Verses 1-3
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Commentary
Verses 1-3
In chapter 10 the writer urged his readers to continuously trust in God. Now in chapter 11, he gives a good definition of the word "faith." Then he encourages us with many examples of men and women in the Old Testament who trusted God by using the phrase: "By faith" before citing what each person had done to demonstrate his or her faith.
Verses 4-7
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Commentary
Verse 4
The writer tells us of some of those who in the past have trusted God. Cain and Abel were sons of Adam (Genesis 4:3-7). They each brought a sacrifice to God. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not because of what he offered. It was because God saw that Abel had faith. Cain’s sacrifice did not please God. This was not because of what he offered. It was because Cain’s heart was not right with God. Cain had to overcome this sin first (Genesis 4:7). Then God would have accepted his sacrifice also. Cain was angry and jealous. So he killed Abel (1 John 3:12). God did not forget Abel’s innocent death. It was not unlike the death of Jesus (see 12:24).
Verse 5
Enoch was a very good man. His faith was so strong that we read that he walked with God (Genesis 5:24). He lived so close to God that he pleased God. Because of his faith, God took him straight to heaven. Although the people looked for him, they could not find him. God had taken him straight to heaven and he did not die.
Verse 6
It is not possible to please God if we do not trust Him. Our trust in him must be sure about two things. We must be certain that God exists, and that He will reward those who look for Him.
Verse 7
In the days of Noah, the people had turned from God. He saw that Noah was the only one who, like Enoch, walked close to God and did what was right (Genesis 6:9). By his life of faith, Noah pleased God. God decided to destroy all the wicked people by a great flood. He warned Noah about his plans and told him to build an ark (a large boat) (Genesis 5:13-14). While he was building the ark, Noah warned the people about the flood that God would send. They laughed at him, and nobody believed him. It had never happened before! Only Noah and his family were safe in the ark when the flood came. The wicked people drowned. Noah trusted God, and so was right with God. Therefore Noah would receive the good things that God has promised to those who trust Him.
Verses 8-19
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned.16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Commentary
Verse 8
We now look at Abraham, who is the great example of faith. God called him to leave the country where he lived (Genesis 12:1). He had to leave his friends and neighbors and most of his family. God did not then tell Abraham where he was to go. He just said, ‘Go to the land that I shall show you’. So Abraham set off because he knew that he could trust God. We like to know where we are going and we like to choose the way. Abraham obeyed God’s command, although he did not yet know where he was to go. He knew it was right to trust God and to obey him. To leave the life that we know and go into the unknown future, because God calls us to do so, is faith.
Verse 9
When Abraham arrived in the land that God had promised to him, he lived there as a foreigner. He had no rights or possessions in that land. Later he did buy a small piece of land in which to bury those who died. He had no house to live in, but with his family, he lived in tents. His son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob also had no permanent place in the land. But God gave them the same promises.
Verse 10
Abraham was content to live as a foreigner in the land. He knew that one day God would do all that he said that he would do. Abraham looked forward, beyond his death, to his true home in heaven. He would no longer be a stranger, but he would belong there. By faith, he saw a city that God planned and built. God has made the foundations of it, so we know that they will never fail. It will not be like living in tents but will be a permanent home for the people of God.
Verses 11-12
When God told Abraham that he would have a son (Genesis 15:1-5), both he and his wife Sarah were really too old. At first, Sarah laughed at the idea (Genesis 18:9-15). But Abraham trusted God to do what he promised. Sarah received strength for the birth. Isaac was born. And God promised that Isaac would be the first of a very large family. They would be like the stars in the sky and the sand by the sea - too many to count.
Verse 13
God made similar promises to all the people that the writer has mentioned. But they did not receive what he promised in this life. Yet they were still content to trust God. They realized that earth was not their true home. They lived like strangers and foreigners here.
Verses 14-15
The kind of people who say that they are strangers here are looking for a country of their own. They could have been at home here, but they knew that God’s promised home for them was far better. Abraham and his family could have gone back to the country where they came from. But God had called them to leave it. To return would be to refuse to do what God wanted. God calls all his people to leave behind their old lives and go on to live for God and the life to come.
Verse 16
No, people like Abraham, who trust God completely, want to go to the much better place that God has made ready for them in heaven. God has built the city that Abraham looked for (v 10). God is not ashamed to be the God of people like these. He honors their faith and accepts them as his own. God calls us to have the same faith and to live as they did. He gives to us the chance to join him in that city.
Verses 17-18
Now comes the greatest test of Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to him. Isaac was his only son by Sarah his wife. (Abraham did have another son by Hagar, who was Sarah's maid: see Genesis 16). Isaac was the only son of the promise. It was through Isaac that God said that his promises would come. So Abraham had a real problem. If he were to kill Isaac, would not the promises fail? If he did not do what God asked, would the promises still be there for his people? Abraham had to trust God that somehow God would find a way to keep his promises.
