HEBREWS

Chapter 11

Let us open our Bibles to Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith. This is a dream chapter for a preacher, because it is clearly written and filled with many life illustrations. We are blessed just by reading the great message contained in there.

The book of Hebrews has a particularity of simplifying what is most complicated to render it very easy. This chapter is written to strengthen and to affirm the believer. It is written for those who already confessed their sins and have accepted the Son of God as their personal Savior, those who now have the Spirit of God dwelling in their hearts, because it speaks of heaven. This is a fourth dimension somewhere beyond our universe, and a reality in which only faith in God can reveal. This faith is like a beam of light which travels through the billions of galaxies and through this impenetrable space and inconceivable time, which separates us from the next star. It brings us right to this city which the Bible affirms that it exists and is being prepared for us. Faith brings the reality of this city right down in our hearts. Do you believe there is a place over there somewhere for you, because you have accepted Yeshua as your personal Savior?

This chapter, will tell us about this special truth which animated and sustained the spirit of past believers. Have you ever wondered what was at the core of the faith of Abraham, who was promised so much, yet never personally owned any of it; how did he deal with this?

We saw the faith of Noah, who built an Ark because of the coming deluge, at a time when it never rained before. There was also the faith of Jeremiah, who fought alone against the whole religious system, and stood alone, in front of the Temple preaching salvation. What sustained these men of God?

These had one thing in common; they had faith, this powerful tool which helped them conquer this world, and not the other way around. They knew of this city and they all waited for it. All who are mentioned in our chapter today are right in there, enjoying eternity with Yeshua.

In this chapter, sixteen people are specifically named, fourteen men and two women. In addition, the Spirit mentions three groups of people for their exceptional faith. One group is the Israelites. Yes, Israel. We read so much about their sins, but there was always a remnant within the nation, the one Paul calls the Israel of God, who exceeded in their faith. We will read of another group, a father and a mother - Moses’ parents - who listened and obeyed God regardless of the threats of death. The third group is the mighty prophets of God who stood up despite great persecutions, even leading to death. All these never gave up, for by faith they knew that God lives.

But it is in chapter 12 of Hebrews, where the ultimate example of them all is presented - Yeshua Himself, who came down from heaven and made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a slave, and coming in the likeness of men so that He may die and resurrect for us all.

All of these were giants of the faith and yet they were so humble and obedient; these are our heroes. Why are we given a list of this great cloud of witnesses at this point in the book; what is the context?

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It was because some believers had one foot in the world, and the other inside the Kingdom of God. At the time, some Jewish believers contemplated going back to the Mosaic Law because of the pressure and the persecution, because of the pull of this world. So the writer brings them to consider these great believers of the past, who kept the faith in the most difficult situations and are now enjoying eternity. Hebrews 11 is addressed so much to us today, as it also speaks to those who are also divided between the world outside and a life with God. It speaks to those who have stopped praying, who have stopped reading their Bibles, who come only occasionally to the place God has prepared for them. This chapter is here to encourage us all to keep strong in the faith until our gathering with our Lord. Let us read the first verses. Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith is not wishful thinking. It is, as the Scriptures say, a conviction. The Rouach Ha Kodesh instills it in the believer, so much so that it is also an evidence of this other reality- heaven. But not everyone has had the courage to make this leap into it.

The Danish Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, a believer in the Scriptures, wrote about this faith and he realized that it does take courage to believe it and to use it. Have you heard of the expression, “a leap of faith?”

It originated with him. For Kierkegaard, this is the leap from this world to the other. This is what may differentiate a giant of the faith from the others. Kierkegaard wrote that “Faith begins where one knows and has experienced the limitations of rational thought therefore, it is a leap into a paradox” and he adds that this leap of faith, led him to a deep relationship with God.

Have you taken that leap yet?

You can acquire this courage by getting closer to God, for faith comes by hearing and reading the Word of God. Verse 2 tells us that it is through it that the believers of old obtained a good testimony; they obtained approval from God, because faith was so real to them. This was so factual that we read in verse 13: All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

They saw what the eye could not see. Faith made them see the other world, the real one where peace prevails, from a distance. While far, very far, they could see.

In verse 3, it clearly says that “By faith we understand that the worlds…” What worlds?

The Greek word here for worlds is aion, which is the universe, and more specifically it is time and eternity. This is the word they used for philosophical discussions of time. Plato used this word to speak of timeless eternity. Do you see the places that faith can bring us to see?

It is in verse 4, where the account of those men and women of faith begins. Each has a message; a life lived in faith, recorded so we can take the leap as well. The account begins with the first martyr, Abel. With him, we learn of how faith is connected with action, with works. Abel believed, therefore he acted. This is so important because many go halfway and stop, but belief is not enough. Let us see how The Lord evaluated the faith of Abel. We read that By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice;, and at

2 the end of the verse we read that God is still testifying of his gifts, even today, because through it he being dead still speaks. He did not testify of his faith, but He testified of his faith through his gifts. Abel teaches us that faith and action go together; one flows from the other. Able believed and he did.

