To Be One in Christ:We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay(15)11-I

To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (15) - 11 - part I

The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses in Chapter 11 of HEBREWS

All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

Regarding the Salvation: The new life that the believers of the new covenant should live (11:1-13:25)

1. The testimonies of faith (11:1-40)

(1) the explanation of faith(11:1-3)

(2) the faith of Abel (11:4)

(3) the faith of Enoch (11:5-6)

(4) the faith of Noah (11:7)

(5) the faith of Abraham (11:8-10)

(6) the faith of Sarah (11:11-12)

(7) the hope of faith (11:13-16)

(8) the test of faith (11:17-19)

(9) the blessing of faith (11:20-21)

A. Isaac (11:20)

B. Jacob (11:21)

(10) the will of faith (11:22)

(11) the courage of faith(11:23)

(12) the choice of faith (11:24-31)

A. Moses (11:24-28)

B. the Israelites (11:29-30)

C. Rahab (11:31)

(13) the achievements of faith (11:32-38)

(14) the promise received through the faith (11:39-40)

Regarding the Salvation: The new life that the believers of the new covenant should live (11:1-13:25)

In this book, from chapter 1 to 10, it pays attention to the truth of the salvation. The author uses many historical characters and things to do the comparisons so that to prove that Christ is the Savior who is greater and more perfect than all the prophets, leaders, and priests in the Old Testament and all the angels, and also prove that the accomplishments of the new covenant established though His own blood is greater than those of the covenant of the law in the times of the Old Testament. Since the author has held high Christ and His complete salvation, from chapter 11 on, he starts to talk about the new life that the redeemed believers should live under the grace of the new covenant. The new life is mainly on the basis of faith, hope and love.

1. The testimonies of faith (11:1-40)

At the end of last chapter, it is said clearly that: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. ” In this chapter, it starts to illustrate the significance and accomplishments of the faith, and lists many deeds of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament, so that to encourage the believers to follow the examples of these heroes of faith. In all kinds of circumstances and sufferings, they can trust in the promise of God unswervingly.

(1) the explanation of faith(11:1-3)

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

(NOTES)

Before starting to talk about faith, the apostle explains the meaning of faith first. In fact, it is an experienced result rather than an explanation, and is a conclusion rather than an opinion. This conclusion is drown from the experiences of numerous heroes of faith in the following verses. These experiences confirm that God and His promise that we have faith in are completely true and reliable. Their experiences tell us that as long as we have firm faith, this faith is “being sure of what we hope for” and “certain of what we do not see”.

“what we hope for ” refer to those things in the future, which are promised by God but we have not receive yet (see also (Heb 11:39; Rom 8:24): “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ”)

This verse, on one hand, talks about the meaning of the faith; on the other hand, it talks about the achievements of the faith; at the same time, it tells us about the relationship between faith and hope.

What is faith? Faith is the assurance and the confirmation of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality. Faith perceives as real fact what is not revealed to the senses (A.M.P.). Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (K.J.V.). Faith depends on the object of our faith -- God is reliable and faithful; our faith is to accept and confess that God is the most high truth.

Here, it tells us that our faith and hope have a common characteristic; that is, both belong to the future and “what do not see”. Believing in the hope that do not see is the true faith, and is the hope that has roots and foundations. Hope makes the faith valuable; faith makes the hope become the hope with foundation -- a sure hope, but not an illusionary and baseless hope. Faith and hope exist simultaneously and are the cause and result for each other.

Faith does not depend on what we see; on the contrary, it makes us to be sure of the things that our eyes do not see and can not see, just as we are sure of the things that we can see. Therefore, the faith does not need the evidence, but itself is “the proof of things do not see” .

The author illuminates the meaning and achievements of the faith in such a way so that those Hebrew believers who used to depend on seeing with eyes, watching the miraculous signs, and observing the regulations of worshiping, would understand the implication and value of the faith. Since they “will live by faith” under the grace of the new covenant, they should not like those people under the law, do everything by senses and eyes (1Co 1:22; 2Co 5:7); but should live a life “by faith” (2Co 5:7).

