Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Possibility & Impossibility

Hebrews 11:12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

 

From the humble beginnings of Isaac, Abraham’s progeny were as numerous as three million during the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings. We do know that the men 20 years old or older that were conscripted into military service numbered 603,550, Numbers 1:46, 2:32. This number did not include the Levites (Numbers 2:33), nor women and children. The number of Israelites in this time was anticipated to be around three million by conservative estimate.

Fifteen (Delayed) Years in Review

I realize that I am a little more than a month late with this post, but life has been busy of late. So without further ado, I would like to announce my blog’s fifteen-year anniversary! My first article was posted June 26^th 2009, two months before my twins were born. It’s been an amazing ride thus far, but I’ll focus on recapping this last year plus briefly.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Sarah

 

Hebrews 11:11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

 

Sarah, formerly named Sarai (lit. princess), was Abraham’s wife and ten years his junior. Genesis 17:17 confirms that, prior to Isaac’s birth Abraham was nearly 100, while Sarah was about 90. We are told of Sarah that she received strength from God to bear a child, the child of promise that God had told Abraham of 25 years prior when He brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Pitching One's Tent

Hebrews 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; [10] for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

 

Though Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelt in Canaan, it was not their homeland. God promised Canaan to Abraham, but the patriarch did not see the fulfillment of this promise. Neither did Isaac or Jacob, who left Canaan behind and dwelt in Egypt with Joseph for the final seventeen years of his life, Genesis 47:9, 28. For that matter, neither did Aaron or Moses, who represented the fourth generation that were led out of Egypt by God. But it was Joshua, Moses’ successor, who brought Israel into Canaan at last and conquered the Promised Land, though not fully.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, The Father Of Faith

 

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

 

Abraham is an extremely famous personage in both the Old and New Testaments. So much so, that Paul concedes that Abraham possesses an esteemed position in God’s great plan, writing, “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham,” Galatians 3:7.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Noah's Faith

 

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

 

Thus far we have arrived at Noah. Abel, Enoch, and now Noah are treated as real, historical figures in Scripture, not quasi-mythological figures, whose purpose in the Bible is to impart allegorical lessons. Many sincere Christians have given tacit assent, that when dealing with the historicity of the Bible, it begins in Genesis chapter 12 at best, with some further mythology mingled with reality, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, A Living Faith

 

God is a Being, three persons in one, or what the Christian church calls the Trinity. Many professing Christians have stumbled at this doctrine, clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments. Jehovah’s Witnesses, a cult that denies the Trinity, was founded by Charles Taze Russell, who couldn’t fathom the Trinity. To him it was incomprehensible nonsense, and so using flawed human reason to trump Scriptural authority, he apostatized. 

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Pleasing God

 

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

The author appears to pause here, reflecting on the previous verse. In Hebrews 11:5 it reads, “that he (Enoch) pleased God.” But Enoch’s walk sans faith, or Abel’s offering sans faith would not have pleased Him. Our works without faith are offerings made to substitute for that substance we lack, and which God finds pleasing.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Enoch

 

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 

Very little is written in the Bible about Enoch. Yes, there are non-canonical books of Enoch, written roughly between 300 BC to after the time of Christ for the latter two. Neither the Jews nor the Christian church recognizes these books as inspired in the same sense as the Biblical prophets.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Works Witness To Our Faith

 

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

 

Verse 1 explained what the Christian’s faith is, and what it is grounded in; namely, substantial evidence corroborated by eyewitnesses. Verse 2 details how the patriarchs, or elders, obtained a good testimony (for their works) by faith, not the work itself. Verse 3 recalls the creation of all things, and that understanding that God created the universe by speaking, we know that our creation is not comprised of anything that had existed formerly, or in a previous state.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, How The World Was Made

 

Let’s recall the first two laws of thermodynamics. Law number one is the conservation of energy law. It states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only altered in form. The second law is the law of increasing entropy; it states that a closed system will progress (or regress?) from a highly organized to an increasingly disorganized state.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Faith: The Product Of Understanding

 

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

 

This verse treads some deep water. The NKJV and NASB use the word, “worlds” in this verse. The NIV and HCSB use the word, “universe.” The RSV uses the singular, “world.” The Greek word is, “aion,” The word as a noun expresses an age or era, and signifies, “a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in said period.” It sounds as if the term “creation,” would not be an unfitting word to substitute for “worlds.” The era of time/space, and all that occurs within it is framed by the word of God.

Hebrews Chapter Eleven, The Testimony Of The Elders

 

Hebrews 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

 

The elders obtained a good testimony, not by their works, but by their faith. Their faith empowered their works and made them acceptable to God, as we will see as we progress through this chapter. Note that the author is not appealing to the Jewish forebears alone. No, he reaches back prior to the Flood and speaks of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, progenitors not only of the Jewish lineage, but humanity at large.