Verse 19
Abraham decided to do what God told him to do and sacrifice Isaac. He took him and tied him on an altar. He had fire ready. He lifted his knife. Then God told him to stop. So Isaac did not die (Genesis 22). Abraham had been ready to obey God and to kill Isaac, so now it was like receiving him back from the dead. Jesus, the only Son of God, did die and he did come back to life from death. All the promises of God to us are in his Son Jesus. We shall receive those promises, if we trust God completely, as Abraham did.
Verses 20-38
v20 Isaac trusted God, so he told Jacob and Esau about the good things to come (Genesis 27:27-40). v21 Jacob trusted in God. When he was dying, he blessed both the sons of Joseph (Genesis 48). He leaned on his stick and praised God. v22 By his faith in God, when his end was near, Joseph spoke of the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. He told them to carry his bones with them (Genesis 50:24-25). v23 The parents of Moses trusted in God, so they hid him for three months after his birth. They could see that he was not an ordinary child. They were not afraid of the orders of the king (Exodus 2:1-10). v24 When he grew up, Moses refused to accept that he was the son of the king’s daughter. He did this because he trusted in God (Exodus 2:11-15).
v25 He chose to suffer with the people of God. He could have chosen to have an easy life and enjoy sin, for a short time. v26 He decided that to suffer insults for the Christ was worth much more to him than the riches of Egypt. He kept thinking about the reward. v27 Because he trusted in God, he left Egypt and did not fear the anger of the king. He was strong, for it was as if he could see him whom nobody can see. v28 By faith in God he kept the Passover and put blood on the doorposts. This was so that the angel of death would not touch the oldest son in each of their families (Exodus 12).
v29 The people trusted God and so they all went across the Red Sea in safety, as if on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do the same, they drowned (Exodus 14:29-31). v30 It was by trust in God that the people marched round the city of Jericho. After 7 days the walls fell down (Joshua 6). v31 Rahab was a woman who had used her body for sex to get money. She welcomed the men who came from Joshua to discover how to attack her city. She trusted in God, so she did not die with the rest who did not obey God (Joshua 2).
v32 What more shall I say about those people who trusted God? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. v33 By their faith in God they overcame kings. They made fair laws. They gained what God promised. They shut the mouths of lions and so did not die. v34 They put out fierce fires, and they escaped from men who wanted to kill them with the sword. When they were weak, God made them strong again. They were so strong in war that they overcame foreign armies. v35 Women received back their dead, whom God raised to life again. Some people suffered death by cruel enemies. They could have escaped by saying that they no longer trusted God. But they refused so that they might gain a better life. v36 Some people suffered insults and attacks, and some people went to prison in chains. v37 Enemies threw stones at them, or cut them in pieces, or killed them with the sword. Some people had to wear the skins of sheep and goats because they were so poor. People who did not trust God were bad to them and caused them to suffer. v38 Those who did trust God were too good for this world. Some people wandered over deserts and mountains. Some people lived in caves and holes in the ground.
Commentary
Verse 20
Because he believed what God had promised, Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau. He told them about the good things God had planned. It was in Jacob that the promises of God were to come. Just as Abraham had done, so Isaac looked for the future beyond this life.
Verse 21
When he was dying, Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph. It was the custom to give the best blessing to the older son. But, because he believed what God had shown him, he gave the greater blessing to Ephraim, who was younger than Manasseh.
Verse 22
Joseph, a son of Jacob, trusted in the promise that God gave to Abraham. When he was at the end of his life, he spoke of the exodus. He knew that the land of Egypt was not to be the home of the people of Israel. God had promised them the land of Canaan. Joseph believed the promise of God and looked to the time when God would lead them back to that land. He told his family that when they went there they were to take his bones with them. He wanted them to bury him in the promised land (Genesis 50:24-25).
Verse 23
Many years after Joseph died, there was a new king in Egypt. He was afraid that there were so many Hebrews, they might take over the country (Exodus 1). So he made them slaves. Then he gave orders to kill all the Hebrew baby boys at birth. The parents of Moses saw that he was an unusual child. They trusted in God and were not afraid of the king. So they hid Moses for three months. When they could no longer hide him, they put him in a basket. They put the basket among the plants by the river. The daughter of the king found him there. She took him home and brought him up as her own son.
Verses 24-25
When Moses grew up, he refused to be the son of the daughter of the king. This was not a quick decision of a youth. He was now a man of about 40 years old. He knew that he was a Hebrew by birth. He trusted in God. So he decided to leave all that he had, or could have had, as a royal prince. He chose to go back to his own people. They were poor slaves who had to suffer much. He chose to suffer with them, rather than have a comfortable life without God. A life without God would have been sin.
Verse 26
God made Moses aware that one day the Christ would come. Many would not accept him. Those who did would share in the shame that Christ suffered. Moses knew that to be one of the people of God was worth far more than all the riches of Egypt. Riches may last for this life but are of no value for the life to come. With Christ, there are rewards in a new life after death. Moses trusted in God and desired those rewards more than to have riches now.
Verse 27
Moses left Egypt twice. The first time was after he had killed an Egyptian. He was afraid that the king would hear about it (Exodus 2:11-15). So he went to live in the land of Midian. He was there for 40 years (Acts 7:30). Then God told him to go back to Egypt, and bring God’s people out of Egypt (Exodus 3). He was no longer afraid of the king.
