In our increasingly volatile world, everyone in general and Christians
in particular are confronting a very real tension in their personal lives
either consciously or subconsciously. This tension is perhaps most clearly
illustrated by how individuals answer this question: “What drives you?” Answers
to this question are witnessed in how people spend their time, money, and their
vote. Many, to be sure, are driven by success, the economy, status, and the
like. Others, just want to win again and don’t care what it costs. Still others
want pleasure and see discomfort as a cardinal sin. For various reasons all of
these motivators prove unreliable, untenable, and ultimately unsatisfying, and
yet many professed “believers” fall prey to these inferior incentives and as a
result forsake the life that God intended them to live, capitulate on important
issues, and compromise on particular fundamentals. This is not the way of
perseverance.
Thankfully, this is not a new issue. In fact the preacher in
Hebrews was facing a world very much like ours today. Not only that, but the
preacher in Hebrews is encouraging a church with the same dilemmas we witness
in our country. With this in mind, the example of Abraham is offered in Hebrews
11:13-16 as a model to follow so that believers might prove faithful to the end
and beyond. Let us look at three
comparisons raised in this passage that will help up fall out of love with the
world and more in love with the promise of God.
What they Did and
Didn’t leave Earth with-11:13
Last week we saw Abraham in three different places: on the
limb, in the holding pattern, and outside the delivery room. As a result, we learned
how Abraham’s faith was obedient even when he did not have all of the details
and even when it required incredible patience. This kind of faith was awarded
with a miracle birth of a son whose life meant that God’s promise of a great
nation was still alive.
However, in a moment of reflection, the preacher in Hebrews
11:13-16 recalls the following, “All these died in faith, without receiving the
promises,…”(11:13a). Who are “these”? “These” are most nearly the characters
represented in vv. 8-12: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah. Surely, “these,” in
spite of their incredible faithfulness, did not live to see the nation that God
had promised them. Abraham had one son, Isaac had twin boys, and one of them,
Jacob, did better with twelve. However, this could hardly be called a nation,
let alone a nation that was as numerous as the stars and the sand. Instead, the
culmination of this great nation would have to wait until much later.
That said, a case might be made that “these” in verse 13
refers to all of the examples mentioned in Hebrews 11. Abel, Enoch, Noah, etc.
All of these in their own way anticipate the promise of God in the person of
Jesus Christ, the redemption He made happen, and the subsequent reconciliation
between mankind and God. However, none of the faithful men and women in this
passage experienced the culmination of the promise of God in the person and
work of Jesus. All died anticipating something that had yet to take place.
This demonstrates that God’s promises are bigger, much
bigger, than the individual. In fact, god’s promises are not primarily intended
for individual personalities. Instead, they are about a far greater picture and
have as their aim the ultimate glory of God—irrespective of temporal prerogatives,
worldly epochs, and human considerations.
Abraham did not leave the earth with everything fulfilled;
but he did leave fulfilled by the promise of God and with the kind of faith
that trusted what was promised was as good as done.
Again, while Abraham and those after him did not receive the
fulfillment of the promises themselves, what they did leave with were the
promises themselves. This is what the text refers to when it says, “but having
seen them,” (11:13).
Gen. 12:1-3-“Go out from your land, your
relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will
make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse
those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed
through you.”
Gen. 26:2-5-“Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the
land that I tell you about; stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be
with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your
offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I
will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your
offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by
your offspring, because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My
instructions”
Gen. 35:10-12-“God said to him: Your name is Jacob;
you will no longer be names Jacob, but Israel will be your name…I am God Almighty.
Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come
from you, and kings will descend from you. The land that I gave to Abraham and
Isaac I will give to you. And I will give the land to your descendants after
you.”
Though some texts say that “these” have “seen” these
promises, perhaps a better translation would read “having apprehended them [the
promises]…”. To be sure, each of these individual’s lives were guided not by
tangible results or concrete proof of God’s faithfulness, but by the promises
given to each of them of things to come.
In response, “these” “welcomed them from a distance”
(11:13c). In other words, these happily looked forward to the day when these
things would be fulfilled, even though they did so from afar. The hope
(confident expectation) they had in these things was in a future culmination of
events.
Therefore, Abraham and his children left the world not with
the culmination of God’s promises, but with the promises themselves and the good-natured
expectation that God would one day accomplish what He said He would. However,
“these” also left the earth “having confessed that they were strangers and
exiles on the earth” (11:13d). What does this mean?
“In the Old Testament narratives the patriarchs and their
descendants refer to themselves as ‘aliens and strangers’ in the land (e.g., 1
Chron. 29:15; cf. Gen. 23:$; Ps. 39:12). Both in Jewish theology during the New
Testament era and in the New Testament itself, this concept developed to
emphasize the disparaging of earthly desires and the longing for a heavenly
home” (Guthrie, 379). Here, it is the preacher’s intent to highlight how
Abraham’s faith relationship with God was his preeminent commitment—not the
acquisition of earthly riches or a secure residence. These died in a state of
trust in God and gladly conceded that they had not yet arrived.
In this first comparison, we learn exactly what Abraham and
his family did and did not leave earth with. While fulfillments remained to be
seen, these warmly welcomed the promises of God as more than enough to inspire
continued faithfulness. This message would have proven especially important for
the early church to which this sermon was originally addressed. As the Lord
tarried longer and longer, people, no doubt, began to wonder if the promise of
the kingdom of God was still viable. Here, the preacher encourages them with
the example of Abraham saying, “even if it doesn’t happen in your lifetime,
know that the promise of God is as good as done and, as such, is something to
pattern one’s life after.”
