BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 17

Hebrews 11:8-40

Faith That Lasts

January 17, 2016

 

Why did time past so slowly when I was a kid. It seemed that things like summer vacation, Christmas and birthdays would never come. I never understood why what was called the shortest day of the year; the first day of winter, always lasted longer than any of the other 364. Today the days and months and years go by really fast. I have a theory that is not scientific but works for me. When I was young there was always anticipation of things that were to come therefore the time never seemed to arrive. As I have grown older who anticipates birthdays. I just accept them as they come. The same is true of summers or holidays. Just knowing that I have time off does not have the same meaning as knowing that I will have almost three months to do as I wish. Of course I know that out in the future there is going to be eternity. I have the assurance of this unlimited time to spend with Christ and all of the saints who have gone on before me. The wait is worth it. It is faith that keeps that hope ever before me.

 

Churches all too often do not have the patience to work out changes that will lead to growth in the health of the body. Many young church leaders come into a church just bursting with ideas of how to change the church for the better only to find opposition from older members who like the status quo. If any leadership thinks that they have the right ideas to help a church faith will play a major part in whether the leaders can bring those changes to fruition. One author once wrote that it takes approximately seven years for the church to become new in the way it thinks and acts. This does not happen because the normal tenure of a pastor today is only eighteen to twenty-four months. According to statistics the most productive time for a Teaching Elder is between ten to fourteen years. We can see by these two facts why churches are floundering today. There is both a lack of faith of the people in the abilities of the leader and the leader that the church can or is willing to become what God intended for it to be.

 

The people we will study this week had no such reservations. Their trust was in a God who was sovereign and therefore could accomplish all that He promised. It may not be according to their time schedule but to the carrying out His purpose in their lives.

 

Last week we looked at Abel, Enoch and Noah. This Sunday we will begin with the patriarchs.

 

Hebrews 11:8-10

In a way the fate of both the Hebrew nation and mankind in general are dependent on the faith of Abraham. His walk with God began with his willingness to leave his place of birth in Ur of Chaldees, present day Saudi Arabia, and travel with his family to present day Syria. From there God called him to travel into Canaan. Abraham obeyed the commands of God even though he did not know where it would carry him. God promised him that the land in which he lived would be given to him and his descendants forever. Although he was to inherit the land he, Isaac and Jacob were all aliens in that very land. The writer seem to indicate that they knew that their future lay not on what they could possess physically but the spiritual relationship with God that was not of this world.

 

1. In what ways did Abraham show his faith in God?
2. Why did God not give the inheritance promised to Abraham immediately? (God had to prepare the nation to be ready and able to conquer the land.)
3. How did Abraham know that he was not going to receive the land during his lifetime? (See Genesis 15:13-16)
4. How would you feel if God promised you something but told you it would not be received in your lifetime but it would be given to your family?
5. What other people were involved in the promise?
6. In what way can we identify with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? (We are aliens in this world as they were in the land of Canaan.)

 

Hebrews 11:11-12

As Genesis 18 points out it had to be difficult for both Sarah and Abraham to believe that they could have a child when Sarah was well beyond the age in which women can have children. She would be ninety and Abraham would be one hundred when the promised child would be born. To reinforce His promise God even gave them the name by which the child would be called. God promised Abraham that through Isaac, his descendants would be more than could be counted. In Genesis 17:16 Moses wrote that Abraham descendants would include kings.

 

1. Why would both Abraham’s and Sarah’s faith both be tested at the announcement that Sarah would have a baby boy?
2. What was one assurance that the promise would come true? (She was given the name by which he would be called.)
3. What in your life are some of the things that are hard to believe will come true?
4. How much more difficult would it be for you, the promise like one given to Abraham and Sarah or that God has given you the means to obtain eternal life?
5. How are we included in the promise made to Abraham? (Through his seed, Jesus we are all descendants of the promise.)

 

Hebrews 11:13

Each of the people mentioned by the writer died. Although their faith remained strong to the end they never saw the promise of a homeland or the blessings that would come to the whole earth through them fulfilled. Somehow they knew that the final promise could not be fulfilled here on earth for them. The writer said they were really seeking a heavenly country from which they would not return. If they had only been looking for an actual place on earth they could have returned to it at any point. For instance Abraham could have easily returned to Ur. Even when he was seeking a bride for Isaac he commanded his servant not to take Isaac to Haran where his relatives lived. Because of their faith the Bible said, “God is not ashamed to be called their God.” (Hebrews 11:16) As Jesus said in John 14 a place has been prepared for every believer in the Old Testament to the present day.

 

1. What happened to each of the patriarchs and their families?
2. What kept them going ahead even though the promise given to them never came to fruition in their life times? (Faith in God)
3. When was the promise to be completed? (When all time comes to an end and each of us live in a new world in Christ.)
4. What does it take for God not to be ashamed of us?
5. What will happen to each of us who remain faithful to the very end of our lives?

 

Hebrews 11:17-19

The writer then returned to one of the turning points in Abraham’s life. He was called on to sacrifice the child of promise, Isaac. Abraham believed that even though he actually carried out the sacrifice that God would return Isaac to him. This event was a fore shadow of what God would do in Christ almost two thousand years later. This totaled commitment of his love for God brought forth a declaration of praise for Abraham. (See Genesis 22:1-10 for background material.)

 

1. How did Abraham prove his total love for God?
2. By your life how does He know that you love Him completely?
3. What kind of faith did it also take for Isaac to allow himself to be sacrificed? (His trust in his father’s words.)
4. What is the reward for a life sold out to God?

