Hebrews 11
Summary for Heb 11:1-40: 11:1-40 a In presenting readers with a long catalog of faith-filled heroes, ch 11 b builds up overwhelming evidence that the life of faith is the only real way to live for God. The writer repeats the phrase by faith to drive this main message into the minds and hearts of his hearers. The examples follow a pattern: (a) the phrase by faith, (b) the name of the person, (c) the event or action which demonstrated faith, and (d) the outcome. 11:1 c Before presenting the list of examples, the author defines what faith is: It is acting on what God has revealed about his will and character.• The reality that grounds our faith is the God who fulfills his promises.
11:2 d earned a good reputation: Scripture speaks favorably about their lives of faith (see also 11:39 e).
11:3 f That the entire universe was formed at God’s command is a basic belief of Jewish and Christian theology (see Gen 1:1-3 g). God created everything that we now see. A life of faith understands that, by analogy, God’s promises are real and will be called into reality by God himself, even if they are unseen at present.
11:4 h Abel: See Gen 4:3-5 i.
• evidence that he was a righteous man: Cp. Heb 10:38 j.
• he still speaks to us: The story of his faith challenges us, and his blood bears witness to his righteousness and to the injustice of his murder (see 12:24 k).
11:5 l Enoch was taken up to heaven and thus did not face a normal death (see Gen 5:21-24 m).
• “he disappeared, because God took him”: Gen 5:24 n.
11:6 o it is impossible to please God without faith: The author alludes to 10:38 p, which quotes Hab 2:4 q.
• Faith must include believing that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. In life’s difficulties, readers are challenged to trust in God and to anticipate the fulfillment of his promises.
11:7 r The story of Noah (see Gen 6:1–9:17 s) further demonstrates that faith involves obedience in the face of the unseen.
• things that had never happened before: Namely, the flood. Noah’s faith condemned the rest of the world by bearing witness to God’s reality and his desire for holiness.
11:8 t Abraham obeyed: See Gen 12:1-2 u. He, too, acted in the face of what he could not yet see, since he went without knowing where he was going.
Summary for Heb 11:9-10: 11:9-10 v he lived there by faith: Abraham himself did not experience the inheritance of the land of promise. Rather, he was like a foreigner, living in tents (see Gen 12:10–13:18 w).
• so did Isaac and Jacob: This life of faith was continued in the next two generations: They received the same promise and hoped in God, but did not experience what God had promised.
• city with eternal foundations: Abraham did not settle in the Canaanite cities but followed the will of God in faithful obedience, anticipating a heavenly city.
11:12 x this one man who was as good as dead: Abraham was very old, yet he became the source for a whole nation. Faith involves believing that God is able to answer his promises seemingly out of nothing.
• like the stars ... and the sand: See Gen 22:17 y. God fulfilled the promise (Exod 1:7 z).
Summary for Heb 11:13-16: 11:13-16 aa The author pauses to point out general principles evident in the lives he has highlighted thus far. 11:13 ab Abraham’s family lived in the land of promise as foreigners and nomads (see Gen 23:4 ac; cp. 1 Chr 29:15 ad; Ps 39:12 ae; 1 Pet 2:11 af).
Summary for Heb 11:14-16: 11:14-16 ag Abraham’s family was obviously not longing for the country they came from, since if that had been the case, they could have gone back. Their posture of faith demonstrates a longing for a better place. Their hope was ultimately in God, who rewarded their faith by preparing a heavenly ... city for them.
Summary for Heb 11:17-31: 11:17-31 ah Great examples of faith take the reader from Abraham’s family to Rahab. These examples build up evidence that faith is the only appropriate response to God.
Summary for Heb 11:17-19: 11:17-19 ai Abraham offered Isaac: See Gen 22:1-18 aj. God never intended for Abraham to offer his son but was testing Abraham’s faith, which he expressed through his obedience.
11:19 ak Abraham reasoned: The resurrection of Isaac was the only answer to Abraham’s dilemma. In Gen 22:5 al, Abraham expressed confidence that Isaac would return with him.
11:20 am Isaac promised blessings: See Gen 27:27-40 an; the only part of the story that can be considered a blessing for Esau is that he would eventually shake off his subservience to his brother. Esau was later blessed by Jacob’s riches (Gen 33:8-11 ao).
11:21 ap Jacob passed the ritual blessing on to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen 48:8-22 aq).
• bowed in worship: Gen 47:31 ar. The phrase as he leaned on his staff comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
11:22 as Joseph’s prophecy and command (see Gen 50:24-25 at) showed faith that God would keep his promises.
11:23 au Moses’ parents: See Exod 2:1-2 av.
• unusual (or attractive, or beautiful): This word refers to something of superior quality. Their insight that Moses was extraordinary led them to act by faith in God.
• the king’s command: Exod 1:22 aw.
Summary for Heb 11:24-25: 11:24-25 ax Moses, when he grew up: See Exod 2:11-15 ay. Moses took a public stand with the people of Israel rather than continuing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, who had adopted him (Exod 2:3-10 az). Therefore, he chose to share the oppression of God’s people, as the readers of this letter were being called to do (see Heb 10:32-34 ba).
