Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Easter Thursday - Hebrews 11

Thursday of Easter

Daily Lectionary Readings: Exodus 17:1-16; Hebrews 11:1-29; (Sirach 36)

Hebrews 11:1–31:

[1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. [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.

[4] By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. [5] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. [6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [7] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

[8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. [9] By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. [10] For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

[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. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [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.

[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [19] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. [20] By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. [21] By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. [22] By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

[23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. [27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. [28] By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

[29] By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. [30] By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. [31] By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. (ESV)

People of Faith

Some of these last meditations on the book of Hebrews might be best used broken up over several days, especially if you want to dig into all the Old Testament content. It's well worth the time to appreciate the preacher to the Hebrews' lessons he has to teach us.

You say you like doctrine? Hebrews chapter eleven can be used as a lesson plan to teach just about every tenant of the Christian faith. It has been called "the hall of faith." It uses "faith" and its derivatives and synonyms over two dozen times. It explains the form and purpose of faith with examples of Old Testament saints who lived out their faith. This is the beating heart of the preacher's sermon. We are to live our lives of faith in imitation of these saints who patiently persevered as they awaited inheritance of the promises.

v.1-2 If you read or listen to my sermons, you might notice these two verses show up quite a lot. They are beautiful. “Assurance:” ὑπόστασις, hypostasis, has two shades of meaning. As is the preacher's usual and brilliant custom in this sermon, he means both of them simultaneously. Objectively, it means the reality of something. Subjectively, it means to hold a particular viewpoint about something. Faith is having a viewpoint rooted in the reality of what we know is true. It is not wishful thinking, at least Biblically speaking. It is a belief that understands some outcome is certain, despite it not being provable (see Romans 8:24). "Conviction:” ἔλεγχος, elenchos, the act of presenting evidence for the truth of something.

v.3 Faith informs the Christian worldview, particularly the Son’s involvement in the creation (see John 1:1-3, cf. Sirach 24:1-23, found in the Apocrypha). The Torah (the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) was the visible element of the presence of the divine word. Now the Word is made flesh.

v.4 Abel is a type of Christ (see Genesis 4:3-7). Abel holds “first place” in the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews Chapter 12. In the Word, Abel still speaks as a righteous man of God.

v. 5-6 Enoch did not taste death but was assumed by God into heaven for his having "walked with God" in faith for some 365 years. Note that Enoch is the seventh generation from Adam. See the +/- contrast between Cain and Enoch. God is the rewarder of those that seek Him.

v.7 Noah is the third example, the first to be called “righteous,” “perfect,” and to “have found favor with the Lord.” Perfect because of faith, not because he was sinless. Faith in the unseen prophetic word (Genesis 6:13-21).

v.8 We now receive three examples of faith in one man's life: Abraham. First faith in following God's call to the unknown.

v.9 Second, faith in residing as an alien in a foreign land and in the eschaton (the final event in the divine plan – the last day. See Psalm 85:1; Genesis 11).

v.11-12 Faith in the conception and birth of Isaac.

v.13-15 This is an extended explanation of the eschatological character of Abraham’s faith, as well as Isaac and Jacob, whom we meet next. This clears up the seeming paradox of Hebrews 10:38 (“but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”). They died in faith, convicted by things unseen, not yet realized: the eschaton. The promised land of the world to come. In faith, they “saw” their, as yet, invisible eschatological hereditary possessions.

v. 16 Instead of clinging to their ancestral heritage, they longed for something which transcends this body and life.

v.17-19 (see Genesis 22) Note: Ishmael is not an heir. Was Isaac really fated to die? God tested Abraham because it was through Isaac that the Messiah would come. Abraham did so because God has power over death and life, and he believed this by faith. This scene is a parabolic enactment of the resurrection of the dead. Also, note the three days journey. Isaac carried his means of execution, the provision of a substitutionary sacrifice as a type of the atonement.

v.20 Now, we have three examples of Abraham's descendants. Archetypes of the inheritors of God's blessings. The passing on of their inheritance is well-pleasing to God. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau (Genesis 27:1-4). Not only Canaan and Edom, but also the eschatological inheritance. Esau forfeited his share by failing to heed serving his brother (Genesis 27:40). Esau, therefore, represents those who "shrink back" from God's promises to their own destruction (Hebrews 10:39).

v.21 Jacob, by faith, blesses each of Joseph’s sons, thus giving Joseph “a double share” (Genesis 48:9-22; 49:22-26). Bowing over his staff recalls how he had left with only his staff to take on his journey to Haran (Genesis 32:10). Now that he is near the end of his life and has not reached his promised heavenly homeland, he bows over that staff in submission and trust of God, who promised to bring him there, placing his future in God’s hands.

v.22 Joseph, though he lived most of his life in Egypt, did not consider it his home and commanded his kinsmen to bring his bones to the promised land, predicting the people's eventual exodus (Genesis 50:24-26). This also anticipates his future resurrection from the dead.

v.23-26 Four examples from the life of Moses. Moses was hidden by his parents for three months, paralleling Christ's flight into Egypt. Verse 24 is a summary of Exodus 2:10-15. He rejected his position and status and gave up the "enjoyment of sin" because he was the inheritor of a greater promise. By faith in that promise, he was looking for a payment of reward, the eschatological world to come. He endured the mockery of the people of God as a type of Christ's rejection by His own people (Psalm 89:50-51). The preacher uses him as an example to the Roman Hebrew congregation who experienced mockery for their faith (see Hebrews 10:32-22).

v.27 This is not his flight to Midian but his eternal exodus with the rest of the Israelites. By faith in God's promises, he was able to see God by his continual "seeing of the unseen one" – the theophany of the Word, the Son (Exodus 3:1-6, the burning bush; Exodus:21-22, 14:19, 24, the pillars of cloud and fire; Exodus 24:9-11, His appearance at the Holy Meal on Mt. Sinai; Exodus 33:18-34:8, seeing God's back; and Numbers 12:7-8, the sight of the Lord's "back").

v.28 Moses’ faithful institution of the Passover (Exodus 12:1-28) focusing not on the meal but the faith in the blood marking houses pointing forward to trusting in the blood shed by Christ from the cross. By faith, the congregation will escape destruction at the eschaton because they are marked by the blood of Christ.

v. 29 Passage through the Red Sea, an archetype of water baptism (see also Noah and the flood), while the Egyptians did not escape judgment.

v.30 (see Joshua 6) Faith is a gift given by God. By faith, they circled Jericho until the walls fell. This example of receptive faith encourages the preacher's congregation that no earthly city could hold out against God and his priestly people, even Rome.

v. 31 (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:17, 22-25) Rahab alone was saved when Jericho was destroyed. Though a sinner (she was a prostitute), she had heard what God had done in Egypt, believed it, let in the spies, and confessed her faith. She risked her own life by faith. She was even privileged to become an ancestor of the Messiah. In many times, and in many ways, each of these examples shows us the kind of faith generated by God's Word, which is the basis of what they hope for and receive from God, providing evidence for what is unseen in this age to be revealed in the age to come.