1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 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.
“In Hebrews 10:32-36 there is a call to patient waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises. Nothing but real faith in the veracity of the Promiser can sustain the heart and prompt to steady endurance during a protracted season of trial and suffering. Hence in Hebrews 10:38 the apostle quotes that striking word from Habakkuk, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ That sentence really forms the text of which Hebrews 11 is the sermon…” (A. W. Pink)
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (1) "The first verse gives such a description of the nature of faith, as evidenceth its fitness and meetness unto the effecting of the great work assigned unto it, namely, the preservation of believers in the profession of the gospel with constancy and perseverance." (John Owen)
"Essentially faith is confidence that things yet future and unseen will happen as God has revealed they will." (Thomas Constable)
"The Christian hopes to be admitted into heaven; to be raised up in the last day from the slumbers of the tomb, to be made perfectly free from sin; to be everlastingly happy. Under the influence of faith he allows these things to control his mind as if they were a most affecting reality." (Albert Barnes)
"To unbelief, the objects which God sets before us in His Word seem unreal and unlikely, nebulous and vague. But faith visualizes the unseen, giving substantiality to the things hoped for and reality to things invisible. Faith shuts its eyes to all that is seen, and opens its ears to all God has said. Faith is a convictive power which overcomes carnal reasonings, carnal prejudices, and carnal excuses. It enlightens the judgment, moulds the heart, moves the will, and reforms the life.” (A. W. Pink)
"For by it the elders obtained a good testimony." (2) "This is a proof of the first part of faith’s description, that it is 'the substance of things hoped for'; for all the fathers were testified of to have this work of faith in realizing their hopes." (Matthew Poole)
"It was not by their amiability, sincerity, earnestness, or any other natural virtue, but by faith that the ancients ‘obtained a good report.’ This declaration was made by the apostle with the purpose of reminding the Hebrews that their pious progenitors were justified by faith… Therefore those who were spiritually united to them must have something more than physical descent.” (A. W. Pink)
"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." (3) "This proves the second part of faith’s description, Hebrews 11:1, that it is 'the evidence of things not seen'; for by it only we understand the creation, which no eye saw." (Matthew Poole) "When we understand that it was the Word of God (God's command, NIV) that produced all things, that is faith." (Morris) "Faith is not a blind reliance on the Word of God, but an intelligent persuasion of its veracity, wisdom, beauty. So far from Christians being the credulous fools the world deems them, they are the wisest of earth’s inhabitants.” (A. W. Pink)
We believe it all happened by the command of Jesus. "He said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. He also said, 'Let the dry land appear,' and the seas retired from the mountains, leaving the fine shapes of landscape and rivers in their retreat. The great Creator knew that at His command the effects would follow; and it was so. In like manner we should have faith in the promises of His Word, and the blessing shall be ours. What a definition of faith. Were ever ideas more just, or language more appropriate. Our Saviour had said the same before. 'The Words that I speak unto you are Spirit, and they are life.'" (Joseph Sutcliffe)
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
All that Cain and Abel had for a witness was the testimony of their parents. God created mankind on the last day of creation, perhaps lest they try to say that they had helped God. In Eden, Yahweh had allowed Adam and Eve to freely partake of all of the trees of the garden, including the tree of life. But speaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He told Adam not to eat of that tree "for in the day that you eat of it… you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17) After the fall, Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves, yet they were still naked and desolate in God’s eye’s. They were found of Him hiding from His presence. Then while they were yet sinners, Yahweh "made tunics of skin, and clothed" Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:21)
"Do you think they would have forgotten that powerful illustration? Do you think as their hands smooth the softness of the skin clothing, they would have forgotten their first glimpse of violent death, and something of the understanding that it was because of their sin?" (Edith Schaeffer) Perhaps, they got a glimpse of the Just dying for the unjust. (1 Peter 3:18) This was a clear picture of Calvary. And innocent sacrifces were at once instituted to witness to justifying faith.
“It is pagan philosophy that attributes to the soul indestructibility in itself: this is solely of God's gift." (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown) We think to do things to earn God’s favor, but it is only appropriated by a bloody, propitiatory sacrifice- not by works that we do, but according to His tender mercies. This was shadowed through the worshipper's offering of an innocent sacrifice and the fat thereof, signifying the whole animal.
And then the LORD barred them from the garden "lest he put out his hand and take of the tree of life, and eat and live forever." (Genesis 3:22) He placed cherubim and flaming sword at the east of the garden to guard the way to the tree of life. Jesus promised: ”To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7) God alone is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16) The wage of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. We must go to God with a bloody substitute, “the witness at the same time both of the judgment and of the perfect grace of God. Doing this, he was in the truth, and this truth was righteousness and grace. He approaches God and puts the sacrifice between himself and God.” (John Darby)
When the sons of Adam and Eve— Cain and Abel— came of age, as sons of the Commandments, to worship: "Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So Yahweh said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.'" (Genesis 4:47)
"'By faith' - in the future Redeemer- 'Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice' - the firstlings of his flock, implying both a confession of what his own sins deserved, and a desire of sharing in the great atonement." (John Wesley) “He approached God with that more excellent sacrifice. He 'obtained witness that he was righteous'. He was justified by faith." (Arno Gaebelein) We learn here that they needed a covering and one of their own devising is worthless in God’s eyes.
”Cain came, in essence, saying 'You can just accept me, God, as I do my own thing. I am not going to believe it is necessary to do anything other than my own thing.'" From that day forward, mankind has been divided into two groups: 1) those that believe God’s Word and act upon their faith concerning the coming of Messiah; and 2) those who say in one form or another "I’ll do my own thing." Cain’s offering was a fruit offering, like unto fig leaves. The truth of the fall of mankind and the coming of the Kinsman Redeemer was likely passed on from faith to faith by loving parents to both children, but only Abel believed it.
Cain “believed not that his case was so desperate that death was his due, and could only be escaped by another suffering it in his stead; yet he sought to approach unto the Lord… Thus we see how there was a striking foreshadowment from the beginning of human history that the church on earth is a mixed assembly, made up of wheat and tares." (John Darby)
"Cain may offer as well as Abel. Doeg may set his foot as far within the sanctuary as David, the Pharisee as the publican, but with different success. God testifying of his [Abel's] gift, [most likely] by fire from heaven…” (John Trapp) If so, we have the first burnt sacrifice, as God consumed it by fire- the penalty due to us. I believe that God did not institute other types offerings for thousands of years as a testimony that we must first be justified by faith. We must first bring a substitute.
Later when Yahweh gave the tabernacle instructions to Moses for the corporate worship of Israel, an eucharistic offering-- the thank-offering was given, primarily for when they had entered the land. When this was made, the Israelite worshipper "was already at peace with God (Leviticus 3: Leviticus 7:11-34; Leviticus 23:19-20). [These were] spontaneous, 'at your own will' (Leviticus 19:5)" offerings. (Fausset's Bible Dictionary)
”And through it”- his faith the burnt offering— “he being dead still speaks," (4b) “or, is yet spoken of, being registered for the first martyr in the Old Testament, as Stephen was in the New”( Trapp) "The first and most obvious signification of these words is that, by his faith’s obedience, as recorded in Genesis 4 and Hebrews 11, Abel preaches to us a most important sermon... in the everlasting records of Holy Scripture, and thereby he speaks as evidently as though we heard him audibly. There comes to us a voice from the far distant past, from the other side of the flood, saying, ‘Fallen man can only approach unto God through the death of an innocent Substitute…’” (A. W. Pink) And Abel "was plainly numbered among God’s saints, whose death is precious in His sight.” (John Calvin)
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him” [Genesis 5:24]; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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.
In the middle of an Old Testament genealogy comes the testimony of Enoch the seventh from Adam. "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:21-24)
“It is useless to inquire whether and what secondary causes may have contributed to this protracted longevity—vigorous constitutions, the nature of their diet, the temperature and salubrity of the climate; or, finally—as this list comprises only the true worshippers of God—whether their great age might be owing to the better government of their passions and the quiet, even tenor of their lives.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
All of the patriarchs lived for a number of years and had children.... and then lived a while longer and perhaps has more children and died. But after he begot Methuselah, it is recorded that ”Enoch walked with God..." Children seem to awaken us to Christian duty. And this suggests that "previously, Enoch had ‘walked according to the course of this world’ (Eph. 2:2), had gone his ‘own way’ (Isa. 53:6) of self-pleasing, and unconcerned about the future, had thought only of the present. But now he had been ‘reconciled to God’ (2 Cor. 5:20), for ‘can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ (Amos 3:3). The term ‘walk’ signifies a voluntary act, a steady advance, a progress in spiritual things. To ‘walk with God’ imports a life surrendered to God, a life controlled by God, a life lived for God. It is to that our present verse has reference.” (A. W. Pink)
“By faith Enoch was taken away…”— he was translated— “so that he did not see death.” God “changed corruption into incorruption, the natural body into the spiritual.” (Schaff’s NT Commentary)
“and [he] was not found, because God had taken him” [Genesis 5:24]’ “Instead of the mournful refrain 'and he died', coming like a surprise at the end of each of these protracted lives, we have here an early removal into another world, suggesting already that long life was not the highest form of blessing; and this removal is without pain, decay, or death into the immediate presence of God.” (Ellicott's Commentary)
Enoch walked with God. “In Abel the truth of righteousness by faith is illustrated. Enoch, walking with God, believing God and prophesying (Jude 1:14-15) went to heaven without passing through death. The power of death was destroyed in his case; the power of that life he possessed was manifested in his translation. How blessedly Abel and Enoch show forth that by faith righteousness and life are bestowed upon those who believe. The great sacrifice, typified by Abel’s more excellent sacrifice and also by his death, has conquered death, Through death Christ has destroyed him who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14).” (Arno Gaebelein)
“The Hebrew phrase, ‘he walked with God,’ which probably had no clear meaning to a Greek, the Septuagint renders ‘he pleased God,’ or strove to please Him; he lived a life well-pleasing to Him. Nothing is said in the Old Testament of his faith; but before his translation is recorded, it is recorded that ‘he pleased God;’ and now the writer proceeds to show that faith was the foundation of his God-accepted life." (Schaff's NT Commentary)
"God, out of an extraordiary grace and favour to him, dispensed with the common sentence passed on the human seed in Adam, as he did many ages after this to Elijah. He died not: all the rest of the fathers of the church, Genesis 5:5,8,27, the longest liver of them, died." (Poole's Annotations) This was —"a mighty miracle, designed to effect what ordinary means of instruction had failed to accomplish, gave a palpable proof to an age of almost universal unbelief that the doctrines which he had taught (Jude 14, 15) were true and that his devotedness to the cause of God and righteousness in the midst of opposition was highly pleasing to the mind of God.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) What God did for Enoch He can and will yet do for you, yea, “for a whole generation of His saints (1 Cor. 15:51)...” (A. W. Pink), even those alive when He come again in glory.
