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Hebrews 11:13-19

Sunday Morning Bible Study

November 11, 2018

Veterans Day

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of World War I.  The holiday used to be known as “Armistice Day”, but in 1954 the Congress changed it to “Veterans Day”, to honor all those who have served in the armed forces.

Video: Thank You Veterans

I would love it if all those of you who have served in the military stand up so we can say “thank you”.

Introduction

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers.

The author expects the readers to be well acquainted with Levitical worship and sacrifice.

He will constantly quote the Old Testament in a way that expects that the reader understands what he’s talking about.

We also know that these believers were encountering very strong persecution.

Times were so bad that some were beginning to wonder if they shouldn’t quit following Jesus.

We will see three elements woven throughout this letter to the Hebrews.

1. Both Testaments

Even though the Old Testament has become “obsolete” (Heb. 8:13), the entire book of Hebrews is built upon the clear foundation of the Old Testament.
(Hebrews 8:13 NKJV) In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
You aren’t going to understand Hebrews, or even the New Testament correctly unless you learn the Old Testament.

2. Jesus is superior

He’s superior to angels, Moses, and the Torah.
He’s superior to the Levitical priests and their sacrifices.

3. Don’t quit

The ultimate goal of the book is to encourage those who are struggling with difficult times, and help them to endure.

We’ve seen that their survival is going to require faith.

Definition: Faith is trusting something you don’t see.

Faith is trusting when you don’t understand what’s going on.
We talked about other words for “faith” being “belief”, “trust”, or even “counting on”.

Our author is going to show over and over again how the great men and women of the Old Testament survived their difficulties because of their “faith”.

11:13-16 A Distant Hope

: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.

promisesepaggelia – announcement; promise

afar offporrhothen – from afar, afar off

confessed homologeo – to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, assent; to concede; to confess; declare; to profess; to declare openly, speak out freely

This is the same basic word translated “profession” in:

(Heb 10:23 KJV)  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
We are to hold fast to our confession that Jesus is Lord.
Abraham held fast to the confession that he was a stranger and a pilgrim.

strangersxenos – a foreigner, a stranger; alien (from a person or a thing)

pilgrimsparepidemos – one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives

:13 These all died in faith

We’ve talked about Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah…

They were all men and women who trusted God up until the time they died or were taken to heaven.

:13 not having received the promises

Lesson

Faith keeps going

We’ve been talking about how important faith is when it comes to making it through difficult times.
How many of you have been challenged over the last couple of weeks to work at handling your difficult situations through “faith”, through trusting in God?
How many of you are still struggling with those same difficult circumstances?
Last week we read that Abraham …

(Hebrews 11:10 NKJV) waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The verb tense of “waited” carries the idea of “continually waiting”.

Abraham had been promised the entire land of Canaan, yet he died without owning anything more than a cave in Hebron.

There are those who teach that with “faith” we can twist God’s arm into fixing any problem we might be in.
But what do you do when God decides not to change your circumstance?

Is it because you didn’t have enough faith?

Did these great men and women lack faith, and that’s why they didn’t “receive the promises”?

Video:  Energizer Bunny – In-Laws
Faith may bring change to your circumstances, but faith also helps us endure our circumstances.

:13 assured … embraced …

were assuredpeitho – persuade; be persuaded; to believe; to trust, have confidence, be confident

This word doesn’t appear in BYZ, NA27

embracedaspazomai – to draw to one’s self; to salute one, greet, bid welcome, wish well to; to receive joyfully, welcome

:13 confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth

Lesson

Defining Home

We call it a “homing instinct”.
Sea turtles emerge from their eggs, make their way into the ocean, and will return after maturity to the very same beach they were hatched on.
The sockeye salmon will spend its life out in the ocean, but when it’s time to spawn, will make its way up freshwater streams to where it was originally hatched.
The Pacific golden plover might winter in sunny California or tropical Hawaii, but it spends its summers breeding in the Alaska tundra, 3,000 miles away.
We human beings also have a “homing” instinct, but it’s not tied to something on the planet.  The Bible says,
(Ecclesiastes 3:11b NLT) …He has planted eternity in the human heart…

We aren’t drawn to Hawaii, we’re drawn towards heaven.

Once Dorothy finds herself in “Oz”, there’s only one thing on her mind.  She wants to go home.
Video:  Wizard of Oz – There’s no place like home
There are times in our lives where we get this sense of being “home”.
It might be the house you live in.
It might be enjoying a sunset at the beach.
It might be snuggled up in your honey’s arms.