 

Hebrews 11:20-21

Both Isaac and Jacob passed on the faith in God’s promises as each of them blessed their children in turn. Joseph, the son of Jacob believed that what his father had said to them was true. When he was dying he commanded his brothers to take his bones back to Canaan when they returned from their time in Egypt.

 

1. How do we know that Isaac and Jacob believed the promises of God?
2. What are we to do to pass on to others what God has promised us? (Witness to the gospel.)
3. How long would the Israelites have to wait to fulfill the request of Joseph? (Over 300 years, the rest of the time in Egypt plus the 40 years in the desert.)
4. Why are we so impatient when we make a request to God?
5. Why does God sometimes make us wait before answering our prayers?

 

Hebrews 11:23-28

The writer emphasized both the faith of his parents and that of Moses himself. He wrote by faith:

• His parents hid him sensing that it was what God wanted them to do.
• Moses identified with his fellow Israelites who were in bondage rather than the Egyptians.
• He feared God more than the Pharaoh and took his people out of Egypt in masse.
• He kept the Passover. It was a sign of God’s protection for His people.

 

1. What did each of the events in Moses’ life indicate about him?
2. Why were the actions of his parents so important?
3. Where did he learn the faith that would sustain him later as he faced difficult situations?
4. What or who has been the source of your faith?

 

Hebrews 11:29

The people of God became the focus of what the writer wanted to impart to his listeners. He wrote of the faith it took to follow Moses through the Red Sea. Part of their motivation was fear of the Egyptians, but it had the positive benefit of moving them forward. Even though Moses led them through the water they had to trust him enough to follow.

 

1. What part did faith play in passing through the Red Sea? (The options they were to be captured by the Egyptian army or going forward through the Red Sea having faith enough that the man who had brought them out of Egypt would see them through.)
2. In what way did the writer give the people more credit than they deserved? (Fear was the motivator not faith.)
3. When has been the case when the consequences of not taking action been greater than stepping out on faith?
4. What is the driving force in your walk with the Lord fear or faith?
5. Why were they willing to trust Moses? (They had already seen God work through him?
6. Who is someone you would follow even though the journey may be difficult or dangerous?

 

Hebrews 11:31

Two separate events that are related took place at Jericho. The people gained confidence after they heard the report of the spies. Unlike the situation 38 years earlier they had the faith to move forward and follow the instructions of Joshua that led to the defeat of the city. One of the citizens of the city believed that her city was doomed and chose to join the side of the Israelites. That woman was Rahab who was in the lineage of Jesus.

 

1. What was the final piece that gave the Israelites the courage to attack the city of Jericho?
2. How different was this than the event that had occurred 38 years earlier? (See Numbers 14)
3. What chances did Rahab take by joining with the Israelites? (If they failed she would probably have been executed.)
4. When has there been a time in your life when you knew making a choice could result in a problem for you?

 

Hebrews 11:32-37

Important people in the history of Israel were just listed without further discussion. Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets were all men of faith even though some lacked character. He goes on to give a litany of their accomplishments. They:

• Conquered kingdoms
• Performed acts of righteousness
• Obtained promises
• Shut the mouths of lions
• Quenched the power of fire
• Escaped the edge of the sword
• From weakness were made strong
• Became mighty in war
• Put foreign armies to flight

The women of these individuals

• Received back their dead by resurrection.

Many others experienced

• Mockings
• Sourgings
• Imprisonments and chains
• Stoning
• Being sawn in two
• Temptations
• Death at the hands of their enemies
• Being destitute with only sheepskins and goatskins for clothing
• Affliction
• Ill-treatment.

 

1. What might men and women of faith accomplish?
2. What may be some negative experiences that believers have faced in history?
3. Which has been more prevalent in your life accomplishments or persecutions?

 

Hebrews 11:38

While some of the Christians were contemplating returning to the Jewish faith the writer shared the tremendous cost it took of those who remain faithful in the most difficult of times for them to have the opportunity to become Christians in the first place. If the world had accomplished its goal of wiping out the Jew then Christ would never have been born. Those who were following into apostasy were not even worthy to be compared to those who had suffered so much.

 

1. If you were comparing those among the recipients of this letter with those who had gone on before them what would be your reaction?
2. In what ways can we never be worthy to be named along side those mentioned above?
3. Why were the men and women of the Old Testament willing to suffer so much?
4. Where would we be without their commitment?

 

Hebrews 11:39-40

God all the time had a better plan for those who were believers in Christ. Hebrews over and over repeated the theme that the old covenant accomplished nothing when compared to the sacrifice of Christ ushering in the new covenant. His was a better and more perfect sacrifice. The important factor is that what they did would be meaningless unless the church continues to be strong today.

 

1. What was God’s promise and plan from the beginning of time?
2. How was the new covenant better than the old?
3. How does the church fit into what God began in the Old Testament?
4. What would it mean for the church to fail today? (All of the work and sacrifice of those who have preceded us would be meaningless.)

 

• Learn to be patient. God moves at His own pace and is not answerable to us.
• Trust in the leaders of the church to make the right decisions as they represent each church member.
• Remember faith is the key understanding that God is working out everything for your benefit. (See Romans 8:28-290
• God is depending you to carry on the work of the church that began long before you were born.
• Study church history to observe what it took to make the church what it is today.

 

The church can only grow if its members continue in the faith. So many are looking more for a place of entertainment, ease and comfort forgetting the difficult task of those who came before them. If there is to be a church for the next generation we need to commit ourselves to stay the course until God either calls us home or the Rapture takes place. We need to stop trying to take the easy road but going through the narrow gate. Jesus promised that the gates of hell could not stand up to the onslaught of those who remained faithful to the gospel. Let us decide to part of that force who remains faithful until the job is done.