"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." (6) "The sacrifices of the fathers were only instructive emblems; it was faith in the Promise which animated their souls." (Joseph Sutcliffe) “Yet in all ages there have been many who attempted to please God without faith. Cain began it, but failed woefully. All in their Divine worship profess a desire to please God… why otherwise should they make the attempt? But, as the apostle declares in another place, many seek unto God ‘but not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law’ (Rom. 9:32)… But where faith be lacking, let men desire, design, and do what they will, they can never attain unto Divine acceptance. ‘But to Him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness’ (Rom. 4:5).” (A. W. Pink)
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.
“Inasmuch as God is the ‘Rewarder’ of those who diligently seek Him, it necessarily follows that He is also the ‘Revenger’ of all who despise Him. In the destruction of the old world, God showed His displeasure against sin (Job 22:15, 16); in the preservation of Noah, He made manifest the privileges of His own people (2 Pet. 2:9). That the whole was a pledge and type is clear from 2 Peter 3:6, 7-- ‘by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (A. W. Pink)
"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen..."
“God had determined to send a flood and destroy the wicked world, but ere doing so, He acquainted Noah with His purpose. He has done the same with us: see Romans 1:18. ['Surely the Lord God will do nothing, unless He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.'-, Amos 3:8] That Divine warning was the ground of Noah’s faith… Human reason was altogether opposed unto what God had made known to Noah. Hitherto there had been no rain (Gen. 2:6), then why expect an overwhelming deluge? It seemed utterly unlikely God would destroy the whole human race, and His mercy be thus utterly swallowed up by His avenging justice... When he preached to men (2 Pet. 2:5) none believed his message… To build an ark of such huge dimensions was an enormous undertaking, and, as well, would involve the scoffs of all his fellows… But against all these carnal objections faith offered a steady resistance, and believed God!” (A.W. Pink)
Noah “moved with godly fear.” “His believing the word of God, had this effect on him... a reverential fear it is of God’s threatenings, and not an anxious solicitous fear of the evil threatened.” (John Owen).
He “prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” “Faith first influences our affections and then our actions.” (Matthew Henry) “‘Faith without works is dead’ (James 2:20), particularly works of obedience. ‘Thus did Noah: according to all that God commanded him, so did he’ (Gen. 6:22). Privilege and duty are inseparably connected, yet duty will never be performed where faith is absent. Faith in Noah caused him to persevere in his arduous labors amid many difficulties and discouragements… As it was by faith-obedience he prepared the ark, so by faith’s obedience came the ‘saving of his house.’” (A.W. Pink)
"by the which he condemned the world." “It is a solemn thought, that one lone man condemned a world. It was one against millions! Yet the one condemned the millions. If God is with a man, though that man be only one, he is in the majority. Men of the world wilt soon become a weeping, wailing, and despairing company; but he that stands alone for God shall be had in honour, and shall both judge and condemn the guilty world.” (C.H. Spurgeon) “One man is said to ‘condemn,’ another when, by his godly actions, he shows what the other should do, and which by doing not, his guilt is aggravated; see Matthew 12:41, 42. The Sabbath-keeper ‘condemns’ the Sabbath-breaker. He who abandons a worldly church and goes forth unto Christ outside the camp, ‘condemns’ the compromiser.” Likewise, the act of preparing ‘an ark to the saving of his house’ condemned the mockers.” (A.W. Pink)
By faith Noah acted and became an heir of righteousness which is by faith. He was a preacher of righteousness and an heir thereof.
Morning Repost: Hebrews 11: Abraham’s Obedience
8 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. 9 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; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Yahweh told Joshua and he relayed to the children of Israel, "Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods." [Joshua 24:2] No doubt Abraham "lived his life after the same manner as his fellows—content with the ‘husks’ which the swine feed upon, with little or no serious thoughts of the hereafter... [But then] ‘the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Harran’ (Acts 7:2). What marvelous grace!” (A. W. Pink)
"Now the Lord had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." (Genesis 12:1-4)
"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." (8) " There are two things there: ‘obeyed’ signifies the consent of his mind, ‘and went out’ tells of his actual performance. He obeyed not only in word, but in deed… Faith and obedience can never be severed; as the sun and the light, fire and heat. Therefore we read of the ‘obedience of faith’ (Rom. 1:5). Obedience is faith’s daughter. Faith hath not only to do with the grace of God, but with the duty of the creature.” (Thomas Manton) "He followed the Divine voice as it were blindly, not seeing whither it was leading him, knowing only that it was right to follow it. So to those who walk by faith now the future may be unknown or dim.
'Lead Thou me on… I do not ask to see;
the distant scene; one step enough for me...'" (Pulpit Commentaries)
“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents (9a) "If faith first obeys, faith also continues. Here is the steadfast, plodding life of faith, not a settling down amid earthly comforts, but a pilgrim path, as Abraham's tent bore witness. Mere material, present advantage, is no object whatever for faith. God's promise of better things had laid hold of Abraham's soul...” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
"It is remarkable that Abraham did not acquire any right in Canaan, except that of a burying place; nor did he build any house in it; his faith showed him that it was only a type and pledge of a better country, and he kept that better country continually in view.” (Adam Clarke) "He sojourned in the land. There he had his commoration, but in heaven his conversation, content to dwell in tents till he should fix his station above." (John Trapp)
The tabernacle in the wilderness which Moses built for the service of God, like their tabernacles, was "the sacred tent mishkan, 'the dwelling-place'; the movable tent-temple." By faith Abraham dwelled in tents "with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;" (9b) "that is, the same thing occurred in regard to them, which had to Abraham. 'They' also lived in tents. They acquired no fixed property, and no title to the land except to the small portion purchased as a burial-place." (Albert Barnes)
"There is singular comfort in the society of saints." (Trapp) "God’s saints are all of the same spiritual disposition. They are members of the same family, united to the same Christ, indwelt by the same Spirit. ‘And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul’ (Acts 4:32). They are governed by the same Laws: ‘I will put My Laws into their mind and write them in their hearts’ (Heb. 8:10). They all have one aim, to please God and glorify Him while on earth.” (A. W. Pink)
Their tent life speaks to us of "separation from the world’s allurements, politics, friendships, [and even] religion. It is deeply significant to note that when reference is made to Abraham’s ‘tent,’ there is mention also of his ‘altar’: ... [See Genesis 12:8; 13:3-4; 13:18]… there must be heart separation from the world [signified by the tent]… before God can be worshipped in spirit and in truth [signified by the altar].” (A. W. Pink)
The church, in the land of promise, dwelled "in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, Micah 5:7, and yet they dwell alone, and are not reckoned among the nations, Numbers 23:9. They sojourn in tabernacles which are moveable, liable, and expecting every moment to be taken down, Hebrews 13:14, and yet the eternal God is their refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms, Deuteronomy 33:27."
(Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
"For he waited for the city which has foundations,...." (10a) "that heavenly city which God himself has built for those who love him.... Old Testament saints had knowledge of a future state, and expected their reward in another world." (Justin Edwards) “In Bible days a city was a place of safety, being surrounded by strong and high walls: so in Heaven we shall be eternally secure from sin and Satan, death and every enemy. A city is well stocked with provisions: so in Heaven nothing will be lacking which is good and blessed. The ‘foundation’ of the Heavenly City... is Christ Jesus the Rock of Ages, on which it stands firm and immovable.” (A. W. Pink)
In his sermon, “What Must I Do to be Saved?” D. L. Moody tried to convince a man that conversion-new birth- is needed for salvation, but the man did not understand it. “Now, this evening I want to take up some of the Bible illustrations. In the first place, there is the ark. There was a minute when Noah was outside of the ark, and another minute when he was inside. And, bear in mind, it was the ark that saved Noah: it was not his righteousness; it was not his feelings; it was not his tears; it was not his prayers. It was the ark that saved him. If he had tried to make an ark of his feelings, or of his prayers, or of his life, he would have been swept away: he would have been drowned with the rest. But, you see, it was the ark that saved him.