After Abel, Enoch is mentioned in verse 5. What we know of Enoch here is that he was saved from death because he believed; this sounds so much like every believer. The way is it said is most extraordinary. Notice these powerful words: By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. How was he taken up?

We are not told; he was just raptured away to heaven. Here we see the concept of the Rapture being very similar to ours, because “Enoch was taken” away and it was just before a terrible judgment on this world - the flood. Like the Rapture to come, just before the Tribulation time, we are told that “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven…Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds” (1Theselonisns 4:16, 17)

Just like Enoch was taken away before a judgment, so will the last believing remnant, before the start of the Tribulation, and we may very well be this remnant. So, what was Enoch preaching before his rapture?

It was the same thing we ought to preach today. The Book of Jude tells us what he was saying to the people, then. He was preaching on the end times. Jude 1:14, 15 …"Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

While Enoch was warning the people before the flood, his words show that he was actually speaking of the Second Coming of the Messiah. He is still speaking today. Enoch never died, and his words are still alive. Do we believe in the end prophecies and believe that Yeshua is coming soon?

Thousands of years ago, Enoch did, now that we are so close to the very end, are we warning our neighbors?

Today, many believe that Enoch’s ministry is still going on. Their reasoning goes like this: since Enoch never died and since it is written that “it is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27), Enoch must come back to die. So they believe that he will be one of the two witnesses, in Revelation 11; the other is Elijah. So Enoch still speaks today; like Abel, he still warns us.

Enoch left a powerful legacy on earth; he is the father of Methuselah. Do you remember what Methuselah means?

His name contains two Hebrew words. The first in Hebrew is mut which means to die, and the second is Selah, like in the Psalms; it signifies a pause, an end. Together, the name would mean, when he dies it will end. Did you know that, according to the genealogy, the flood came the year that Methuselah died?

It was Enoch, who by faith and revelation, named his son Methuselah. God partnered with Enoch and Methuselah. Methuselah lived the longest life ever; he lived 969 years. He had the longest life, because our God is gracious and so patient “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2Peter 3:9)

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The account of Abel and Enoch ends with this powerful verse: Hebrews 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.

Faith will lead us to believe two things; that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Some stop at the first clause, but it is not enough. Many believe that God is, but so do the demons. James wrote at about the same time, and perhaps to the same type of people who contemplated going back to the past, and says to them: You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (James 2:19)

It is one thing to believe in God and another to believe God. Knowledge of His existence does not save, but faith in God brings the individual to believe that He is real, so real and present that he further sees that He is a rewarder. Just like were told in Hebrew 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Do you truly believe this?

God gives us salvation, He gives us faith and, at the end, He rewards us for all this; we have a very generous God.

The next person on the list is one of the most impressive in the history of the Bible - Noah. Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

God was so real and true for this man, that he built a huge ark, not a boat, but a floating barge, which took him at least 100 years to build. A hundred years of mocking by the neighbors who must have thought that he was crazy, but he kept at it because he believed. Even today they still think he is crazy. Noah's Ark, they say, tops the “10 Stupidest Religious Beliefs.” Richard Dawkins made a video about this and called it “The Silliness of Noah’s Ark Story”. Yet, everyone except Noah and his family perished from the flood, because they did not heed God's warning;

But the story of Noah has not ended, like the others; it still speaks today in a mighty way. Yeshua mentions Noah’s situation to explain His Second Coming. Listen to what Yeshua says in Matthew 24, the chapter of the end times. Matthew 24: 38-39 "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The times are still fundamentally the same; prophets of God, all of them, are still doing their speaking. Abel, Enoch, and Noah are still with us. What these words of our Messiah teach is that God’s Word will surely come to pass, as it did with the flood, and as it did in the other prophecies of judgment in the past.

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We remember that He warned Israel of the coming Assyrian invasion. They did not believe it and, in 721 B.C., the Assyrians came and destroyed the northern kingdom. He warned Judah of the coming Babylonians, but they did not believe. However, in 586 B.C. the Babylonians came and destroyed the southern kingdom. He warned and it happened literally, as He said it would happen. In the same way, we have so many prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled, and today these prophecies are treated like the atheist treats the Ark; this is even done by some believers. They allegorize the prophecies, which is just one step above denial. But as it is written, it will happen. Do you believe this?

These prophecies are not only warnings; they are great doors of opportunities for us to bring the good news of the Bible to this generation.

We further read, in Hebrews 11:7, that Noah saved his household. But this word household is also used of descendants, because what the faith of Noah really did is save humanity. Through him and his three sons, we all descended. This man stands tall in the history of the Bible.