Heb 11:2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

(NOTES)

“This” shows that the faith talked about here is not an ordinary faith, but is the faith in (10:38) -- “live by faith”, and is the faith in the promise of God. There are many things which are not reliable themselves. If we believe in the unreliable things, the results are unconceivable. However, since the promise of God is sure and reliable, a firm faith that is certain of the promise of God can become the most stabilizing strength as our spiritual and most reliable basis.

It is obvious that those people in the history of the Old Testament became righteousness through faith. Although the Savior they believe was in the promise and in their hope, who was not born yet at their time, they were the same as us who live by the faith, just as those examples given below: Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham et al. all became righteousness through faith. Although they offered the visible sacrifices, what really make them be justified, are not these sacrifices, but is the Savior of whom the sacrifice is the typology.

This verse is also translated as “For by faith--trust and holy fervor born of faith, the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.” (A.M.P.).

That is, the ancient saints through this faith had divine testimony from God and glorified the name of God.

This verse shows another achievement of faith. “Faith” not only makes men have the reliable hope, but also makes men have good testimonies in front of God. Just as the faith of the ancient saints had the divine testimonies from God. By faith Abel offered the sacrifices; by faith Enoch walked with God; and by faith Noah was instructed by God about what he did not see. All their faith does not come to nothing, and is proved to please God. Their faith in the promise of God, shows their respect to God ( It will be rude if one has no faith in the promise of God.). Therefore, God made them have testimony through their faith; it is also a honor that God gave them. Faith makes men have a position in front of God; without faith, men can not stand in front of God.

Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

(NOTES)

The previous verse mentions the accomplishments of the ancients on faith to show the merits of faith. This verse cites the creation of all the worlds by God as a proof of the achievement of faith. Faith not only let us have the assurance of things in the future, but also let us know and understand the remote history what can not be seen. Faith becomes our spiritual eyes so that we can absorb and understand many things of God through experiences, and let us be more and more sure of the promise of God, have more and more understandings in our spiritual mind, and be easier to have thorough knowledge of the profound spiritual things.

The Savior promised by God, to the ancients, was Christ who had not been born at their time, which was the future; to us, it is the past. However, in terms of the Second Coming of LORD, it is the future to us. Therefore, on one hand, our faith is to believe the Savior already sent by God; on the other hand, it is to hope for the Second Coming of Christ by faith. From this verse, it is apparent that:

a. God created all the worlds.

b. God created all the worlds through His powerful commands. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm (Psa 33:9).

c. Since God created worlds through His commands, it is evident that this material world, although can be seen by the eyes, was created by what is invisible -- the invisible God, and was formed by His great power that can call things that are not as though they were. Thus, it can be seen that one can not by eyes find the source of this material world -- God; one can only by faith find the Creator of all the worlds -- the invisible God. All the visible things are only to help us to know that there is an invisible God (Rom 1:20).

d. What makes us know that all the worlds are created by God is our faith. It is obvious that faith is the prerequisite to let us know about the deeds of God, and one must have faith to obtain the true spiritual knowledge (Eph 3:17-19). After the servant of God wrote about the meaning and achievements of faith, he started to list the examples of many heroes of faith in the following as the proof.

(2) the faith of Abel (11:4)

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

(NOTES)

Here, the first great man of faith listed is Abel. Adam is not the first great man of faith; it is because the failure that Adam ate the fruit forbidden by God, is the biggest disobedience to the words of God, which made the mankind be under the sins and evils. However, it is proper to list Abel as the first hero of faith. Nevertheless, although Abel is mentioned first, it does not necessarily show that he is the one with strongest faith among all the heroes of faith listed in the following, but Abel is the first hero of faith who sacrificed his life for the righteousness (Mat 23:35). Therefore, he deserves to be listed as the first man of faith.

“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did”; this verse shows that:

a. After Adam sinned, the mankind have to through the sacrifices commune with God or worship God. Such a “sacrifice” shows that there is a barrier of sins between men and God, makes people unable to worship God and commune with God directly. Therefore, men must through a “sacrifice” redeem the sins so that men can get over the barrier between men and God. This is the only way for the sinners to worship God.

b. Although “offering sacrifices ” is the only way to worship God, it might not please God to offer the sacrifice at one’s own wills. “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did”; if the “sacrifice” does not please God, the one who comes to God through this “sacrifice” certainly can not please God.

c. Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Although in chapter 4 of Genesis, it does not explicitly explain why God is pleased with the sacrifice offered by Abel, and only mentioned that Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock (Gen 4:4), that sacrifice must be selected carefully and be offered with reverence and thanksgivings to God. While this verse points out clearly that the main reason that God looked with favor on Abel is because of his faith, and his attitude when he did the offerings.