Where they Did and
Didn’t desire to Go-11:14-16a
The second comparison drawn in this passage involves where
Abraham did and didn’t desire to go. The preacher makes it clear in verse 14
that “those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country
of their own.” However, what “things” are “these” to of said? The answer is
found in the preceding verses, “and having confessed that they were strangers
and exiles on the earth” (11:13). Only those holding fast to the promise of a
superior land would be ready and willing to proudly claim the status of an
exile or stranger. Their quiet expectation of a future nation rendered it a joy
to suffer the plight of a refugee. After all, it was temporary!
For clarification, the preacher continues by saying, “and
indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they
would have had opportunity to return” (11:15). In other words, if they even for
a second entertained their old homeland, given their ongoing unsatisfactory
living situation, they would have had no trouble returning back from whence
they came. However, we are never led to believe that Abraham, upon leaving his
homeland, ever gave it a second thought. Instead, he was singularly focused, it
would seem, on where God had called him to go and on what God had called him to
do. He understood that whatever he was going through, was only temporary, and
therefore, endurable.
This demonstrates the completeness of not only Abraham’s
obedience, but of his faith. Faith in God requires no plan B and is not riddled
with regrets. So enamored was Abraham with the promise of God, that he never
once wished he’d have his old life back. If he had allowed his past or doubt to
grow bigger than his faith in God, he would have swung wide the door to the
past and slammed closed the door on his intended future.
Therefore, instead of wishing for yesterday, Abraham was
focused on tomorrow—“but, as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a
heavenly one…” (11:16a). This verse screams beyond Abraham’s story to the
preacher’s intended audience of the first century. Inasmuch as they too desired
a better country and kingdom—the kingdom of God—they needed to guard against
wishing for the world when heaven was on its way. As soon as they entertained
the thought of returning to their old lives (believing for a second that living
according to the world sounded better than putting up with a life of
faithfulness), the door would swing wide open for them to do so. The preacher
wanted to prevent this at all costs and therefore is using the example of
Abraham to this end. He was a man who was not distracted by what he left.
Instead, he was a man solely focused on where God was leading him.
How God did and
Didn’t respond-11:16
The preacher concludes this wing of Abraham’s installation
in the “Hall of Faith” by saying, “Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called
their God” (11:16). Why would He be ashamed of these who remained faithful to
Him through thick and thin? It is one things to enjoy the support and loyalty
of people when things are going exceedingly well; it is another thing to be
able to point to followers who are there in the desert living in tents. That is
faithfulness!
God was exceedingly proud to be associated with Abraham and
knowing how Abraham would respond and live accordingly throughout his life,
once called, ahead of time, no doubt made him a great candidate to be use of
God in amazing ways. God is never ashamed to be associated with those who are
faithful to him, especially, when they have yet to receive what has been
promised to them.
Rather than be ashamed of Abraham and his family, God, the
preacher continues, “has prepared a city for them” (11:16c). This, no doubt, is
a type with several potential antitypes worth consideration, especially considering
this text’s connection to its original and secondary audience. First, the
“city” envisioned for Abraham was a city-state for his descendants—a seat of
power and influence that would be used to bless the world (see Gen. 12:1-3).
This would be fulfilled, in the Old Testament, in Jerusalem and see its
greatest days under King David and Solomon. However, there is a second antitype
that exists in the future, even for the preacher in Hebrews—the city of God,
i.e. the New Jerusalem that is still expected in the future today in which
Jesus will reign as king forever and ever. Therefore, the city promised to and
prepared for Abraham and his progeny look forward to Jerusalem whose kings and
temple looks forward to heaven!
How does God respond to the faith of Abraham? He does not
respond in shame, somehow embarrassed by Abraham’s faith that was willing to
live as a refugee. Instead, he responds by sharing a glorious destiny that
would be realized first for his literal children in the Old Testament and then
for all who have faith in God in the end.
So What?
When we remind ourselves why this pastor is recalling all of
these examples of faithfulness the application of this passage becomes very
clear. In our world of waiting on the Lord for the hope that we are promised in
Christ, we must exercise the kind of faith demonstrated here. This kind of
faith does three things. First it recognizes that this world is just a
temporary dwelling. Look around you. Aren’t you glad to know that this life is
merely a blip in the eternal scheme of things! When one is reminded of this, it
becomes easier to live as a sojourner in this world that continues to spiral
out of control. Second, this kind of
faith is inspired more by what is promised than by what is seen around them.
This faith is not looking in the rearview mirror at days gone by, it is looking
ahead at what God has in store. This faith is not willing to sacrifice what is
important to win in the world’s eyes or compromise in order to gain a few
points. Third, this kind of faith is awarded with divine favor from God who is
not ashamed of the faithful, but goes to prepare a place for them.
These same sentiments that Jesus used to encourage His
disciples in John 14 when He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe
in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for
you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you
may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” In the same way
Jesus encouraged his disciples in John 14, the preacher here encourages his
congregation in Hebrews 11 to remain strong in a brave new world by adopting
the kind of faith Abraham demonstrates. However, while Abraham placed his faith
in a promise, we as followers today place faith in a Person. Later in John 14
Thomas “said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know
the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through
Me.’” With Jesus as the object of our faith, we have all that we need to
persevere in this world as we anticipate the next one.
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