Next on the list is Abraham; here we have another powerful example of faith. It gets better as you read. Abraham is the case of a man who lived in another world, while passing through this earth. He was special in that he had one foot in heaven and one on earth; he surpasses everyone else. Hebrews 11: 8-9 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

Originally Abraham lived in Ur, which was part of the Fertile Crescent, a wealthy place situated in an important trade route. It was a city with a long history, a comfortable one, a secure one. But from there, Abraham was called to go to a place that he did not know. When he got to this surprise place, it was perhaps the worst place in the inhabited world; it was Canaan. The people living in Canaan were known to be so wicked, that God evicted them from the land because of their evil practices. When Abraham arrived in the land, God promised him the whole land. “Look” He told him, “as far as the eyes could see” and much further, from Egypt to Iraq. However, Abraham never owned a piece of land, not even a burial place for Sarah; he had to buy it from the Canaanites.

So how did he do it; how did he leave a rich home for no other land; what prompted him to make the move and what sustained him all these years?

Here we can see the key to a very satisfying life, even in the face of adversity and persecution and even ignorance. Hebrews 11:10 tells us: For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God

This is the message! Simply said, yet so spiritually loaded. Abraham knew better than all the riches this world could provide. It did not disturb him that he was not to see the promises of God being fulfilled in his life time. The Canaanites did not disturb him, because he looked up, right to heaven; there, faith shrank the universe and he saw this city whose builder and maker is God. This was the secret of his life. Do you believe there is place up there, a place built by God, just for you?

If you do, you will be of the most blessed on this earth. Abraham believed and he became the father of all those who are in the faith. Yeshua confirms this faith that could be yours. John 14: 2

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"In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

This is the place that Abraham, Enoch and all the other believers in the Scriptures knew about and lived by. Speaking of all of them, the Spirit confirms it all in Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

They, all these giants of the faith, desired a better country, because this world cannot provide happiness and stability; these knew this and looked up. If Yeshua spoke of this place in heaven, it is surely because He wants us to be like Abraham and conquer this world and not the other way around. The knowledge of this city, which is called the New Jerusalem in Revelation, will affirm us and give us stability in this world.

I believe that Paul, who actually did go to heaven and back, spoke of this other fourth dimension in Ephesians. He actually mentions it and he tells us that, through faith, it is visible. This is his prayer to the Ephesians and to us: Ephesians 3:17, 18 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height.

Did you notice how many points of reference Paul is using here?

He used not three, but four dimensions. He says the width and length and depth and height. A definition of the three dimensional world we live in is having, or appearing to have, length, width, and depth, but Paul adds height. What is it?

Height is an interesting word in the Greek; it is the highest raised position. In the Septuagint and in the Greek world, they used this word to denote the exaltation of God, the loftiness of heaven.

Did Paul add the reality of heaven in the life of every believer?

I think he did. Paul says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; so you may be able to comprehend this new world of four dimensions, which is offered to you. See the power that we have been given, and yet we have not yet tapped into it.

Let us move on to the next believer on our list - Sarah. We seldom think of her, but she is a great woman of faith. Hebrews 11: 11, 12 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

Abraham was not alone; there is always a powerful woman behind a successful man. Sarah's faith is at the core of the creation of Israel, leading to the birth of the Messiah. We read that she judged Him faithful who had promised and so it happened. So we read that through one man, the word man is not in the original text, while it is always masculine, it designates both Sarah and Abraham; both were good as dead, but by

6 faith, became the parents of so many descendants. Now we know why Abraham was so successful. He had both faith and Sarah.

But, let us pause for a moment. Did not Sarah lie; she did not believe God when He said that she was going to be pregnant; what happened to this fact?

Also, did not Abraham lie, as well; and even in a bigger way, when he said that Sarah was his sister and allowed the Pharaoh and later this Philistine to take her away; what happened to this fact?

What about Noah; did he not get drunk?

What about the other woman mentioned – Rahab; in Verse 31, we are reminded that she is a harlot; how can you take a harlot as an example?

Reading this account, one would never suspect these people to have been so bad. But there is a beautiful truth to grasp here; God sees them all redeemed, and He has forgotten all these bad actions. This is why they are listed here. This was a promise we have read in this Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 8:12 …and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

This is possible because they entered heaven through Yeshua. God sees the best of each one of us, even now, and this is a practice we need to acquire. The command to love one another is possible when we apply this truth and see the best of each one of us. Remember that the only person in the Bible who receives a direct promise of going to heaven, who was told that this very day he will be in paradise, was a thief. God saw a saved and redeemed individual - not a thief.

Before we move on to the next giant of the faith, there is one individual of another kind, who is named here back in verse 4; there is a reason why Cain’s name is on this list. We read: By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.

