Bible Text: Hebrews 11:30-40 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Hebrews 11 |

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February 20, 2022
“Those of Whom This World Is Not Worthy”
Hebrews 11:30-40

 

Previously in Hebrews 11:1-29, we read about people of faith who trusted God to have a plan and purpose for their lives. These people stepped through their fears and stepped out in faith; God blessed them and provided what they needed in this life, while also promising that they would receive eternal life in heaven.

 

These people weren’t all great, but they did have faith in God, and so God sets them apart as examples for us.

 

Read Hebrews 11:30-31…

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

 

God’s people are finally ready to enter and conquer the Promised Land, and the very first city they come up against is Jericho.

 

Joshua sent two men to spy in Jericho; they were hidden by Rahab a prostitute, who feared the Lord

 

(Joshua 2:10-11),

10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

11 When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

 

Rahab helped the spies escape and return to Joshua, where they gave their report.  God instructs Israel (cf. Joshua 6) to march around the city once a day for 6 days (seven priests carrying seven trumpets march in front of the Ark of the Covenant). On the 7th day they march around the city 7 times with the priests blowing their trumpets, after the 7th time around the priests blow long blast on the ram’s horn and the people shout… the walls then fell down and outward, away from the city.

 

Note: Several archeological excavations were done in Jericho in the 19th and 20th centuries in which much has been discovered; most amazing, the walls on the hillsides seem to have fallen out, not in, creating a ramp for the Israelites to easily enter the city.

 

God’s people then went into the city and killed every person in Jericho, except for Rahab and her family

 

(cf. Joshua 6:17,

17 The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

 

(cf. Joshua 6:25),

25 However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

 

for Rahab feared God and helped the Israelites rather than obey her king.

 

Read Hebrews 11:32…

32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,

 

Now we are given a list of six faithful believers: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel, and the category of prophets.

 

Gideon was a man of weak faith, when the angel of the Lord came to him with a promise to help him defeat the Midianites  Gideon asked for “signs” 9putting out a fleece) to confirm God’s presence and power, to affirm that God would indeed give him victory

(cf. Judges 6-7).

 

Gideon was very reluctant to go against the armies of Midian, but he finally let go of his fears and trusted God.

 

Gideon started out with over 30,000 fighting men, but God quickly lowered that number, first to 10,000, then down to just 300 men; for the Lord did not want Israel to be able to boast about their victory over the Midianites and the Amalekites. God used Gideon and 300 men with trumpets, pitchers, and torches to drive Israel’s enemies out of Canaan, even though their number was said to be too numerous to be counted.

 

Barak was the commander of Israel’s army when the Canaanites had oppressed Israel for about 20 years.  The Canaanites had 900 iron chariots when Barak was called to fight them.  Deborah was judge over Israel at this time and God was with her, so Barak ask her to go with him.

 

Deborah went with him and God brought a great rainstorm that turned the ground into thick mud, causing the chariots to get bogged down.  Barak and his men attacked, pursuing and killing all their enemy, and this lead to 40 years of peace in Israel

(cf. Judges 4).

 

Samson had godly parents and supernatural strength; but Samson despised these blessings, until God took away his great strength.  He was captured and blinded, but Samson turned back to God who allowed him, in his death, to kill 3,000 of Israel’s enemies

(cf. Judges 13-16). 

    

Jephthah  mother was a prostitute and his own brothers ran him off from home so he wouldn’t get any inheritance; not a great start. Jephthah fell in with and became leader of a group of renegade warriors; but when Israel was threatened by Ammonites, Jephthath was asked to lead Israel’s army against them.

 

Jephthath vowed to consecrate the first thing to come out of his house, when he returned from battle, to God (and it ended up being his daughter).  God had given him victory in battle, so he offered his daughter to perpetually be in God’s service.  Jephthah became Israel’s Judge and he ruled for six years

(cf.Judges 11-12).

 

David was a shepherd boy, the youngest son of Jesse, and as a teenager he defeated Goliath, the enemy of Israel. As a man ee was mighty in battle, trusting God for protection and power.  David became king over Israel, and even though he committed adultery and murder, he was a man with a heart after God; in fact, it will be upon his throne (the throne of David) that the Lord will rule on the earth during the millennium kingdom

(cf. 1Samuel 16-1Kings 2).

 

Samuel was both a prophet and a judge of Israel. He obeyed God, but his sons, who were delegated to follow him as judges, were corrupt and they perverted justice; so the people demanded a king. Samuel listened to God and anointed the first king of Israel, Saul, and in his farewell speech, Samuel warned the people to give up idols and serve the one true God

(cf. 1Samuel 1-3).