When I was in Manchester, I went into the gallery one Sunday night to have a talk with a few inquirers; and while I was talking, a business man came in, and took his seat on the outskirts of the audience. I think, at first, he had come merely to criticize, and that he was a little skeptical. At last I saw he was in tears. I turned to him, and said, ‘My friend, what is your difficulty?’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘Mr. Moody, the fact is, I cannot tell.’ I said, ‘Do you believe you are a sinner?’ He said, ‘Yes; I know that.’ I said, ‘Christ is able to save you’; and I used one illustration after another, but he did not see it. At last I thought of the ark, and I said: ‘Was it Noah's feelings that saved him? Was it Noah's righteousness that saved him, or was it the ark?’ ‘I see it, now,’ said he; ‘I see it.’ He got up and shook hands with me, and said: ‘Good-night: I must go. I have to go away by the train to-night; but I was determined to be saved before I went. I see it now.’
A few days after, he came and touched me on the shoulder, and said, ‘Do you know me?’ I said, ‘I know your face, but do not remember where I have seen you.’ He said, ‘Do you not remember the illustration of the ark?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘It has been all light ever since,’ said he. ‘I understand it now. Christ is the Ark; He saves me; and I must get inside Him.’ When I went down to Manchester again, and talked to the young friends there, I found he was the brightest light among them.”
Let us move with godly fear to the saving of our households. Let us get in Jesus by baptism in His name, being baptized into His death... and teach and admonish others to do likewise. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” (1 Pet 3:18-22)
Hebrews 11: Sarah Judged Yahweh Faithful
11 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. 12 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.
"Our apostle having spoken of Abraham's faith before, makes… mention of his wife Sarah's faith here. It is a blessed thing when husband and wife are one in the faith, as well as one flesh; when the constant companion of our life draws with us in the same yoke of religion." (William Burkitt)
But it was not that way at first. "And He (Yahweh) said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.' (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?'" (Genesis 18:10-12)
"Many times the Word does not take effect immediately. It did not in Sarah’s case: though afterward she ‘believed’, at first she ‘laughed.’ It was only when the Divine promise was repeated that her faith began to act. Let preachers and Christian parents, who are discouraged by lack of success, lay this to heart… Christian reader, this is recorded both for your instruction and encouragement.” (A. W. Pink)
"By faith Sarah herself"- she who at first doubted- "also received strength to conceive seed and she bore a child when she was past the age.." (11a) The faith of Abraham was shared also by his wife Sarah. “God is not tied down to the order of nature, nor limited by any secondary causes. He will turn nature upside down rather than not be as good as His Word. He has brought water out of a rock, made iron to float (2 Kings 6:6), sustained two million people in a howling wilderness… What cannot He do! He made a woman of ninety to bear a child—a thing quite contrary to nature—so I may surely expect Him to work wonders for me too.” (A. W. Pink)
"And Yahweh said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”' But Sarah denied it, saying, 'I did not laugh,' for she was afraid. And He said, 'No, but you did laugh!'" (Genesis 18:13-15) God read Sarah's thoughts and reminded her that nothing is too difficult for Him. From that time on, Sarah believed. She, like father Abraham, wavered in understanding the means by which the promise by God would be accomplished, but at times her faith seemed to exceed Abraham's. And she was not particularly good at waiting, but she believed. And At Isaac’s birth, Sarah declared that she now had a proper reason to laugh (Genesis 21:6). She had great joy because God had carried out his promise to her (Genesis 21:1). He had done what she- by herself- was unable to do.
Some people want to present Sarah's faith as inferior to Abraham's and focus on her calling him lord as being her great act of faith, but this must never be done. By faith, she believed. And faith is faith. Abraham had also laughed at the first of his journey. (Genesis 17:17) “But faith prevailing against natural impossibilities. See Romans 4:19-22. Both Abraham and Sarah doubted at first; but both became persuaded of the truthfulness of the promise." (Vincent's Word Studies) Sarah received strength "because she judged Him faithful who had promised." (11b) “The act which is here ascribed unto Sarah is, that she ‘judged’ or reckoned, reputed and esteemed, God to be faithful: she was assured that He would make good His Word, on which He had caused her to hope. God had spoken: Sarah had heard; in spite of all that seemed to make it impossible that the promise should be fulfilled in her case, she steadfastly believed.” (Pink)
"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." (12) “We regard this 12th verse as setting forth the fruit of her faith, namely the numerous posterity which issued from her son, Isaac. The double reference to the ‘sand’ and the ‘stars’ calls attention to the twofold seed: the earthly and the heavenly, the natural and the spiritual Israel… But let our final thought be upon the rich recompense whereby God rewarded the faith of Sarah.” (A. W. Pink)
"Great events for this world as well as the future, depend on the exercise of faith in God; and things which affect vast multitudes for time and eternity, are accomplished through its influence, which would otherwise be impossible." (Justin Edwards) Jesus is alive and He will come again in glory and raise the dead for judgment! But those who believe will be justified of all things. Believe, receive strength, and bear spiritual seed.
Hebrews 11 These Patriarchs Died in Faith
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 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.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises- "How sorely was Abraham's faith tried! How long had he to wait for the fulfillment of the promise! Meanwhile, though living in tents, and though not possessing any portion of the land, and knowing that in this life he would not see it, yet he believed the inheritance was his; and that God Himself had prepared a city, a permanent, substantial, organized dwelling-place for him and his seed, and all the nations to whom the blessing was to come. He and his sons after him waited for that country, which would be heavenly in its character, given and established by divine power. It is not necessary here to enter into a distinction between the heavenly and the earthly Jerusalem; the expectation of the patriarchs and the prophets is the renewed earth in which Israel and all nations dwell in righteousness—the prospect stretches forth into the boundless ages when ultimately the tabernacle of God shall be with men. The patriarch's hope reached beyond death, and it had reference to themselves and their children and all the righteous, they expected that God would give to them and their seed the earth, that they would live then before and with God in their inheritance, and that from this centre blessings would flow to all lands. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit'—because chosen of God unto adoption—the earth." (Adolph Saphir)
"These all died in faith - That is, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob, continued to believe, to the end of their lives, that God would fulfill this promise; but they neither saw the numerous seed, nor did they get the promised rest in Canaan... No intelligent Jew could suppose that Canaan was all the rest which God had promised to His people." (Adam Clarke)
"not having received the inheritance." -"'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord’ (Rev 14:13) is another statement of the same principle. In the Master's wonderful parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the payoff came in the twilight, ‘when evening was come’; and every laborer in the vineyard of Jesus should stay with the task until the evening of life has approached, the twilight has descended, and the night has come, that is, until death (Matthew 20:8).” (Burton Coffman)
"But [they] having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." These patriarchs "confessed by their whole lives that they were pilgrims. They had no fixed home and were waiting for a country." (People's New Testament) They confessed that they were pilgrims on this earth and built alters and called upon His name. They embraced the promises--"They saluted them, kissing Christ in the promises, and interchangeably kissed of him, Song of Solomon 1:1, being drawn together (as the word signifies) by mutual dear affection, αοπασαμενοι ab αsimul et σπαω, traho." (John Trapp)
"For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." (14) "So we should think of any strange people coming among us now - who lived in tents; who frequently changed their residence; who became the purchasers of no land except to bury their dead, and who never spake of becoming permanent residents. We should think that they were in search of some place as their home, and that they had not yet found it. Such people were the Hebrew patriarchs. They lived and acted just as if they had not yet found a permanent habitation, but were traveling in search of one." (Albert Barnes)
"And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return." (15) “If they had been mindful of- their earthly country, Ur of the Chaldeans, they might have easily returned." (John Wesley) But Yahweh had promised something better; “so, they had willingly banished themselves from it, nay, they had disowned it, as though it did not belong to them. By another country, then, they meant, that which is beyond this world." (John Calvin) “But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. (16a) that is New Jerusalem. "This is a full convincing proof that the patriarchs had a revelation and a promise of eternal glory in heaven." (John Wesley) Even now, the fulfillment is yet future for them, as well as the NT saints, who have died in the Lord. It will be received on resurrection morn.
"Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." (16b) "Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God- He refers to that passage, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' (Exodus 3:6.) It is a singular honor when God makes men illustrious, by attaching His name to them; and designs thus to have Himself distinguished from idols." (John Calvin) “God... honoureth them as his confederates, because for His cause they renounced the world." (Trapp)
”God is not ashamed; because they place such confidence in Him and desire such pure and elevated joys, He has prepared for them a permanent abode and unending bliss in heaven. [In stark contrast,] God is ashamed of those who have no confidence in Him and prepares for them no habitation in heaven. He will not acknowledge them as His people, Mark 8:38, nor bring them to His blest abode." (Justin Edwards)
"We are hence to conclude, that there is no place for us among God’s children, except we renounce the world, and that there will be for us no inheritance in heaven, except we become pilgrims on earth.." [John Calvin] seeking only that which God has for us in His timing.