For a long time the king refused to let the Hebrews go (Exodus, chapters 7-11). Through all those difficult days Moses was strong. It was as if he could see God, whom nobody can see. He was so strong because he trusted in God. It was as if he walked with God. The Bible says that God talked with Moses face to face, as a person speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11).
Verse 28
By faith, Moses obeyed God when he led the Jews to have the first Passover. This was a special meal that God told them to eat. They had to kill a lamb for the meal for each family. They had to put some of its blood on the doorposts and over the doors of their houses. The angel of death went through the land of Egypt. He killed the first son in each house. But when he saw the blood round the doors of a Hebrew’s house, he ‘passed over’ that house and did not kill the first son there. That is why they called the event the ‘Passover’. Ever since that time the Jews have eaten the Passover meal each year. They remember that God rescued them from being slaves and brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 12).
Verse 29
As the Jews left Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. God made a path through the sea for them. They had to go forward trusting in God that they would get to the other side. So they went across the sea on a dry path. When the Egyptians tried to cross the sea, the water drowned them all (Exodus 14:29-31).
Verse 30
Forty years later the Jews came to the city of Jericho. They had to attack it and destroy it. God told them to march around it once each day for 6 days. On the seventh day, God told them to march around 7 times. They believed God and did what he told them to do. Then on the seventh time on the seventh day, the walls of the city fell down (Joshua 2).
Verse 31
Before the Hebrews attacked Jericho, they sent men there. They were to look at the city and report back to their leaders. When they came, Rahab took them into her house. She kept them safe while they were there. Then she sent them away by a safe route. She had lived a bad life, but now she helped the men because she had faith in God. When Jericho fell, the men saved her life (Joshua 2).
Verse 32
In the history of the Jews, there were a lot of examples of those who lived by faith. There were too many to include in this letter. The writer mentions the names of 6 of the most famous men along with the prophets. These are Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. We do not know the reason for the order of these names. If we put them in pairs the second one of each pair came first. Barak was before Gideon. Jephthah was before Samson. Samuel was before David.
The writer does not tell us about these men here. We can read about them in the Old Testament. Each of them had to overcome such troubles that they could only do so with the help of God. They were able to win because they trusted in God.
Verses 33-34.
The list of things done in Verses 33 and 34 are not just what those 6 men did. These describe the sort of things that those who trusted in God have done. We can put them into three groups of three each:
• They overcame kings. They were fair rulers. They received what God promised them.
• Those who overcame kings could include those whom we call the Judges (in the book of Judges). They were the leaders of the Hebrews after they entered the promised land. For example, Gideon, with only a small number of men, overcame the Midianites (Judges 6:11-8:32). Barak was able to defeat the Canaanites (Judges 4:6-5:31). Samson fought with the Philistines (Judges 13:2-16:31). Jephthah rescued the Jews from the power of the Ammonites (Judges 11:1-12:7).
• They shut the mouths of lions so that they could not bite them. The flames could not hurt them. They escaped the sword.
Both Samson (Judges 14:5-6) and David (1 Samuel 17:34-35) killed lions. The best example of this must be Daniel. He was in a cage of lions, but they did not hurt him. He trusted in God and God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions (Daniel 6). Then there were Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). They refused to worship the king’s image because they trusted in God. The king threw them into the flames, but the fire could not burn them.
God made them strong when they were weak. They were strong as they fought their enemies. They were able to overcome armies that came against them.
Verse 35
Here are some examples where a mother received her child back from the dead. There was a widow who helped the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24). When her son died, Elijah cried to the Lord. God heard him and the child lived again. Another lady lived in Shunem, a place in Israel. She had a room built on top of her house for Elisha the prophet. When her son died, she went to Elisha. God brought her boy back from the dead too (2 Kings 4:18-37).
There have been many who have suffered and died for their faith. They could have saved themselves by turning from their belief in God. Yet to them the life to come in heaven with God was much more important than life here on earth. We too must not turn from our trust in God, no matter what it costs us.
Verse 36
There are many more who suffered but did not have to die because of their faith. We Christians should expect that we may have to suffer for Jesus. People may say bad things about us or do bad things to us because we are Christians. We should accept this and be happy that we can suffer on behalf of Jesus.
Verses 37-38
The writer lists more ways in which those who trusted God had suffered. To other people, they had no worth. The truth is that they were worth far more to God than the whole world, although they were poor. Many had no homes here on earth, but they knew they had a wonderful home in heaven.
Verses 39-40
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Commentary
Verses 39-40
God gave honor to all of these people because they trusted him. God did not forget those who served him. They are all now safe with God. They received many good things from God. Yet they did not receive all that God promised while they lived on earth. There is something more that is yet to come for them.
God has planned something better, which will include us. His plan is for all who have ever trusted in him. All who belong to Jesus will have a share in God’s plan. He has not told us what that plan is in detail. But we know that in his plan he will make perfect all of us who know Jesus, together with all these heroes of faith.
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