“By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” Here, Abel obtained two testimonies from God to him, that is :

a. to himself:

He obtained the testimony to be justified. Note that: the word of “therefore” in the beginning of this verse shows that the reason that he had the divine testimony is because “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice ”.

b. to his offerings:

It proves that his offering by faith is the offering that makes him be pleasing to God. According to the record in (Gen 4:1-8), it is said: “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,” ; and God reproached Cain: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? ” These words show that Abel’s offerings were pleasing to God.

Not that the verse that “when God spoke well of his offerings” explains the verse that “By faith he was commended as a righteous man”. In another word, God spoke well the offerings of Abel is the evidence that Abel is justified. Whether the offerings he relied on to come to God looked favor by God or not, and whether he himself can be justified or not; these two matters are connected with each other.

“And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead”. It means that although Abel was dead, his faith -- the faith through which he was justified and the blood he shed for the faith -- still spoke to us. The faith of Abel gives us at least the following messages:

a. The only way for us to be justified is to trust in and rely on the sin offerings that “the Lamb of God” offered for us by shedding His blood (Joh 1:29; Heb 10:12,14).

b. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. ” (Mat 10:28).

c. Those who persecuted the believers will be punished, for God will judge the world according to His righteousness (Act 17:31; Rom 2:6).

d. Whoever lives a godly life in Christ, must be hated by the world, but will be cared by God (2Ti 3:12; Joh 17:14,15).

e. “"Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”” (Rev 14:13)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ” (Mat 5:10-12).

(3) the faith of Enoch (11:5-6)

The second hero of faith mentioned here is Enoch, the seventh from Adam (Jud 14). It skips several descendents of Adam after Abel. It shows that the record in this book is selective; only those who not only have faith, but also can especially be as the models of faith for others are listed here.

According to the record of the Bible, in the entire life of Enoch, there are two distinct characteristics about him: by faith he walked with God for three hundred years; and he was taken from this life and did not experience death.

Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

(NOTES)

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death”:

Here, it only gives the result of his faith -- by faith he was taken from this life; in chapter 5 of the Genesis, it only records the expression of his faith -- Enoch walked with God. Put the verses of these two places together, that is: by faith Enoch walked with God and was taken from this life.

Since by faith Enoch walked with God, it is obvious that he did not depart from this world to walk with God in heaven. He remained in this world, but lived a life of walking with God by faith: rejected the sins and evils, had the same mind with God, rejoiced in God and took God as friend -- walked with God. And the result of his walking with God, is that he was taken to where God is and left this world which goes to destruction day by day. Nowadays, those believers by faith who are following LORD and walking on the road of the cross are the same. They do not throw away their duties as men and run to another world to walk with LORD. They remain in this world, but have the same mind with LORD, do not follow this world, and live a godly and holy life to walk with LORD. The results of their walking with LORD will be: “who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ”, and be taken to the glories (1Pe 1:5; Joh 14:2-3).

“he could not be found, because God had taken him away”:

As to Enoch with faith, the grace that God gave him is unprecedented. There are only two persons in the Bible who were taken to God without experiencing the death -- Enoch and Elijah (2Ki 2:1-11). They received such an exceptional grace. As to those who have faith, they also have such a hope. It is because LORD will come again anytime nowadays; thus, the believers who are still alive might “not experience death” and directly transform the body to be caught up in the air to meet LORD (1Th 4:17).

“For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God”:

According to the record in the chapter 5 of Genesis, it does not clearly give much evidence that before Enoch was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. However, it is obvious that the fact that Enoch was taken to God without experiencing death is the best evidence that he was commended as one who pleased God. Besides this incident, there are two more things to prove that Enoch was commended as one who pleased God:

a. In (Gen 5:22), Enoch walked with God for three hundred years before he was taken to God; this long period of time of walking with God is the clear evidence.

b. According to (Jud 14-15), during the time that Enoch was walking with God, he predicted the Second Coming of LORD and the judgments and punishments on the evil doers. It is obvious that he was a prophet used by God and he had the revelations from God.

Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

(NOTES)

“And without faith it is impossible to please God” . This verse is the conclusion of the citations. Since by faith Abel offered the sacrifice and was commended as a righteous man by God, and by faith Enoch walked with God and was commended as one who pleased God, it is obvious that no matter “the offerings” -- seeking to reconcile to God, or “walking with God” -- living a spiritual life, are all through faith pleasing to God. Therefore, without faith it is impossible to please God. What is more, the implication of this verse will further be shown in the examples listed below.

In the meanwhile, we should pay attention to what is the “faith” talked about here; it is the faith as what is mentioned in the previous verses: “live by faith”; by faith offered the sacrifice -- by faith hoped for the promised Savior; and by faith walked with God. Without such a faith it is impossible to please God.

“because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”. “because” continues the previous verse, which gives the reason that “without faith it is impossible to please God”. It also tells us about the conditions to come to God:

a. believe that God exists:

One who comes to God must believe that God exists. This is the fundamental condition. How could one come to God if he does not believe that God exists? In our thoughts, we might think that it is far from enough for one to come to God only by believing His existence. However, the requirement of God to those who come to Him is the minimum.

The mankind are far from God and forget about God, such that do not believe in God. That is a root of all kinds of evils. However, if men believe that God exists, and come to God, also always remember God’s existence, that will give people biggest strength to overcome the sins and evils.

b. “(believe) that he (God) rewards those who earnestly seek him”:

This indicates that one not only should believe that God exists, but also should believe that God is righteous, abounding in love, compassionate and gracious, good, and faithful, also is pleased with those who seek Him and is willing to grant grace to those who seek Him earnestly. It is also translated as “He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him” (A.M.P.). It means that God will grant Himself as the rewarder to those who seek Him earnestly, and they will know more about God and gain God (Php 3:12-14).

(4) the faith of Noah (11:7)

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

(NOTES)

This verse briefly talks about the achievements of the faith of Noah to God, to his family, to the people of his time and himself:

a. to God:

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family”. According to chapter 6 of Genesis, before God commanded Noah to build the ark, it described that “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD ”, and Noah is “a righteous man” and “blameless among the people of his time”. Why Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD, and is “a righteous man” and “blameless”? Here, it gives the answer to these questions; that is, Noah has faith in front of God. In the previous verse, it points out that “And without faith it is impossible to please God”; in this verse, it points out the truth that “with faith, one will please God”. Nowadays, those who by faith receive grace in Christ and are commended as righteous men also are blameless in the eyes of God.

Since Noah by faith pleased God, he also by faith was instructed what he did not see. Note that: to please God and to be instructed what he did not see are two different experiences. Faith makes us please God, but it is not the final purpose. The higher purpose of faith is to let us commune closely with God, to know more about the will of God so that we can live in accordance with the will of God. Although God is willing to reveal His will to men, He can not reveal it to those without faith, for only by the eyes of the faith one can see “what do not see”.

b. to his family:

“in holy fear built an ark to save his family”. Although building an ark seems to be a most common thing, and has nothing to do with the sacred matter. However, since doing this is to obey the revelation of God “in holy fear”, it became the most spiritual and sacred matter that is worthy of remembering.

Although Noah did not build the ark for his family only, but to obey the command of God, the ark was prepared to save his family. It is evident that as to those who obey the will of God faithfully, whatever they give up for revering and loving God, are all stored in heaven for themselves secretly and become their enjoyment and glory in the eternal life.

c. to the people of his time:

“By his faith he condemned the world ”. Noah did not deliberately build an ark to condemn the sins of the people of his time. He was only obedient to the will of God to build an ark by faith in God and reverence to God. It naturally disclosed the sins of disbelief, irreverence, and disobedience of the people in that age. LORD Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn the world; however, whoever does not believe stands condemned already. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Therefore, they chose to go to destruction by themselves (Joh 3:17-19).