Hebrews 11: Abraham Offered Up Isaac
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”[Genesis 21:12] 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.' So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' Then he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.' So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But the Angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' So he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'" (Genesis 22:1-12)
“It appears from the whole history, that Christ, as the Mediator represented, was the visible Jehovah here appointing Abraham to this service. And in proof, let the reader remark, that in the original history of this solemn transaction, while it is said in one verse, that God did tempt Abraham to the offering of his son, Genesis 22:1, in another it is said, that the Angel, as God, calleth to him from heaven, and said: ‘By myself have I sworn,’ saith the Lord, Genesis 22:15-16. A plain proof, that it was the Son of God in the representation of his mediator-character, in the whole of this transaction. ” (Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary)
God tested Abraham. “The word, tempted or tried, means no other thing than proved. What James says, that we are not tempted by God, is to be understood differently, (James 1:13;) he means that God does not tempt us to do evil; for he testifies that this is really done by every man’s own lust.” (John Calvin) And Abraham was proved, offering up Isaac- “He built an altar, bound his son, laid him upon the altar, had ready the incense, took the knife, and would immediately have slain him had he not been prevented by the same authority by which the sacrifice was enjoined.— ‘and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son’ (17b) — as he was the only son he had by his legitimate wife, who was heir to his property, and heir of the promises of God.” (Adam Clarke)
Note that prophetically Abraham told Isaac of that future day- “God will provide Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:8)
Abraham had received the promise that “In him [Isaac] his [Abraham's] seed should be called.” (Genesis 21:12) Abraham had Ishmael first by Hagar the maidservant. He was born with much human effort but the Promise was “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:10) Isaac was that son- the only [begotten] son… and in him Abraham’s seed would be called, “from him shall the Blessed Seed spring.” (John Wesley) All of his descendant did not become the heirs of salvation. That would only come through like faith, by personally covenanting with Him. That honor was open to Isaac and to Ishmael, as well as to each of their descendants, even to the wicked seed of the other nations. Anytime there was repentance and turning to Him, the Kingdom of the redeemed increased.
Not only did Abraham believe in the Messiah, but he believe that if He died, His Father was able to raise Him from the dead. By faith Abraham offered up Isaac.’ “The word ‘offered up’ is the same that is used for slaying and offering up sacrifices… but how could it be truly said that Abraham ‘offered up Isaac,’ seeing that he did not actually slay him? In regard to his willingness, in regard to his set purpose, and in regard to God’s acceptance of the will for the deed, he did do so.” (A. W. Pink) “concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” (19a) “It was, to be sure, Abraham's faith in God's power of resurrection that enabled him to reconcile the promise and the command, this being evident from Gen. 22:5, where Abraham is said to have promised his servants that both he and Isaac would return, after they worshiped God. Note: the Hebrew in that verse should be rendered, ‘We will come again.’… The certainty that Abraham did believe in the resurrection derives from the plain import of these words, and also from the deduction that unless he had so believed, it would have been impossible for him to have acted as he did in the offering of Isaac… the Old Testament is not without its sure and certain witness of the resurrection. ‘For thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol (that is, `the grave'); neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption’ (Psalms 16:10)…” (Burton Coffman)
“From which he [Abraham] also received him [Isaac] in a figurative sense.” (19b) “There has been great difference of opinion as to the sense of this passage, but it seems to me to be plain. The obvious interpretation is that he then received him by his being raised up from the altar as if from the dead. He was to Abraham dead. He had given him up. He had prepared to offer him as a sacrifice. He lay there before him as one who was dead. From that altar he was raised up by direct divine interposition, as if he was raised from the grave, and this was to Abraham a ‘figure’ or a representation of the resurrection.” (Albert Barnes)
In fact, the narrative is full of such typical shadows, which Burton Coffman summarizes: “(1) Isaac was supernaturally the son of Abraham; Christ's birth also was supernatural. (2) He was the ‘only begotten’ of his father (in the sense noted above), and Christ was the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). (3) Both Isaac and Jesus consented to be sacrificed. (4) Both of them bore the wood, Isaac the firewood, Jesus the cross. (5) Both were sacrificed by their fathers, Isaac by Abraham, and Jesus by the heavenly Father. (6) The sacrifice of each of them occurred upon the very same location, one of the mountains of Moriah. (7) Both were in the prime vigor of life when offered, and very likely of the same age. (8) Isaac (in a figure) was dead three days and nights, this being the time lapse between God's command that he be offered and their arrival at Moriah, during which time, to all intents and purposes, Isaac was already dead; Christ also was dead and buried three days and nights. (9) Isaac was a model of love and affection for his wife, symbolizing the great love of Christ for the church.”
Hebrews 11:
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Esau and Jacob were twins and there was the issue of the birthright. “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) The birthright is a privilege “belonging to the firstborn son in a Hebrew family. The eldest son ranked highest after the father and in the father's absence had the father's authority and responsibility… The birthright meant not only the honor of family leadership but also an inheritance of twice the amount received by every other son. In polygamous Israelite society the birthright belonged to the actual firstborn of the father and could not be transferred to the son of a favorite wife without just cause (Dt 21:15-17)….In the NT, reference is made to the OT account of Esau, the son of the patriarch Isaac, who impulsively traded his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew (Heb 12:16-17; cf. Gn 25:19-34). Christians are warned not to throw away their inheritance of spiritual blessing from God the way Esau lost his birthright and his father's [best] blessing (Gn 27).” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come…”which God had promised, and which Isaac confidently expected." (Edwards) Easu had no regard for it and sold it for a pot of lentils. The issue is that Isaac firmly believed in the promises of Yahweh and was determined to transfer them to his offspring. His intent was give Esau the charge- the burden of the family. Yet, Rebekah convinced Jacob to deceive Isaac for it. This "illustrates the fact that the faith of God’s people is usually accompanied by some infirmity: in Isaac’s case, his partiality for Esau." (Pink) And in Rebekah and Jacob's case- their scheming and deception. Yet, we must also remember that the schemers were only making the father’s blessing line up with what has already transpired between the boys. Once spoken; it was done. And Rebekah knew it, as did Isaac.
“It may be objected… from the account which is supplied in Genesis 27, Isaac ‘blessed’ Jacob in ignorance rather than ‘by faith.’ To this it may be replied, first, the object of faith is always God Himself, and the ground on which it rests is His revealed will. So in Isaac’s case, his faith was fixed upon the covenant God and was exercised upon His sure Word, and this was by no means negatived by his mistaking Jacob for Esau.” (A. W. Pink)
The Blessing of the Firstborn—
“And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!” (Gen 27:27-29) Note that there was temporal as well as spiritual blessing here for the firstborn. And Jacob’s mother’s sons serving him is not carnal, but can be likened to the Levites helping in worship. His longing was for both children to serve Yahweh. In fact, herein is a blessing on anyone who blesses his endeavors but a curse on the enemies of God.
Jacob was to have the charge as family head, but there was still a blessing for Esau. “After he discovered the deception which had been played upon him, he made no effort to recall the blessing pronounced upon the disguised Jacob—sweetly acquiescing unto the Divine Sovereignty—but confirming it; and though with tears Esau sought to change his mind, he could not…Here too we behold the strength of Isaac’s faith: as soon as he perceived the providential hand of God crossing his natural affections, instead of murmuring and rebelling, he yielded and submitted to the Lord. This is ever the work of true faith: it makes the soul yield to God’s will against our fleshly inclinations, as also against the bent of our own reason... As it was with Abraham, so in the case of Isaac.” (A. W. Pink)
Esau wept, desiring a blessing also—
Indeed, Isaac had a blessing for him. “Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.” (Gen 27:39-40)
Yahweh wants all the sons of Isaac to serve Him. These were worldly, as well as heavenly, blessings-- of the earth and of heaven. Almost universally this verse is interpreted as living "by your sword"... and dying thus. It is interpreted literally. But perhaps Esau and his descendants shall live by the sword of Word of God as they serve the Lord by submission to Isaac and the subsequent firstborns. "And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck." Esau would not remain under the Jacob / Israel forever. The tie would be served due to the weakness of the head. "Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (2 Kings 8:20; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10).”(Jamieson- Fausset-Brown)
"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84:10b)
Note that Esau was not enabled to break free by his own strength, but rather through Jacob's weakness. “‘When the sons of Jacob,' says the Jerusalem Targum here, 'attend to the law, and observe the precepts, they shall impose a yoke of servitude upon thy neck; but when they shall turn away themselves from studying the law, and neglect the precepts, behold, then thou shalt shake off the yoke of servitude.' This is no bad exposition of the passage: for it was David who brought the Edomites under the yoke, and in his time the Jews in a great degree observed the law. But in the reign of Jehoram, when they were very corrupt, 'the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, making themselves a king,' 2 Chronicles 21:8; 2 Chronicles 21:10.” (Benson Commentary)
Hebrews 11: By Faith Jacob and Joseph Responded
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
Reuben was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah. But his heart was not right. In fact none of the hearts of the children of Israel were right, as later revealed. “Reuben had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father's concubine (35:22). At Jacob's pronouncement of blessing [of his sons], Reuben is declared unstable and his birthright forfeited (49:3-4)." (Tyndale) Moreover, Simeon and Levi were cursed by Jacob for their brutal murder of the men of Shechem. The story of the blessing is found in Genesis 48.