 

Hebrews 11:33-35a…

33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

 

Although names aren’t mentioned here we know many of whom the author is speaking: Daniel was saved by God from the lions (cf. Daniel 6). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were saved from the flames of the furnace (cf. Daniel 2-3).  David escaped Saul, who repeatedly tried to kill him (cf. 1Samuel 23-24).

 

Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 41-42) and Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 32-33) acknowledged their own weaknesses and cried out to God, and He strengthened them.

 

The widow of Zarephath (cf. 1Kings 17) and the Shunamite woman (cf. 2Kings 4) had sons who were raised from the dead by Elijah and Elisha.

 

God uses people of faith, strengthening us in our weaknesses so that the power of God may work in us.

 

When people step out in faith, trusting God, they are able serve God, doing whatever He calls them to do, these faithful acts sometimes become legends, stories that generations will talk about.

 

Hebrews 11:35b-38…

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

 

The second part of verse 35 says these people of faith experienced mocking, scourging, and imprisonment; they were tortured, put to death with the sword; and they went about in sheep and goat skins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, wandering in deserts and mountains. living in caves and holes in the ground.

 

Jeremiah was chained and stoned; tradition tells us Isaiah was brutally sawed in two by the wicked king Manasseh.  Elijah and Elisha wore animal skins and wandered the earth as men who had no earthly home.

 

Looking at the history of God’s people, there is a long list of those who suffered for their faith, not that they enjoyed suffering, but they endured it out of love and devotion toward God.  These people were looking forward to an eternal inheritance in a heavenly home.

    

Hebrews 11:38

38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

 

says the world was not worthy of these people; and that these faithful servants were worthy of something far greater than what they experienced here.

 

We may, at times, feel like we are living under a curse rather than a blessing; evil is all around us, and the enemies of God in this corrupt world seem to be having victory; but we must keep our eyes on Jesus.

 

We are to follow Jesus, by faith, trusting Him to protect and provide, now and forever.

 

Hebrews 11:39-40…

39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

 

For seven weeks now we’ve studied people of faith, sinful people who struggled, often failed, but as they lived out their faith, seeking to obey God, they pleased Him and He counted them worthy of mention here in the Believer’s Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11.

 

 

These men and women are godly examples, and although, while they lived on this earth, they didn’t receive all God had promised until they died, or were caught up, like Enoch, to be with God, forever.

 

That is what we look forward to, the hope that we have is made possible through the sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection of God’s Son.

 

These OT Believers listed in the Hall of Faith, didn’t have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, they didn’t have the written Word of God, they didn’t have the indwelling of God’s Spirit; and yet they had saving faith

 

(Hebrews 11:1-3),

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

 

Hebrews 11:6,

“And without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

 

The Hall of Faith has been and is continually being filled with faithful believers throughout the ages.

 

If your name was written here in chapter 11, what would be said about you?  What example of faith are you leaving for future generations?

 

Yes, you are flawed, you have failures, we all do; you are a sinner, we all are.  Every person listed in this chapter is a sinner who was saved by God’s grace, a flawed person who often failed God.  But God never failed any of them, and He will never fail you.

 

What you need to consider is this, are you trusting God, really trusting God, to watch over, provide for and protect you each and every day? Are you seeking to know and to do that which pleases God? If so, your name is written in the Book of Life, because you are in Christ.

 

Whatever your situation, whatever you station in life, you have the opportunity, like those recorded in the Hebrews 11, to honor God with your life while setting an example for others to follow.

 

Everyone who belongs to God by faith, has overcome sin, death, and judgement, in and through Jesus Christ.

 

1John 5:1-5,

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.

5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

 

Psalm 1:1-3,

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

 

Psalm 37:3-5,

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6,

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

 

1Corinthians 15:58,

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

 

1Thessalonians 5:16-18,

16 Rejoice always;

17 pray without ceasing;

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

Colossians 3:17,

17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

 

Colossians 3:23-24,

23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

 

Philippians 4:4-9,

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Philippians 4:12-13,

12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

 

Philippians 4:19-20,

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

 
Pastor Mike
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Bible Text: Hebrews 11:20-29 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Hebrews 11 |

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February 13, 2022
“Faithful Men: Isaac to Moses”
Hebrews 11:20-29

 

Read Hebrews 11:20… 

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

 

See Genesis 25:21-34;

21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

23 The LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb;

And two peoples will be separated from your body;

And one people shall be stronger than the other;

And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.

26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.

28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished;

30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”

33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

 

Genesis 27:1-40…  

1 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

2 Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death.