Yet all these things are only a faint taste of our real home, and we aren’t going to find that deepest satisfaction we long for until we get to that final destination.

Illustration
There’s a story about an old missionary couple coming home from spending years in Africa.  They were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt who was returning from a successful big-game safari.  As the ship pulled into the harbor, the crowds were lining the docks to cheer on the President.  But nobody was waiting or cheering for the missionaries.
That night the man was so depressed that nobody seemed to care about how they had spent their life.  The man’s wife said, “Why don’t you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?” A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, “Dear, what happened?” “The Lord settled it with me,” he said. “I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘But you’re not home yet!’”

-- Ray Stedman, Talking to My Father

:14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

:14 declare plainly that they seek a homeland

declare plainlyemphanizo – to manifest, exhibit to view; to show one’s self, come to view, appear, be manifest; to indicate, disclose, declare, make known

They make it very obvious

seekepizeteo – to enquire for, seek for, search for, seek diligently; to wish for, crave; to demand, clamor for

Present active indicative

homelandπατρίς – fatherland; one’s native country

The word comes from the word for “father” (πατήρ)
Again, the important thing is to identify just who your “father” is.  Ultimately God is our father.

:15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

called to mindmnemoneuo – to be mindful of, to remember, to call to mind; to think of and feel for a person or thing; to hold in memory, keep in mind

to returnanakampto – to bend back, to turn back; to return

opportunitykairos due measure; a measure of time; opportune or seasonable time

:15 they would have had opportunity to return

If you spend too much time looking back, you won’t be going forward.

If Abraham had his eyes on where he came from, he might not have ever left there.
Instead, he had his eyes on Canaan.

If you spend your time looking at what non-Christians are doing and wishing you could be a part of it, you’re going to fight a losing battle.

We need to be looking forward to what God wants for us.

: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.

:16 they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country

betterkreitton – more useful, more serviceable, more advantageous; more excellent

comparative of kratos (force, power, dominion)

heavenlyepouranios – existing in heaven; of heavenly origin or nature

they desire ὀρέγομαι – to stretch one’s self out in order to touch or to grasp something

Their desire for a better country wasn’t just a momentary bit of “wishful thinking”.
They were stretching out to get a hold of heaven.
Like the scene in a movie when one character is hanging on to the edge of a building, and someone stretches out to grab them and pull them to safety.  Kind of like …
Video:  Mission Impossible – Get Down Here

That part where Jeremy Renner’s character is stretching out to catch Tom Cruise – that’s oregomai.

These men and women of faith weren’t just sitting back in their tents daydreaming about heaven.  They were stretching forth to grab it as if their lives depended upon it.

:16 God is not ashamed to be called their God

ashamedepaischunomai (“upon” + “dishonor”) – to be ashamed

Lesson

Family Pride

to be calledἐπικαλέομαι – to put a name upon, to surname; to be named after someone
Do you have family members of whom you’re a little bit embarrassed to admit you have the same last name?
God is not ashamed to be considered “family” with those who are learning to live by faith and look towards their heavenly home.
When you’re younger, sometimes it’s your parents that embarrass you a little.
But to be honest, sometimes it’s the other way around.

Video:  Kids Embarrass Parents - AFV

On September 11, 2001 the US had the wind knocked out of it when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City.
A month and a half later, the World Series was played in that same city of New York.  The nation was still struggling with what had happened.
Before the start of the game this happened...

Video:  2001 WS Lee Greenwood sings “God Bless the USA”

Our nation, constantly divided by politics, came together and for a time we were all proud to be Americans.

So do you have a healthy sense of pride as being considered part of God’s family?  Are you proud to be a Christian?
Jesus expressed the same sentiment when He said,
(Matthew 10:32–33 NLT) —32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
When you are proud to stand up for God, He is proud to stand up for you.
He’s not embarrassed to consider you a part of His family.

:16 for He has prepared a city for them

preparedhetoimazo – to make ready, prepare; to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready

He’s talking about heaven. Jesus used the same language when He said,

(John 14:2 NKJV) In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

When John caught a glimpse of heaven, he wrote,

(Revelation 21:2 NKJV) Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

11:17-19 Abraham’s Sacrifice

: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,”

:19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

:18 In Isaac your seed shall be called

This is a quote from Genesis 21:12.