God require us to be Christians who will condemn those unbelievers around us; however, we should not live among them with a mind of “condemning” others, but with our testimonies of light exposing their darkness naturally. On the contrary, if we are not the believers that can make this world be condemned, but are condemned by this world instead, we will be the failed Christians.

d. to himself:

“and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith”. This verse proves that the “righteousness” that Noah received though faith in the ancient time, and the “righteousness” that the apostle received, which they proclaimed and made others receive, are both “the righteousness that comes by faith” (Rom 4:13; Php 3:9).

(5) the faith of Abraham (11:8-10)

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

(NOTES)

a. the faith of obedience

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went”. The faith of Abraham has the solid and firm foundation. If one’s faith does not have the reliable basis, his actions must be blind, impetuous, risky and superstitious. However, Abraham left his hometown, “obeyed and went” on the basis of faith. This basis is the calling of God and the faithfulness of the promise of God (See also (Gen 12; Act 7:2)). Here, the experience of the calling of Abraham is the complete obedience to God.

“go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance”:

This verse further explains what “obeyed” means; that is, one must take a step forward practically. “obeyed” is not a wish, a promise, a belief or a decision; but is a practical action. The obedience that God asked of Abraham is not only to believe in the promise of God, but also to leave the sins and evils and the evil companions to enter the promise land of God. Therefore, the faith of Abraham is the faith of obedience.

“even though he did not know where he was going”:

Although at that time, Abraham did not know what a place Canaan is and how to get there, he knew for sure that it will always be right that he moved towards the promise land of God with the back towards “his country, his people and his father's household ”. As long as he walked toward the promise land of God, even though he “did not know where he was going”, he can move forward in assurance to entrust himself in the hand of the faithful God.

Heb 11:9-10 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

(NOTES)

b. the faith of waiting:

“By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country”. When Abraham came to Canaan -- the promise land of God, he did not gain possession of Canaan. Therefore, by faith he lived as “a stranger in a foreign country”. He lived in the promise land in such a way as a stranger; it shows that he believed that the promise of God was true and reliable. Although he was only a stranger in this land, he’d rather be a stranger “in a foreign country” than stay at his home town -- Ur of the Chaldeans. It is because he believed that God had given this land to him, he would live in this land like “a stranger” to wait for the realization of the promise of God.

“as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise”. According to (Gen 26:2-4; 28:13-15), God used to give the promised blessings that He gave to Abraham also to Isaac and Jacob. In fact, since the blessings promised by God to Abraham concerned his descendents and possessions, while Isaac and Jacob are the descendents of Abraham, the blessings given to Abraham are naturally their blessings. However, God gave the blessings especially to Isaac and Jacob again, so that Isaac and Jacob also have their personal experience of the promise of God and became those who inherit the same promise as their father.

“For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ”:

Since this city is built and managed by God, certainly it is not an ordinary city. From the following verses, it could be know that “the city with foundations” refers to the country in heaven (11:15,16).

This verse shows the faith of waiting of Abraham. It implies double hopes: not only he was waiting for the practical fulfillment of the promise given by God to his descendents, but also he was waiting for the better country in heaven, while he was being as a stranger in the foreign country. Therefore, according to the record in this chapter, it is obvious that Canaan is the typology of the heaven (see also the notes of chapter 3 and 4).

(6) the faith of Sarah (11:11-12)

Heb 11:11-12 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

(NOTES)

When it talks about the faith of Abraham, it especially inserts Isaac and Jacob. Here, it also inserts the faith of Sarah. It seems to show that as to the father of faith -- Abraham, not only he himself trusts in God wholeheartedly, but also his family members are godly and trust in God.

Here, it only praises the faith of Sarah without mentioning her lacking of faith. According to (Gen 18:10-12), when Sarah heard that God told Abraham that she was going to give birth to a son, she used to laugh to herself and thought: “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” However, because of her faith later, her lacking of faith was forgotten by God and did not mention any more, and only the achievement of her faith was written down. Here, it talks about two aspects of her faith:

a. she considered that God and God’s promise are believable.

b. by faith although she was past age, she can be pregnant and bear numerous descendents.

Note that: Sarah considered God and His promise believable. Then she saw the marvelous deeds of God from her experience. The deeds of God always follow our faith. How much our faith in God, so many God’s deeds we will see.

(7) the hope of faith (11:13-16)

“All these people ” refer to those who have faith mentioned above, especially the family of Abraham. Although the life they lived on earth were different, the nature of their faith has many things in common.