In fact, all of the sons of this striving are passed by in Jacob’s heart and mind, even in God’s heart and mind, and the focus is on the son’s of Jacob’s beloved Rachel. “The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.” (Gen 46:19-22)
Joseph was to have the place of the firstborn and surely he was taught the precepts of the faith by his father Jacob. But his coat of many colors and his dreams of dominance were the straws that broke the camel’s back for his brothers. Jealousy lead them to get rid of him and tell their father that he was dead. And in his absence, Benjamin took his place, learning the faith at the father’s feet. Thus we better understand Jacob’s protection of him and his reluctance to allow the other sons to take him to Egypt at Joseph’s request. But alas, Jacob learned that Joseph was alive! Jacob’s “efforts to bring his clan of seventy souls down into Egypt to sojourn demonstrated his desire to place his family under the blessings of Joseph until the fulfillment of God's promises.” (Gary H. Everett)
After Joseph’s alleged demise- “Twenty-two years later, in the time of the famine, Joseph’s dreams came true. They had hated Joseph when he told them of his dreams. Now Yahweh’s purpose and plan for Joseph was revealed. Not Leah’s son, but Rachel’s son, was the saviour in the time of famine. Joseph returned good for evil, and placed them in the most fruitful part of Egypt, the land of Goshen. Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt… Joseph was indeed ‘the son of his old age’. ‘Neither was there a man born like unto Joseph, a governor of his brethren, a stay of the people, whose bones were regarded of Yahweh’ – (Ecclesiasticus 49:15). The only man whose bones were regarded of Yahweh.” (William Helm)
On his death bed in Egypt in the land of Goshen, Jacob "blessed each of the sons of Joseph,” (21a) "It was the right of the firstborn to have a double portion, and this is exactly what we find Jacob bestowing upon Joseph, for both Ephraim and Manasseh were allotted a distinct tribal part and place in the promised inheritance... [But there is more to the story.] Those two sons of Joseph had been borne to him by an Egyptian wife, and in a foreign land, but now they were to be adopted and incorporated into the body of the holy seed... By that blessing he sought to draw their hearts away from Egypt and their kinsfolk there, that they might be annexed to the church and share with the people of God." (A. W. Pink)
Joseph- the natural father- would remain in Egypt for this life. “Now there is one very marked point on which we may fasten, to draw from it an illustration of the patriarch’s faith; and this is, the adoption of Joseph’s children for his own--an adoption, you observe, on which the dying man dwells with all possible earnestness; for, not content with having already said, ‘Thy two sons are mine,’he makes it part of his final benediction, as though the ‘redeeming Angel’ could do nothing more glorious for the lads: ‘Let my name be named on them, and the name of my father’s Abraham and Isaac.’ And what shall we say of this eagerness of Jacob to engraft into his own family Manasseh and Ephraim? He seems to make it his object, and to represent it as a privilege, that he should take the lads out of the family of Joseph, though that family was then among the noblest in Egypt, and transplant them into his own, though it had no outward distinction but what it derived from its connection with the other. It seems to me, as I stand by the bedside of Jacob, as though two wholly different processions must have passed before his mind--the one a procession of human power and pomp, the other of poverty and shame, though with the favour of God and employment in His service.” (H. Melvill, B. D.)
We see something of the Divine knowledge displayed in the blessing of Ephraim instead of Manasseh. Jacob's faith was more intelligent than Isaac's for he placed his hand on Ephraim's head, who was the younger in spite of Joseph's protest. He prophetically blessed the more astute.
“The tribe of Ephraim was so superior to the rest, that they in a manner did lie down under its shade; for the Scripture often includes the ten tribes under this name." (John Calvin)
Jacob then ”worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff..." (21c), "Another effect of his faith, is his worshipping God, having bequeathed his body to the burial in a firm expectation of the promised inheritance, as the history clears, Genesis 47:29-31 48:21,22. For having sent for Joseph, he raiseth up himself on the pillow at the bed’s head, and for his support used his staff, leaning on the head of it, when in faith he declares his will to his son Joseph, and binds him by an oath to bury him in Machpelah in Canaan, with Abraham and Isaac, heirs of the same promise, as an earnest and handsel of the twelve tribes’ possessing it; which Joseph having solemnly sworn to him, Jacob bowed himself and worshipped, lifting up his heart to God in thankfulness for his continual providence in the gradual accomplishment of his promise to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This he did." (Matthew Poole)
“By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.” (22) Joseph stayed in Egypt to continue to do good, but his heart was in Canaan. Thus based on his hope of resurrection, he wanted his bones carried out by the children of Israel to be placed in the bosom of Abraham.
Morning Repost: Hebrews 11 By Faith Moses' Parent Hid Him
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
“All the patriarchs, from Abraham to Moses, lived in the daily exercise of faith upon Christ, and His blood-shedding and righteousness. If Moses was hidden by his parents, it was by faith.” (Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary) “Here the writer began to focus on the way faith deals with hostility and persecution, a subject of special interest to his audience, which was facing opposition from Jewish brethren.” (Thomas Constable)
Abraham saw a vision. “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’” (Genesis 15:12-16)
"And Joseph said to his brethren, 'I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.'" (Genesis 50:24)
“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph...” (Exodus 1:8), "one of another family, according to Josephus; for it appears from ancient writers that the kingdom of Egypt often passed from one family to another. That knew not Joseph — All that knew him loved him, and were kind to his relations for his sake...” (Benson) Those who were the closest to them – the Egyptian midwives- were converted to the faith.
"The land of Egypt became to Israel a house of bondage. The place where we have been happy, may soon become the place of our affliction... Cease from man, and say not of any place on this side heaven, 'This is my rest.’… Our great care should be, to serve God, and to please Him who is not unrighteous, whatever men are, to forget our work and labour of love. The offence of Israel is, that she prospers. There is no sight more hateful to a wicked man than the prosperity of the righteous. The Egyptians feared lest the children of Israel should join their enemies, and get them up out of the land… Christianity spread most when it was persecuted: the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. They that take counsel against the Lord and his Israel, do but imagine a vain thing, and create greater vexation to themselves.” (Matthew Henry) See Exodus 1:8-22 for the full story. Of interest to us, is that after the mission to destroy the Hebrew sons failed by faith of the Egyptian midwives, that an edict went out from the king “requiring all Israelitish parents, on pain of death, to give up their male children that they might be thrown into the river.” (Matthew Henry)
The faith of Joseph likely prospered in the land of Egypt, but in the narrative here, we are confronted with a king that did not know Joseph. And he threatened the lives of those who did not destroy the Hebrew babies.
“First was revealed the faith of his parents; the Hebrew text in Exodus 2:2 stresses the mother’s part, but LXX refers to both parents. He came of believing stock.” (Pett) Moses’ parent— Amram and Jochebed— were both of the tribe of Levi, Exodus 6:20. And Jacob had prophesied thus: “Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; let not my honor be united to their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” (Genesis 49:5-7)
For in their anger- Simeon and Levi's- they slew a man, "a noble, an honorable man, viz., Shechem." (Clarke) After defiling Dinah- Jacob’s daughter- in Genesis 34:13-17, we find him trying to make it right. In fact, his kinfolks agreed to be cirmuncised and thus to enter into covenant with the God of Israel. But it was a deceitful plan (disguised in the form of religion) to slay Shechem's countrymen. They thus brought reproach on Jacob and his religion. The sons of Israel were cursed but they could be absolved with repentance and turning to God. Their anger and wrath were cursed- for it is cruel. The parent's of Moses had none of that. Surely it was time for God to return them to Canaan and it would happen by the hand of their fair child. Perhaps they even foresaw the Levites as laymen and priests among the children of Israel in the land of promise.
“By faith Moses, when he was born was hidden three months…” "that is, by the faith of his parents... The statement of the apostle here is, that his parents were led to preserve his life by their confidence in God.” (Albert Barnes); “but Exodus 2:2 mentions the mother alone. Doubtless Amram sanctioned all she did: secrecy being their object, he did not appear prominent.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) He was the head of house and we find that they were of one Spirit, “because they saw"— “doubtless with a divine presage of things to come” (John Wesley) — "that he was a beautiful child,” "fair to God, Acts 7:20, having a divine beauty and comeliness. Special endowments are a foretoken of special employment. The very heathen in choosing their kings had a special eye to bodily beauty. See 1 Samuel 10:23; 1 Samuel 16:19; 1 Samuel 17:42." (John Trapp) The Hebrews by God’s Spirit are enabled to discern more.
“Amram and Jochebed must have received a Divine revelation (not recorded in the O.T.), and this word from God formed the foundation of their confidence, and supplied the motive-power of what they did. It is true they knew from the prophecy given to Abram (Gen. 15) that the time for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt was drawing near, as they also knew from the prediction of Joseph (Gen. 50:24) that God was going to undertake for His people… Most probably the Lord made known to these parents that their child was to be the promised deliverer….” (A. W. Pink) “and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.” “There was great danger "but their faith overcame their fears because they believed that God was in it. In their faith they looked forward to the future hope.” (Pett)
Hebrews 11 By Faith Moses Chose to Suffer Affliction with Israel
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
"Moses when a child... was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, a weeping infant floating on the river in a basket, was taken home and nursed, and afterwards educated in the palace at her expense. She adopted him as her son, the probable heir of the throne of Egypt. When come to years he declined the intended favour, and preferred taking his lot with the people of God..." (Joseph Sutcliffe) from whence he came.
We do not know when new blood began to flow in Moses’ veins. “I believe the conversion of some is like the rising of the sun, and of others like the flashing of a meteor. But both are instantaneous, really, in the sight of God. There must be a time when life begins to rise; when the dead soul begins to live.” (D. L. Moody) Surely he was aware of his Hebrew origins- by his "circumcision, which he could not but know..." (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary) Perhaps he became a student of the commandments in his heart at the proper age of twelve. But rest assured that Moses did not merely, out of the good-will of an unregenerate heart, decide to fix what he deemed to be injustice in the world.
“By faith Moses, when he become of age,” (24a) “or 'was great'; a nobleman in Pharaoh's court; or when he was arrived to great knowledge, being learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians..." (John Gill) at forty years old, Acts 7:22- He became a son of the Mitzvah’s / Commandments in truth and “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,” (24b-25) We expect that he learned all religions of the world but believed the Hebrews to be possessors of the true one.
