In the above paragraph, we looked at those whose lives expressed great faith. Hebrews now gives us a couple examples. It was by faith (or with confidence) they did what they did hoping that a certain thing would happen or they did what they did believing that what God had promised would come true. These persons lived in such a way that the Bible uses them as examples of great faith.
It was by faith Abel brought a more acceptable sacrifice to God. (Genesis 4:2-15)
It was by faith Enoch was taken by God. (Genesis 5:24)
It was by faith Noah, when it made no sense at all and while being mocked by everyone
around him, built the Ark. In faith he believed God's promise to destroy the world yet
save his family and all species of animal. (Genesis 6, 7, 8)
It was by faith Abraham left home and moved to a new land. (Genesis 12:1-9)
It was by faith Sarah was able to have a child at such an old age, with such an old man.
(Genesis 18:10-15 & 21:1-7)
It was by faith in God's promise that the earth would be populated by Abraham's
descendant (Isaac) that he offered Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Abraham knew God
would honor that promise and not harm Isaac. (Genesis 22:1-19)
It was by faith Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
(Genesis 27 - 28:5)
It was by faith Joseph said the people of Israel would leave captivity in Egypt.
(Genesis 50:22-26)
It was by faith Moses' parents hid him for three months when he was born, disobeying
the king's command. When he was born the mother saw that he was special and could
not give him over to be killed. She put him in a basket and sent him down the river to
where Pharaoh's daughter was bathing knowing he would have a chance this way.
(Exodus 1:15-22 & 2:1-4)
It was by faith that when Moses grew up, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter. (Hebrews 11:24)
It was by faith Moses left the land of Egypt. (Exodus 2:11-25)
It was by faith Moses commanded the people of Israel to sprinkle blood on their door
posts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.(Exodus 12:21-23)
It was by faith the people of Israel went through the Red Sea to escape Egypt and
Pharaoh's army. (Exodus 14:1-31)
It was by faith the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days destroying
the walls of the city. (Joshua 6:1-27)
It was by faith Rahab, the prostitute, was saved when her city was destroyed for it's
refusal to be obedient to God.
Hebrews sites these stories as examples of what a blessing it is to be people of faith and what faith can accomplish. It is written that it would take too much time to tell all the stories of people of faith so we see a few listed to make the point. It also tells us of the mighty things people of faith did; they overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, they shut the mouths of lions, survived being thrown into fire, escaped death, and were strong in battle. Some were tortured for not abandoning God or their faith, some died, were stoned, tortured or sawed in half. Some became poor and lived on the streets and were mistreated. Some wandered the deserts and mountains and hid in caves and holes in the ground and in doing so they earned reputations as God's righteous ones. Living lives of faith in difficult times which brings glory to God or how we live in times of great blessing also brings glory to God. How we as followers respond in either type of situation glorify God.
All these people earned a good reputation because of that faith yet had not received all that God had promised, for He had something much better for them. They live lives of faith and a good reputation was the reward but the hope of the Messiah was the greater promise God had in store for them. In fact, God spoke of such people as being too good for this world.
The hope and dream of these people was in the promise of God that a Messiah would come, take our sin and open the gate to eternity in heaven with God. Their faith gave them hope because of who God was that they would one day live again with the Messiah in heaven. He was their assurance of that promise upon which they hung their faith.
God has a better plan for us than to live long, win battles or have our needs met. We may or may not experience such things while we are alive but we can all hope in the promise of eternal life for those who accept Christ as Savior, Redeemer and Lord. Why live life hoping for material and worldly things when we can live a life of faith in the promise of a life that never ends?
I believe this part of Hebrews sets things in perspective. It shows us that what we deal with in life may be good or may be horrible and that we can endure it all by having faith in what is to come. It is encouraging and empowering for we can do all things with properly placed faith. Faith in the Great God Almighty.