Heb 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

(NOTES)

a. They were still living by faith when they died:

Not only they lived by faith when they were alive; but also they died with faith. In another word, their faith are unchanging and unshaken from the beginning to the end. Not only they walked well in the beginning, but also they walked well until the end of the journey of life.

b. “They did not receive the things promised” :

It means that they did not see the promise of God accomplished practically. No matter Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, when they died, none of them saw their descendants were as numerous as the stars in the sky, neither did they see their descendents gained the possessions of the land of Canaan, nor did they see the “descendent” through whom “all peoples on earth will be blessed” -- the birth of LORD Jesus. Although they did not get what was promised to them, they died with faith. Therefore, this verse explains the meaning of the verse of “were still living by faith when they died”. Even though until their death, they did not see the realization of God’s promise, they held on to the faith until death without doubting the faithfulness of God.

The faith does not depend on what one sees. This has deeper meaning and value to them. It is because not only they did not get what was promised at that time or in a short period of time, but also they did not get what was promised until their death. From the viewpoint of men, it is easily to think that what they believe in come to nothing. However, until their death, they still have firm faith that the promise of God is reliable.

c. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance:

Here, “saw” is in the past mode. This verse gives the reason why they can die with faith. It is because although their naked eyes can not see what God had promised, their spiritual eyes saw it from a distance. Faith makes one turn those remote and vague spiritual things into close and true things, as if one has received it already.

“welcomed them from a distance”:

It indicates that they welcomed what they saw with their spiritual eyes. This verse enhances the authenticity that they saw from a distance by faith, for they not only saw, but also welcomed it. It is obvious what they “saw” is authentic, just as they saw it by the naked eyes.

d. They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth:

It indicates that they did not rely on the prosperity on earth, but hope for the blesses in heaven wholeheartedly. Although they hoped that their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore, they also were longing for the hope of the heavenly blesses -- longing for the hope that all people will receive the heavenly blessings through the Savior. When LORD Jesus was on earth, He said to the Jews that: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (Joh 8:56). It is known from here that Abraham lived in the Canaan as an alien, and was a stranger in the foreign country; what his faith made him see was faraway indeed, which is absolutely not the mere increase of the material possessions and descendents, but rather saw the promised Messiah will be born from his descendents.

They lived as “aliens” and “strangers”; it shows that they lived in this world with the attitude of not entangling by things in this life. They were like the travelers; they laid down all kinds of their burdens as far as possible, only sought to be simple and portable to quickly go through the journey of this life, and hoped to get back to the country in heaven soon.

Heb 11:14-16 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

(NOTES)

e. they were longing for a better country:

Here, it tells us how their faith made them be careless about and pay no attention to this temporary and earthly country. What is more, they

i. looked for a country of their own.

ii. left their own country.

iii. longed for a better country.

This step of faith gives us good examples; let us see that those who follow LORD nowadays:

i. should not indulge in the pleasure of sins in this world; should know the meaninglessness of this world, and seek the spiritual satisfaction.

ii. should not only feel the shortness of this world, but also stay away from all kinds of earthly temptations, sins and evils; do not desire for the lusts.

iii. should set our minds on things above, and hope for the country in heaven.

“Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”:

Although God is everyone’s God, God is especially called “their God”. This shows that they have more practical and closer relationship with God. Not only they called God orally, but also they obeyed the will of God practically and glorified God. As to those who do not have faith, if God is called their God, it won’t be “not ashamed”; for they are short of the glory of God and subject God’s holy name to disgrace. However, God is “not ashamed” to be called God of those who have faith; for their faith are worthy of faith that the people of God should have.

These two verses also tell us about the reward that these people with faith will receive. This reward includes two aspects: on one hand, it is about the glory -- “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God”; it shows from the other side that God considers them as His glory. The most high and lofty God is willing to have them as His children; it is their glory. On the other hand, it is about their blessings --“for he has prepared a city for them”; it is actually a reward for the practical enjoyment. They were away from those earthly quest; however, God has prepared a city for them. As to those who trust in God, whenever we throw away more earthly quest, we will receive more spiritual blessings that God prepared for us.

Reference:

1. Zhongdao Chen: “The Lectures on the Bible Studying of the Letters in New Testament”.