Hebrews 11 – 13
Again this reading is doing a great job tying together the chapters. We read Acts 7 yesterday that was Stephen’s speech giving a synopsis of the history of the Israelites. Stephen tied the history to the eventual blindness of the people who killed Jesus. Chapter 11 Paul talks about faith and ties it into the history of the Israelites. There are few places in the NT where this is done, and we have back to back readings of them.
Verse 11:1 opens with a definition of faith:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
What is your definition of faith? Webster’s is a “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I think Paul did a great job nailing this down, but the difference between Webster’s definition and Paul’s, is Webster’s stops while Paul expands on why this is true in our faith. We have a book that many call a fairy tale and others call the written word of God. Some just consider it historical text with some lavish stories. I tend to look at it as the written word of God with some historical references thrown in for our understanding. No matter how you look at it, the Bible expands on faith and shows it in practice.
I think Abraham is the epitome of faith. He waited till he was 100 years old before his promise was kept. Now granted he wavered a bit and the waver is still causing repercussions today. Verse 11:17 describes the pinnacle of his faith:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
Here his “promise” was held off for decades and at the close of his life, God asks him to sacrifice the one and only son. He proceeds without question! By faith he knew that God was in control and the promise would be kept one way or another. Because of his obedience God blesses him with the nation of Israel.
Verse 12:14 has Paul encouraging everyone and focuses on what we should all strive for:
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
This opens a huge discussion on war and what God’s opinion of it is in light of statements like this. How many people have died in the Bible alone in the name of God? How many have died since in the name of God? Is God really blessing these battles or is it something we should avoid at all costs?
The 60’s generation really started the twisting of scripture to promote peace. The reason I said twist is most were using scripture to throw in the face of the “establishment” without belief in them. It’s amazing how you can snip contextual things from the Bible and form almost any argument you desire. Slavery is one of those that many use to discredit the Bible, but when you LEARN the context it’s not “forced bondage” like the late stages of slavery in the states, but rather an “indentured servitude” where the people earn their way to freedom with a skill. Today we call them “interns”!!