“He gave up a princely position, the possibility of an earthly throne and identified himself with the people who had become slaves, because he believed them to be the people of God.” (Arno Gaebelein) And "to have been disloyal to God‘s people would have brought enjoyment to Moses in the Egyptian Court for a short while only." (Robertson's Word Pictures)
"Their being 'the people of God' was sufficient to endear them, and their society, though afflicted, afforded him a higher delight than all the pleasures of sin which could be enjoyed in a voluptuous court. Ruth left her country and her gods for the sake of poor Naomi, destitute and afflicted, saying, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. There is no union, no friendship like that which is inspired and cemented by true religion... Oh how sweet... to mingle our joys and our hopes, and even our sorrows and tears with those who fear God and keep his precepts." (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“Moses chose to be with those: the company and conversation of such is most eligible to every good man, because God is with them; His word and ordinances are with them; there are large provisions of grace in the midst of them; so that it is profitable, delightful, and honourable, to be among them, and is attended with comfort, peace, and satisfaction..." (John Gill)
Joseph was called to an earthly throne to sustain the children of God in Egypt; Moses was called to forsake the throne to delivered them from Egypt. Our callings are always for the good of the church. "Faith is a grace that will teach a man to openly renounce all worldly honors, advantages, and preferments, with the advantage annexed thereto. When God calls us from them, we cannot enjoy them with a good conscience” (Thomas Manton) “All believers are not called to make the same sacrifices… yet, without some experience and consciousness of this kind, we are not warranted to conclude that we are of Moses’ religion…” (Thomas Scott)
“There is that in the heart and life of every regenerate soul which plainly distinguishes him from those who are dead in trespasses and sins, and which clearly bears the mark of the supernatural--there is that in him which mere nature does not and cannot bring forth… God does not bid us become hermits, or enter a convent or monastery—that is only the Devil’s perversion of the truth of separation; but He does insist that the sinner must cast away the idols of the world, turn from its vain pleasures, cease walking in its evil ways, and set his affections upon things above. Scripture is unmistakably plain upon this point, declaring, ‘Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God’ (James 4:4).” (A. W. Pink)
Moses esteemed “the reproach of Christ”- that disapproval of the world "which he bore for believing in the Messiah to come, and acting according” (Wesley)- as “greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (26) “He proves by the description he gives, that the magnanimity of Moses’ mind was owing to faith; for he had his eyes fixed on the promise of God. For he could not have hoped that it would be better for him to be with the people of Israel than with the Egyptians, had he not trusted in the promise and in nothing else.” (John Calvin)
Hebrews 11: By Faith Moses Saw Jesus in Person
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Moses identified himself with the children of Israel. And therefore, Jesus revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. There was something about the God of his fathers that attracted Moses; and one day, he chose to identify himself with his own people even though they were a hated and enslaved people. It happened that he saw an Israelite being mistreated by an Egyptian and he chose to come to his aid. He killed the Egyptian and had to flee for his life, out of fear. He spent forty years in the land of Median and married Zipporah - the daughter of a Median priest.
"By faith he"- Moses- "forsook Egypt" (27a) "taking all the Israelites with him. Not then fearing the wrath of the king, as he did many years before, Exodus 2:14 . Exodus 14:15 , etc." (Wesley) when fled to Median.
He "not only declined the royal adoption and preferred his kindred, but fully and finally left the land of Pharaoh." (Whedon's Commentary) "He believed that God would fulfill the promise he had made; and he cheerfully changed an earthly for a heavenly portion." (Adam Clarke)
"not fearing the wrath of the king," (27b) Moses "had before him a bloody tyrant, armed with all the power of Egypt, threatening him with present death if he persisted in the work and duty which God had committed to him; but he was so far from being terrified, or declining his duty in the least, that he professes his resolution to proceed, and announces destruction to the tyrant himself.” (John Owen).
"for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." (27c) Most say that he saw through the eyes of faith only, as Trapp- "'Seeing Him who is invisible'- "An elegant kind of contradiction. Let us study Moses’ optics, get a patriarch’s eye, see God, and set him at our right hand, Psalms 16:8. This will, support our courage, as it did Micaiah’s, who, having seen God, feared not to see two great kings in their majesty." But indeed in Christ Jesus, we indeed see Him who is invisible. And in Median, Moses saw Him who is invisible- Yahweh God. As he was tending the flock of his father-in-law, he came across holy ground and encountered "the Angel of Yahweh" in a burning bush. And he became a member of the royal priesthood by faith in Him who called him out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
The Angel of Yahweh identifies Himself as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Exodus 3:6) The Hebrew word for Angel— "Mal'ak" (Mal-awk')—means "Messenger." I believe that Jesus is the Messenger of Yahweh. Moses asked His name so that he could tell the Israelites who sent him. He told him, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14) Jesus told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Then they said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." They took up stones to kill Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:56-59) Jesus proclaimed Oneness with God and He received worship which is reserved for God alone. (Matthew2:11; 8:2; 9:18: 14:33; 15:25; 28:9; 28:9; Mark 5:6; 15:19; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebuked anyone for worshiping Him. Yet when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus rebuked him: "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship Yahweh your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (Luke 4:8; Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20).
While in Athens, the apostle Paul was brought before the Areopagus. He noticed that they had an idol to every conceivable God. I recon they wanted to cover their bases… hedge themselves so to say. They even had one altar dedicated TO THE UNKNOWN GOD just in case they missed a god. Paul told them, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you…" (Acts 17:22), even Yeshua.
The Angel of Yahweh continues: "…I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…" (Exodus 3:5-8) It is likely that the children of Israel cried TO THE UNKNOWN GOD who was distant to them. The Angel of God instructs Moses to go with Aaron and the elders of Israel to tell Pharaoh: "Yahweh God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God." (Exodus 3:16-18) In other Words, the God of heaven is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the One whose atonement is by the blood.
Hebrews 11 By Faith Moses Instituted the Passover; Let Us Keep the Feast
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
By the hand of Moses, Yahweh God of Israel sent ten plagues on the land of Egypt as signs to convince Pharaoh to let His people go. These represent spiritual plagues that will afflict the world in the last days. Each time, Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he would not let them go (Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 7:13; 9:12; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:4; 14:8; 14:17). “The same combination of human obstinacy and Devine judgment in the hardening of the hearts is seen in God’s word to Isaiah ‘ Make the heart of this people calloused’ (Isaiah 6:9) which Jesus applied to His own teaching ministry (Matthew 13:13-17), and Paul applied to his (Acts 28:25-27).” (John R. W. Stott)
The Israelites were exempt from all of the plagues- as we will be, except the last one – death. In the first nine, Yahweh made a distinction between Israelites and Egyptians. But here, Yahweh said, "And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne… to the firstborn of the female servant… all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again." (Exodus 11:57)
Indeed, all the firstborn in the land were under the sentence of death. For the Israelitish families, it would mean the death of the one being tutored to be the spiritual head of household- or perhaps, the one who had already taken over that responsibility. MOREOVER, this ordinance, as well as the sacrifice of the sons of Adam showed forth that everything was to be devoted to Yahweh or devoted to destruction. “Cain brought ‘an’ offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the ‘firstborn’ of his flock and of their fat.” (Genesis 4:3b-4) It was Abel’s sacrifice which was better— it was an innocent animal of the firstborn of the flock. It was later established that the “firstborn of unclean animals could be redeemed… If not redeemed, these animals were sold, exchanged, or destroyed by the priests (Leviticus 27:27). The colt of an ass was to be redeemed with a lamb (Ex 13:13). If not redeemed, it was to be killed. Meat from unclean animals was not eaten." (William Tyndale)
God offered a provision or way out: "On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it." (Exodus12:3-7) Moses established it for Israel forever.
"'By faith he”— Moses— “kept the Passover' - Greek, 'he made - πεποίηκε pepoiēke- the passover,' which means more than that he merely kept or celebrated it. It implies that he instituted this rite [upon the sons of Israel in the land of Egypt], and made the arrangements for its observance." (Barnes) And the sprinkling of blood, "the pouring out of the blood - of the paschal lamb, which was sprinkled on the door-posts..." (Wesley) "as the mark of committing those who dwelt under such roofs to the divine protection. (Joseph Benson) "lest he who destroyed the firstborn”— Yahweh Himself (Exodus 12:12, 23)— “should touch them.”
Universalism is the belief that every sinner in every generation will ultimately be saved by His atoning death. However, that was not the case in Goshen and Egypt at-large that night. If the household did not eat the flesh of the sacrifice with "unleavened bread" and "bitter herbs"… and apply the blood to the door posts of his or her house, death visited the house, taking the spiritual head of the family– the firstborn- the oldest, who was meant to lead them. Then the next son took over. If Joseph had been alive, he would have died- as the spiritual firstborn of Israel- without sprinkling the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorpost of his home.
"Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13)
It proved the faith of those inside-"faith assured of the command, argues not, nor gainsays, 'Hath He said, and shall He not do it? is a self-answering question, when God is the subject. 'By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood,' and the destroyer 'passed over' the houses upon which the sign of faith was." (Dean Vaughan)
“Notice this passover is his first ordinance to Israel: before the giving of law was the gospel. ‘Believe, and thou shalt be saved.’ The first command given by Moses was, ‘Believe and live.’ Afterwards the law was given by him, and the law speaks not of faith, but says, ‘Do this and live.’