11:26 bb the treasures of Egypt: The New Kingdom of Egypt (about 1550–1069 BC) was an era of phenomenal wealth and political power. Moses evidently had a greater reward in mind.
11:27 bc Like his forefather Abraham, Moses acted in faith by leaving the land of Egypt, with which he was familiar, and walked into an unknown future (Exod 2:15 bd).
• not fearing the king’s anger: Rather than watching the king, he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible—God.
11:28 be Moses commanded ... the Passover: See Exod 12:1-27 bf. The first Passover (Exod 12:28-30 bg) initiated the Exodus (Exod 12:31-42 bh, 50-51 bi) and instituted the annual Passover observance as a memorial (Exod 12:43-49 bj; 13:1-16 bk).
• to sprinkle blood: The sprinkling of the blood of sacrifices under the old covenant was parallel to the sprinkling of Christ’s blood (see Heb 9:12-14 bl, 18-22 bm).
11:29 bn The rescue through the Red Sea (see Exod 13:17–14:21 bo) constitutes the greatest moment of deliverance in Israel’s history. The people’s fear and accusation at the time (Exod 14:10-12 bp) do not obviously exemplify faith, but the people went forward when told to do so despite their fear. The episode demonstrates that obedience is central to faith.
11:30 bq The conquest of Jericho (Josh 5:13–6:27 br) offers another example of great faith, as the people acted in obedience to God’s unusual instructions.
11:31 bs Rahab the prostitute (Josh 2 bt; 6:25 bu) showed faith in the power of the God of Israel by protecting the spies who came to her home (cp. Jas 2:25 bv). As a result, she and her family were not destroyed but joined the community of Israel. In fact, Rahab was an ancestor of Jesus (Matt 1:5 bw).
Summary for Heb 11:32-40: 11:32-40 bx In a rapid series of examples, the author gives an overview of other faithful people through the rest of the old covenant era. In 11:32-35a by, the outcome of faith is deliverance and victory. In 11:35b-38 bz, however, faith brought severe persecution and even martyrdom. The result for both groups was that God honored them with a good reputation because of their faith (11:39 ca). 11:32 cb How much more do I need to say? The author makes a transition to his concluding summary, which begins with six heroes of faith from the time of the judges and the united monarchy. Gideon defeated the Midianites with torches and jars (Judg 7:7-25 cc). Barak routed Sisera and the Canaanites (Judg 4:8-16 cd). Samson, though weak in moral fiber, was used by God to fight the Philistines on behalf of Israel (Judg 13–16 ce). Jephthah won victory over the Amorites and Ammonites (Judg 10:6–12:7 cf). David, the only king in the group, loved God and, for the most part, led an exemplary life of faith (1 Sam 16—1 Kgs 1 cg). Samuel was an important transitional leader between the judges and the monarchy; he heard God’s voice and obeyed his will (1 Sam 1–15 ch).
• The statement all the prophets includes Elijah, Elisha, and the “writing prophets” from Isaiah to Malachi. The prophets often exhibited great faith in the face of hostility.
11:33 ci overthrew kingdoms: During the time of the judges and the reign of David, Israel defeated many of their enemies. David and Solomon and a few others ruled with justice (see 2 Sam 8:15 cj; 1 Kgs 10:9 ck).
• shut the mouths of lions: See Dan 6:1-23 cl.
11:34 cm quenched the flames of fire: See Dan 3:16-30 cn.
• escaped death by the edge of the sword: E.g., Elijah and Jeremiah (see 1 Kgs 19:2 co; 2 Kgs 1:1-18 cp; Jer 26:10-16 cq; 38:1-13 cr).
11:35 cs Elijah and Elisha both brought women’s loved ones back again from death (see 1 Kgs 17:17-24 ct; 2 Kgs 4:17-37 cu).
• But others were tortured: Faith does not always have a positive outcome in this life. The author might be alluding to the 170s and 160s BC, when many Jews suffered and died rather than forsake their faith (see, e.g., 1 Maccabees 1:20-64).
11:37 cv According to tradition, the prophet Jeremiah died by stoning and the prophet Isaiah was sawed in half.
11:38 cw too good for this world: Their hope was in God more than in the pleasures and comforts of this world.
Summary for Heb 11:39-40: 11:39-40 cx The way to live as God’s people under the new covenant is to live as all these people did under the old covenant: by faith in God’s promises, enduring any difficulties faced in this world.
• earned a good reputation: God has borne witness to their faithfulness (see also 11:2 cy).
• yet none of them received all that God had promised: They all died prior to Christ’s promised coming; the something better began with Christ’s sacrificial work (8:3–10:18 cz) and anticipates the future culmination of God’s plan for his people.
• would not reach perfection: See study notes on 5:9; 7:11. Jesus has fulfilled God’s goal of bringing his people into relationship with him.
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