong through faith, and time and again routed whole armies from their soil. The incredible odds against these people meant little to them when they knew they were instruments in the hands of God.
When the writer speaks of women receiving their dead back again by resurrection, there are two who come to mind; (1) the poor widow of Zarephath, whose son was restored by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17), (2) the wealthy Shunamite woman whose son was restored by Elisha (1 Kings 4:32).
The boys were restored to natural life. They died again. That is not what the N.T. means when it speaks of resurrection. Because of that, we will shortly find our author speaking of a “better resurrection.”
11:35-38: Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy). They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Our writer listed some of the amazing things the O.T. saints achieved by faith. But that’s only part of the story, the glamour side. There’s another side, the suffering that goes with faith.
The interval from the prophets to the time of the Maccabees abounds with examples of suffering on the part of the faithful. Many of the prophets forfeited their lives to remain faithful. Some, like Zechariah, were stoned to death. In the days of Jezebel at least 100 prophets were slain by the sword on her orders.
According to Jewish legend Isaiah was sawn with a wooden saw by orders of King Hezekiah.
We can tell from the language and choice of phrases that he is describing the incredible sufferings that occurred under Antiochus Epi-pha-nes. The bible doesn’t furnish any details of those sufferings, for they occurred during the silent years, the 400-year interval between Malachi and Matthew.
The books of the Maccabees, while they are not inspired, give us an accurate account of what happened during that period and the awful tortures inflicted on the Jewish race.
From these, we learn of the deaths of Eleazar, an old Jewish scribe, and seven brothers who chose a horrible death. They were torn apart on racks, skinned alive, whipped to pieces, and roasted alive in a huge frying pan.
The reference to living in mountains and caves pertains more precisely to the Syrian governor, Antiochus Epiphanes. In 168 B.C., this king captured Jerusalem. Using torture methods equal to anything dreamed up by Hitler, he persecuted the Jews ordering them to forsake God and the law.
Those believers, who were not captured, fled to the mountains and deserts. The reference to animal skins indicates they were stripped down to nothing. Homeless and impoverished they went without the bare necessities of life.
Faith in the Lord carries no guarantee of comfort or safety in this life, but it does offer and undreamed-of reward in the life to come. That is the life that really counts.
11: 39-40: And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Oh my!!! The church of the United States of America will have much to answer for!!! We are the most blessed people the world has ever known. How can we neglect so great a salvation??? The promise referred to here is that of the Messiah, the sum and substance of all the O.T. promises.
No one could be joined to God and inherit the divine nature until sin was cared for. That couldn’t be done until the right moment in history. The coming of the Lord Jesus had to wait until the fullness of time. Yet, even though actual sonship was denied the O.T. believers, the hope of it burned so brightly in their hearts they were able to live for God and take the worst of the world’s abuse and persecutions.
The believing dead were said to be comforted in “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16: 22-26). Here they waited until Jesus could put away their sins and bring them into sonship.
Eph. 4: 8-10: When he ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Jesus went in the Spirit and announced the news to the people in Sheol (1 Peter 3: 18, 19). Those who had died in faith received their sonship and righteousness that instant. They had their Pentecost in the “lower parts of the earth.” They were led into Heaven where they are now members of the same body with us, making but one family in God (1 Cor. 12:13). Thus, these saints were “in Christ” before we were (Heb. 12:23).
The O.T. saints wouldn’t dare address God as “Papa” (the Abba of Romans 8:15). The Christian enjoys total access and acceptance as God’s own child.
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries Church, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX
Scripture from K.J.V. I entered into the labors of Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible and Lovett’s Lights on Hebrews. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I entered into their labors.