Even though Abraham had other sons, God only considered Isaac to be the special son of promise.

God had promised Abraham many descendants, yet year after year his wife Sarah was unable to get pregnant.

Finally Sarah got this idea of letting Abraham have sex with her handmaiden Hagar, and Sarah would somehow claim that the child was her child.
And that’s how Abraham’s oldest child, Ishmael was born.
Yet God wasn’t thrilled with all of this.  God had other plans for Abraham.
Years later Abraham did have a child with his wife Sarah, and Isaac was born.
When things got difficult between Sarah and Hagar…
(Genesis 21:12 NKJV) But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
God had a specific promise for Abraham of not just having descendants, but having descendants through God’s methods, not man’s.

God considered Isaac to be the son of promise, not Ishmael.

:17 he who had received the promises

promisesepaggelia – announcement; promise

receivedanadechomai – accept, welcome, entertain anyone hospitably

Abraham didn’t just open up message, read it, and toss it.
He opened up the message and cherished it.

While Abraham never received the fulfillment of the promise of inheriting the entire “Promised Land”, there was a promise that he did “receive”.

He did become a father of a promised child.

:17 offered up his only begotten son

The story is found in Genesis 22 when Isaac was probably a teenager.

God tells Abraham

(Genesis 22:2 NLT) “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
And the wild thing about it is that the old man took his son up to Mount Moriah, tied him up and was about to plunge the sacrificial knife into him when he is stopped by the Angel of the Lord.
(Genesis 22:12 NLT) “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

only begottenμονογενής– single of its kind, only

This is the same word used to describe Jesus.
(John 3:16 NKJV) 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.

:19 concluding that God was able to raise him up

concludingλογίζομαι (“logic”) – to reckon, calculate, count; to deliberate

Aorist middle participle
It’s a word about thinking.  It’s an accountant’s word.
Faith doesn’t demand that we put our brains on the shelf.  It’s okay to do some thinking when it comes to our relationship with God.
This is very much an “Abraham” word.  The word is found 41 times in the New Testament, 19 times in the book of Romans alone (it’s a thinking-man’s book), and 11 of those times it’s in Romans 4, a chapter all about … Abraham.
(Romans 4:3 NKJV) For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Most of the time it’s used to describe how God has “calculated” Abraham’s faith, and deposited “righteousness” into Abraham’s account.

In our passage we see that Abraham has been doing some “calculating” on his own.
How in the world could Abraham do such a thing like sacrificing his own son?
He has figured out that if Isaac is the promised son, and Isaac doesn’t have kids yet, then God will have to raise Isaac from the dead if He’s asked me to sacrifice him.

:19 from which he also received him in a figurative sense

in a figurative senseparabole – a placing of one thing by the side of another, type, figure, parable

It was meant to paint a “picture” of the other “only begotten” son.

:17 By faith … when he was tested, offered up Isaac

offered upprosphero – to bring to, lead to; to bring a present or a thing, to reach or hand a thing to one

Perfect active indicative (1st time used)
Imperfect active indicative (2nd time used)

he was testedpeirazo – to try whether a thing can be done; to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself

present passive participle

Lesson

Tests require faith to pass

What a strange test for Abraham.
I believe God’s whole purpose for Abraham sacrificing Isaac was to simply paint a picture of another Father who would one day sacrifice His Only Begotten Son for us.
Some tests aren’t quite what we expect.
Illustration
Four college students were taking Organic Chemistry and doing well. They thought they were doing so well that the weekend before finals they decided to go out and party with some friends in another city.
They had a great time. However, after all the partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to school until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided to find their professor after the final and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that they had gone out of town for the weekend with the plan to come to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get help for a long time. As a result, they missed the final.
The Professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up the final the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, worth 5 points. It was something simple about free radical formation. "Cool," they thought at the same time, each one in his separate room, "this is going to be easy." Each finished the problem and then turned the page. On the second page was written: (For 95 points): Which tire?
There are situations in life where we misunderstand what the test is all about.
A relationship goes bad and so we begin to plot and plan about how we’re going to manipulate the other person to fix the problem.
Yet maybe there’s something we’re missing.

Maybe we’re missing the issue of trusting God.

And if we’re trusting God, maybe we need to consider doing things His way.

Instead of manipulating, perhaps we need humility. 

Instead of having the better argument, perhaps we need to forgive.

Are you being “tested”?  Are you willing to trust God in this test?  Will you do things His way?