I believe that if Cain is mentioned here, it is because he looks so much like the tares, the ones who were living in the congregation of God and trying to drag others with them. What is striking in the account is that Cain was also a worshipper of God; he came with his offering as well. He was religious, but he had no faith. He was even a zealous religious worshipper, because we notice in Genesis that he came first, before Abel; he was first to bring his offering. In Genesis 4: 3, 4 it is written And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD, and then we read in verse 4, Abel also…

Fervor and zeal, in religion, is not proof of validity. This was the message of all the prophets of God: to obey is better than to sacrifice. (1Samuel 15:22)

Cain was religious but evil; Think of the different religions in history, does that sound familiar?

The truth is in the heart of man; it all amounts to having faith in God and in believing that He is and is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Many go to church, to synagogue and other places of worship, out of obligation only. To the ones who were in Corinth, the Spirit says to them “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith…” (2Corinthians 13:5)

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Two other infamous individuals are named in this list, one is Esau in verse 20, but it is in the next chapter where the writer singles him out to compare him to those who come so close to God, and then just leave. Turn with me to Hebrews 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Esau was given salvation on a golden platter, like everyone else, but he refused it on the basis of a piece of bread. He refused a glorious life in heaven for what was transient and insignificant.

The other person mentioned was Pharaoh, in verse 24. Pharaoh, in the Scriptures stands for pride and for hardness of heart; this prevents people from seeing God. Early in Chapter 9 of Exodus we see this hardness of heart in the beginning of the ten plagues. Each plague was a great miracle and an assertion of the sovereignty of God over one particular deity. But even more extraordinary than these miracles, is Pharaoh’s refusal to accept the sovereignty of God. It is scary to see how he did not budge and how he hardened his heart, and increasingly so. In the same way, it is so disconcerting to see how people, even though they see, they understand, and they even experience the miracle of seeing Yeshua, just refuse at the end. Pharaoh gives us a glimpse of man’s dark side of the soul. Cain, Esau, and Pharaoh, are examples of those who just refuse God, even in the face of so many attempts. These are examples of how the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit works.

This is why we need faith, the faith that will help us to see the great gift of God. Isaiah tells us that If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9 NIV) Eighteen times in Hebrews 11, you find the same words “by faith.”

The Spirit then brings us to one of the most moving stories in the Scriptures - the Akeda or the Binding of Isaac. Here we are given information which clarifies the account in Genesis, otherwise it would be incomprehensible. Hebrews 11: 17-18 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"

After Abraham left his home in Ur and came to the land of the Canaanites, while in his old age, he was given another important promise, a son. This was a very unlikely promise, because he and Sarah were very old, but the promise was fulfilled and Isaac was born. However, after this, God put the bar up so high when He asked Abraham an impossible thing. He asked him to go and sacrifices his son Isaac, but all the promises of the Messiah rested on Isaac. It did not make sense that God would ask him to do such a thing. It did not make sense! How did Abraham deal with this?

He figured it all out. His answer is given in verse 19. concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

This is the pure and very true faith in God. Abraham never doubted that through Isaac, the promises will come, even if he killed him. Faith told him that even if he sacrificed his son, God will resurrect him, because once God promises something, it will come to pass. See how far faith can go?

This exercise in faith put Abraham at such a high position in history and, I believe, for eternity. It is said twice in the Tanach that Abraham is a friend of God forever in 2Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8. But this is not the usual word for friend, the actual word is love. God speaks of Abraham as His love forever.

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This is one of the highest rewards one can have, but it all started on earth. This demonstrates that what we do here on earth has an eternal reach.

The last words of verse 19 are “from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” What was the figurative sense here?

Isaac was a type of the Messiah. He was put on the altar by his father, but it was not Isaac who was sacrificed, but a ram. Later, on this same mountain of Moriah, the true Lamb of God, Yeshua our Messiah, was crucified. This is what this story pointed to. People are outraged at the fact of hearing of a father sacrificing his own son, but Abraham never sacrificed Isaac. It was a test, and it was also figurative of the death of the Messiah.

Next on the list was Isaac himself. Hebrews 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

The story in this situation is so sad; all four people involved here were not in a good place with God. Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah and Esau were out of touch with God. Here Isaac wanted to give the paternal blessing to Esau, when it belonged to Jacob. Perhaps he felt bad for his elder son. But Jacob and his mother Rebekah took matters into their own hands; they fooled Isaac who mistakenly blessed Jacob. This was a real mess. However, at the end, when Isaac discovered that he had been fooled, he put his feelings aside and realized that it was the right thing to do, to bless Jacob. He remembered the Words of God in Genesis 25:23 when He said: "Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger."

Isaac knew to put his personal views on the side, and put God first. Faith then shows us the right attitude and Hebrews 11 reminds us of that. You will be encouraged to serve The Lord and to look up, all the time, and realize that we have such a wonderful future awaiting us.

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