But salvation is of God through faith, redemption is by the blood of the Lamb. Moses himself preaches here salvation without works, by grace, through faith in the Substitute.” (Adolph Saphir)
Yahweh said, "You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire." (Exodus 12:10) The leftovers were destroyed by fire, signifying the nature of God's wrath –annihilation by fire. It received what they deserved. The law of Yahweh without His Spirit will end in destruction, but by faith in His blood, His Spirit will enable us to keep the commandments of God. “You shall surely die...” (Genesis 2:17) with only the knowledge of good and evil. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” (Acts 17:31a) “For the wages of sin is death, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) He gives us the power to perform. And that comes by applying His blood to our own sins by faith in its efficiency to wash them away. Salvation is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit...” (Titus 3:5) by faith. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Passover was instituted an everlasting ordinance- Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, “‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:14) “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 (Corinthians 5:6-8) "Faith regards the blood of Christ as the foundation of human hope, and looks to it as the only safeguard from the Destroyer." (Justin Edwards) “Christ is our passover... His blood upon our consciences is our only protection from the wrath of God." (Thomas Coke)
Hebrews 11 By faith Israel Passed Though the Red Sea
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
After the Passover was made, Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart again and he pursued Israel- the apple of God’s eye. And the children of Israel were afraid and they cried out to Moses. They should have cried out to Yahweh, but they seemed far removed and thus they murmered saying, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? s this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
(Exodus 14:11-12)
This was so characteristic of them for the next 40 years: “Israel murmured. They reproached him [Moses] for bringing them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. On the faith of Moses rested the burden of the whole nation. He said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew to you to-day.’ But while he spake these courageous words in the name and for the honour of Jehovah, his heart was crying to the Lord, ‘Deliver us.’ And to this silent prayer was the answer, ‘Why criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.’” (Adolph Saphir) "And the Angel of God"- the Mediator, Jesus- "who went before the camp of Israel"-to lead, "moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Yahweh caused the sea to go backby a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided."(Exodus 14:19-21)
Then the apostle picks up the narrative:
“By faith they— all of Israel— “passed through the Red Sea as by dry land:” (29a) “Here all the people are seen as being drawn in and involved. Moses’ part was done. Attention is now drawn to the faith of the people as a people. This ‘faith of the people’ did not mean that all truly believed. It is the faith of the whole seen as one. ‘Israel’ as a whole had faith, even though some within Israel did not… Concentration is now on the faith of the many and it is contrasted with the Egyptians. Israel believed. Egypt (the representative of the world in its opposition to God) did not.” (Peter Pett) “When Israel ‘by faith,’ obeyed the Divine command to ‘Go forward,’ God wrought a miracle and delivered them from their dire situation… As He has made thy Red Sea, only He can cleave a way through it for you… ‘Stand still’ and rest yourself upon God. View ‘by faith’ anticipatively, expectantly, His ‘salvation’ or deliverance... ‘Go forward’ in obedience to His command, and He will show Himself strong on thy behalf… But, it may be asked: Did not the unbelieving portion of the nation also pass safely through the Red Sea? Truly, and herein we have illustration of the fact that unbelievers are frequently made partakers of temporal blessings as the result of their association with people of God. Another example of this same principle is found in Acts 27:24 where we see that an entire ship’s company were spared for Paul’s sake…” ( A.W. Pink)
“whereas the Egyptians,”— with their king— attempting to do so, were drowned…” (29b) “But in doing the same thing, there was a great difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians; while the former passed through safely, the latter coming after them were drowned. Whence was this difference, but that the Israelites had the Word of God [to pass through], and that the Egyptians were without it. The argument then derives its force from what happened to the contrary; hence, he says, that the Egyptians were drowned.” (John Calvin) "The destruction of the Egyptians by the return of the waters in accordance with natural laws, showed that the Israelites would have been destroyed in the passage if a divine energy had not been employed to prevent it.” (Albert Barnes)
The command of baptism was given by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:16-20) and confirmed by the apostles (Acts 2:38-39). Yes, there are baptized pagans in the church. You must only answer for yourself.
The Israelites "were baptized in the cloud and sea- 1 Corinthians 10:2, because by submitting to God’s command they gave up themselves to God’s direction and the conduct of His providence by this initiating act, that He should lead them through the wilderness unto Canaan, and the land of promise; AS WE pass through the waters of baptism, that we may give up ourselves to be led through this world, which answers to the wilderness, to heaven, to Canaan, the land of promise, to be commanded and governed by Him till He brings us to our rest.” (J. H. Evans, M. A.) You in effect become the firstborn among your brethern n the world.
Hebrew 11: By Faith, Yahweh Felled the Wall of Jericho
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
Those baptized into Moses reached the border of Canaan. Moses died on Nebo and the man of God- Joshua- was leading. “They had safely crossed the Jordan, but could not enter the land because of Jericho, which was a powerful fortress barring their ingress. This was one of the cities which had affrighted the spies, causing them to say, ‘The people is greater and taller than we: the cities are great and walled up to heaven’ (Deut. 1:28): to their eyes the cities appeared impregnable, and far too secure for them to take...” (A. W. Pink) Especially now as "Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in." (Joshua 6:1) "None would now leave it until the Israelite army had passed. Their hope lay in the walls of Jericho..." (Peter Pett)
"And Yahweh said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.'” (Joshua 6:2-5) "As the land of Canaan belonged to the Israelites by a grant from God, the possessor of heaven and earth, it was proper that the first city which resisted them should be taken in such a manner as to demonstrate the truth of their title. And therefore God did not order them to attack Jericho with engines of war.” (Macknight)
The campaigns were not intended to convert; probation had passed. "In Abraham’s day we are told that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full (Gen. 15:16). God therefore had waited in long-suffering mercy, but now all the nations of Canaan had sunk into such depths of depravity and the land had become so utterly defiled that it could only be cleansed by judgment." (H. A. Ironside) Theirs was a death sentence and their land was to be divided by the tribes of Israel, according to His tender mercies.
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days." (30) The main characters seem to be the men of war, along with all the congregation of Israel, under the leadership of seven priests- firstborn sons of Israel, bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns, circling seven times. But the sevens point to perfection and the fact that is a work of Yahweh. He is first introduced in the final verses of the prior chapter: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are You for us or for our adversaries?' So He said, 'No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?' Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.' And Joshua did so." (Joshua 5:13-15) Here in chapter 6-the next verse, the Figure is simply called Yahweh. This was Jesus and this perfect work will prove to be His.
The Jews belief that the wall of Jericho fell on a Sabbath would preclude any ordinary work for man, and support the belief that this was in truth the work of God. "It was indeed an exception to the usual way of keeping the Sabbath, but an exception that maintained and exalted the honour of God. And, in a sense, it might be called resting, inasmuch as no aggressive operations of any kind were carried on; it was simply a waiting on God, waiting till He should arise out of His place, and cause it..." (W. G. Blaikie) When we are baptized in Jesus’ name, determining by His Spirit to keep His commandments we enter into his rest. We then do His works.
"Everywhere are we taught that God is able to carry on His work by the feeblest and most unlikely instruments, and that it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. When the Midianites were to be defeated, Gideon was sent with a handful of men bearing lamps and pitchers. When Goliah the Philistine was to be destroyed, a stripling went against him with a sling and a stone. When the heathen world was to be subdued to the obedience of Christ, the Lord sent forth a few fishermen of Galilee, and still it is his pleasure by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (Joseph Sutcliffe) “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” (St. Francis of Assisi)
"It is not by weapons which this world supplies, that these walls can be destroyed. It is by the Word of God, and by the Word declared in faith. Ministers and people, they who blow the trumpet, and also the people who are with them, are to be united together in the power of God.” (A. Saphir) "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12)
Morning Repost: Hebrews 11: Rahab Justified by Works
31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
Rehab "belonged to the doomed race, the race against which the curse had been pronounced. In the doomed city she practiced her vile occupation. But she heard the report and she believed. She confessed her faith in Jehovah, the God of the heaven above and of the earth beneath...” (Arno Gaebelein) She ”had no spiritual advantages-no Sabbaths, no Scriptures, no teachers- and yet in the base purlieus of a Jericho, in the heart of that poor harlot, like a fair pearl that lies within a rough shell among the weeds and rocks at the sea bottom, there is found precious faith, faith that finds utterance in a good confession.” (G. W. Butler)
Hear her good confession: “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for Yahweh your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by Yahweh, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:9-11).
She did not place her trust in the wall of Jericho but in the grace and mercy of the God of Israel. Yet, she was justified by works, when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way. (James 2:25) “In ‘receiving the spies with peace’ she made it manifest that she had a heart for the people of God, and was ready to do all in her power to help them. That clause of our text which we are now considering summarizes all that is recorded of her kindly conduct unto those two men in Joshua 2. She welcomed them into her home, engaged them in spiritual conversation, made provision for their safety, hid them from danger, and refused to betray them.” (Pink) She talked the talk, but then had the opportunity to help and did it, even persevering to the end. She walked the walk.
The spies said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.'" (Joshua 2:17-19) "In the scarlet thread which the men of Israel gave Rahab, is there not somewhat of a sacramental design, similar to what God had enjoined Israel at the passover, when the blood was to be sprinkled upon the door post? And as, the apostle had it in commission from the Holy Ghost to tell the church in after ages, that all this referred to the blood of sprinkling of Jesus, who was and is our passover: did not both refer to one and the same thing, that the security of all redeemed souls is only in Jesus? And again, that none of her family at the time of Jericho being destroyed, should go without the doors of the house on pain of death; was not this a still further evidence of the same thing, very plainly proving; that one and the same object was intended to be conveyed under both sacramental signs?” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
Herein lies our hope. "Now the city shall be doomed by Yahweh to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent." (Joshua 6:17) "The reward of her faith. ‘By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not.’ The historical account of this is found in Joshua 6:22, 23, ‘But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, 'Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.' And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.’… But not only was Rahab, and the whole of her family, preserved from the burning of Jericho which immediately followed, but as Joshua 6:25 tells us, she ‘dwelt in Israel.’ Thus, from being the slave of Satan she was adopted into the family of God; from being a citizen of heathen Jericho she was given a place in the congregation of the LORD.” (Pink) Yet her faith was rewarded with the particular honor of placing her in the genealogy of Jesus. “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse... of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:15-16)
Rehab and her family were saved from the judgment fire. "But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh," (Joshua 6:24) according to the Word of God in Joshua 6:18–19.
Hebrews 11 And What More Shall I Say?
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
“One thing which is common to all the individuals mentioned in our text is that the history of each of them was cast in a day of great spiritual declension. The time in which they lived is described at length in the book of Judges. Following the deaths of Moses and Joshua, Israel grievously departed from the LORD: cast off His law, worshipped the idols of the heathen, and ‘every man did that which was right in his own eyes’ (Judg 21:25) Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people...
We too are living in a day when Christendom is in a sad state, when there is widespread departure from God and His Word, when vital and practical holiness is at a low ebb.
But the arm of the Lord is not waxed short, and they who lean hard upon it shall be sustained and enabled to do exploits in His name.” (A. W. Pink)
"who through faith subdued kingdoms”— “The historical allusion is to the exploits of Joshua and David: ‘Joshua subdued the kingdoms in Canaan, and David subdued those which were around that country, such as Moab, Ammon and Syria; and they both subdued these kingdoms through believing.’ (J. Brown). "The important point to recognize is that the ‘kingdoms’ here ‘subdued’ were those which sought to prevent the people of God (Israel) from entering into and enjoying their rightful inheritance. Now let us spiritualize that fact. The Christian has been begotten ‘unto an inheritance’ (1 Pet. 1:3, 4): that ‘inheritance’ is to be enjoyed now, by faith… But there are powerful enemies seeking to harass and hinder us, and they must be ‘subdued.’… There are two principal ‘kingdoms’ which the Christian is called upon to ‘subdue’: one is within himself, the other without him—the ‘flesh’ and the ‘world.’” (A. W. Pink)
"worked (wrought) righteousness" —
“did a great variety of works indicative of that faith in God without which it is impossible to do any thing that is good.” (Adam Clarke) “Subdued kingdoms’ precedes ‘wrought righteousness.’ This order is unchanging: evil must be hated before good can be loved (Amos 5:15), self must be denied before Christ can be followed (Matthew 16:24), the old man must be put off before the new man can be put on (Eph. 4:22-24” (A. W. Pink)
"obtained promises”—- “or obtained 'promised blessings' (Bloomfield, Stuart); that is, they obtained as a result of their faith, promises of blessings on [themselves, as well as] their posterity in future times…” (Albert Barnes). even in the world to come. “Before ‘obtained promises’ comes ‘subdued kingdoms’ and then ‘wrought righteousness.’ We must not expect to ‘obtain’ the precious things set before us in the Promises until we definitely and diligently set about the subjugation of the flesh, and walk according to the rules of God’s Word—regulating our conduct by its precepts and commands.” (A. W. Pink)
"stopped the mouths of lions" — “as Samson, Judges 14:6; David, 1 Samuel 17:34 ff; and particularly Daniel; Daniel 6:7, following To be able to subdue and render harmless the king of the forest - the animal most dreaded in early times - was regarded as an eminent achievement.” (Albert Barnes) “Ah, dear reader, ‘The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Pet. 5:8). His mouth is opened against many a child of God, uttering lies, telling him that his profession is an empty one. Have you learned to ‘stop his mouth?’... ‘stopped the mouths of lions’ is preceded by ‘obtained promises’!” (A. W. Pink)
"quenched the violence of fire”—“as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” (Wesley) God’s judgment fire is an unquenchable kind. “If the soul cleaves to God naught can harm it. It is faith, and not water, which quenches the fire: behold the martyrs singing amid the flames!” (Pink) "escaped the edge of the sword”— "as David by the force of his faith escaped Saul’s sword, Elijah Ahab’s, Elisha the Syrians’, 2 Kings 6:8-23, and various of God’s hidden ones at this day have escaped by a strange providence, when studiously sought after as sheep to the slaughter.” (Trapp)
"out of weakness were made strong" — "Chrysostom refers this to the restoration of the Jews from exile, in which they were like men without hope; I do not disapprove of its applications to Hezekiah. We might at the same time extend it wider, that the Lord, by his hand, raised on high his saints, whenever they were cast down; and brought help to their weakness, so as to endue them with full strength.” (John Calvin)
“Barak ‘became valiant in fight’; Gideon ‘put to flight the armies of the aliens.’ Faith animates to the most heroic enterprises, both civil and military.” (Benson) “The chief reason why the individual Christian experiences so little victory in his spiritual warfare, is because his faith is so little in exercise. We fail “to ‘turn to flight the armies of the aliens’ is because there is so much jealousy and strife among its own members!” (Pink) We fight each other only. Delve deep into the Word of God and share your findings. “What I tell you in darkness, that speak in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach upon the housetops.” (Matt 10:27)
Hebrews 11
35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Some avoided death by faith, but here God was glorified through it. “Some triumphed gloriously over vanquished enemies, were preserved by the Lord through various miracles, and were rescued by means new and unusual from the midst of death; while others [here]… seem then to have been very differently treated from the former ones; and yet faith ruled in both, and was alike powerful in both.” (John Calvin)
Women received their dead raised to life again (35a), "literally, by a resurrection…” (C. H. Ellicott) "The two oldest manuscripts read. 'They received women of aliens by raising their dead.' 1Kings 17:24 shows that the raising of the widow's son by Elijah led her to the faith, so that he thus took her into fellowship, an alien though she was. Christ, in Luke 4:26, makes especial mention of the fact that Elijah was sent to an alien from Israel, a woman of Sarepta. Thus Paul may quote this as an instance of Elijah's faith, that at God's command he went to a Gentile city of Sidonia (contrary to Jewish prejudices), and there, as the fruit of faith, not only raised her dead son, but received her as a convert into the family of God, as Vulgate reads." (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
"Others were tortured,” (35b)- bastinadoed to death” “(E.W. Bullinger) “they were stretched on a rack, as the skin of a drum, which is distended” (John Calvin) “Josephus calls the instrument of torture τροχός. The word means technically, ‘were broken on the wheel,’ and the special reference may be to 2 Maccabees 6:18-30; 2 Maccabees 6:7, where the word is used to describe the tortures of Eleazar the scribe, and of the seven brothers.” (Cambridge Greek Testament)-
“not accepting deliverance,"-"when it was offered them that they would renounce their opinions ‘that they might obtain a better resurrection,’ that is, when they were subjected to this kind of torture [unto death] they were looked upon as certainly dead. To have accepted deliverance then, would have been a kind of restoration to life, or a species of resurrection. But they refused this, and looked forward to a more honorable and glorious restoration to life; a resurrection, therefore, which would be better than this. It would be in itself more noble and honorable, and would be permanent, and therefore better." (Albert Barnes)
"There can be no doubt that the apostle has here travelled beyond the canonical books of Scripture into the records of Jewish history given in the Apocrypha. If you will read the sixth and seventh chapters of the Second Book of Maccabees, you will find a full elucidation of the very words here employed." (Dean Vaughan)
The pre-Christian era saints “were not nearly so ignorant as the dispensationalists make them out to be, in fact were far wiser than most of our moderns. Resurrection has always been the top-stone in the building of faith (Job 19:25, 26), that which promised eternal reward, and that which gave life unto their obedience. A further proof of this fact is found in Acts 24:14-16: the faith of the ‘fathers’ embraced ‘a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust.’ That glorious resurrection will more than compensate for any bodily denials or bodily sufferings which the Christian makes or experiences for Christ’s sake.” (A. W. Pink)
Still others— now we arrive in the Christian era— had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. (36) “They were stoned, etc.” (37)— “This form of death was appointed by God Himself to be inflicted upon notorious malefactors: Leviticus 20:2, Joshua 7:24, 25. But our text has reference to the Satanic perversion of this Divine institution, for here it is the enemies of God inflicting this punishment upon His beloved and faithful people. ‘The devil is never more a devil nor more outrageous, than when he gets a pretense of God’s weapons into his own hands’ (John Owen). They “extreme hardships and cruel tortures, but they held on in faith. They refused to give in to their persecutors or to forsake their trust in God (35-38).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.” (39) Yes, they died in Christ but they sleep until the better resurrection. They are commended as good and their faith “as worthy of imitation to all succeeding ages.” (Justin Edwards) But they did not receive the promise in death, “God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” (40)
“They will enjoy the fulfilment of their faith when believers of all eras are gathered together through Christ, and God reigns in love over all (39-40).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
"God has so arranged matters, that the complete accomplishment of the promise, both to the Old and New Testament believers, shall take place together; ‘they' shall be made perfect, but not without ‘us'; we and they shall attain perfection together" (John Brown). “Thus to ‘be made perfect’ is here the equivalent of receiving (the full accomplishment of) the promise, or enjoying together the complete realization of the ‘better thing.’ Verses 39,40 are inseparably linked together, and the language used in the one serves to interpret that employed in the other, both being colored by the dominant theme of this epistle.” (A .W. Pink)