3 Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me;

4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”

5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home,

6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying,

7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’

8 Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you.

9 Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves.

10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”

11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man.

12 Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”

13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved.

15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

17 She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob.

18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.”

20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me.”

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”

25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.”

27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,

“See, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed;

28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,

And of the fatness of the earth,

And an abundance of grain and new wine;

29 May peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you;

Be master of your brothers,

And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Cursed be those who curse you,

And blessed be those who bless you.”

30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.”

32 Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

35 And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.”

36 Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him,

“Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,

And away from the dew of heaven from above.

40 “By your sword you shall live,

And your brother you shall serve;

But it shall come about when you become restless,

That you will break his yoke from your neck.”

 

Isaac believed he was blessing Esau his favorite son, when he was really blessing Jacob, the favorite son of Rebekah.  The Lord had said that Esau would serve Jacob, and Jacob, the younger son, would become the son of blessing.   

 

Isaac disobeys what God told him and tries to bless Esau; Rebekah tells Jacob to lie to his father and steal his blessing.  In the end, Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of soup. And yet God uses this dysfunctional family to bring blessing to us!

 

God sovereignly determined to work through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel as the nation of God’s called out people (but specifically through the tribe of Judah) through whom came Jesus Christ the Lord.

————Jews and Arabs————

 

Malachi 1:2,

“I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have You loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob,’”

 

(the Twelve Tribes of Israel), the promise was originally made to Abraham

 

(Genesis 17:7),

“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you…”

 

Romans 9:11-15,

“For though the twins [Jacob and Esau] were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’”

 

Rebekah’s pregnancy with twins was rough, there was a wrestling match going on inside her womb, and she asked, “why am I this way?”  The struggle was symbolic of the antagonism that would exist between her two sons.

 

Isaac favored Esau, Rebekah favored Jacob; but God’s sovereign plan to bless Jacob’s descendants over those of Esau, took precedent over Isaac’s love for his firstborn son.  God’s blessing [according to the rights of first born sons] should have gone to Esau, but God divinely favored Jacob over Esau.  God’s sovereign hand directs the affairs of men, fulfilling God’s purposes and plans.

 

Abraham’s firstborn son (through Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar) was named Ishmael [lit. God hears]; but it was through his son Isaac [lit. one laughs], that God made His covenant

 

(see Genesis 16:1-2,

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

 

Genesis 16:4-12,

4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”

10 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.”

11 The angel of the LORD said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall call his name Ishmael,

Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

12 “He will be a wild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone’s hand will be against him;

And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”

 

Genesis 16:15-16;

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

 

Genesis 17:21).

21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”

 

God’s promise to Israel came through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and even though neither Isaac nor Jacob were firstborn sons, they received the blessing from and covenant with God, according to God’s plan and purpose, His will.

 

The Jews’ covenant relationship with God came through their patriarch Abraham (note: God’s Word calls them Hebrews 18x’s OT, 3x’s NT; Jews 67x’s OT, 161x’s NT; Israelites 6x’s OT, 2x’s NT).

 

All true Christians have a relationship with Abraham through Christ

 

(Galatians 3:29),

“if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

 

Our eternal relationship with God is based on Christ, not some ancestral bloodline, culture, or religion; but instead, the sovereign work of God

 

(John 1:12-13),

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God,”

 

(John 3:6),

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

 

Jacob’s name means “deceitful” or “heel-catcher” [lit. One Who Takes the Heel].  We know that Jacob’s name was later changed to “Israel”

 

(cf. Genesis 32:28),

28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

 

meaning, “he struggles with God” or “God’s fighter.”  Jacob’s descendants are the son’s of Israel to whom the Land of Canaan (Palestine) was given, by God.

 

Esau [lit. hairy] became the father of the Edomites [lit. red people]

 

(cf. Genesis 36:8-9),

8 So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

Descendants of Esau

9 These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

 

a people “whom the Lord has cursed”

 

(Malachi 1:3-4).

3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

4 Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the LORD of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever.”

 

Saul fought against the Edomites; David actually conquered them, for a time; but there continued a smoldering hatred between the Jews and the Edomites

 

(Genesis 27:41).

41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

 

After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D, the Edomites disappeared from history, bringing an end to the descendants of Esau.

 

*Interesting note: All Arabs, following Mohammed’s example, claim descent from Ishmael the firstborn son of Abraham; and yet the Arabs have fought against the Jews relentlessly for over 4000 years; against their own ancestral brothers who came from the line of Isaac, through Jacob (who was Ishmael’s nephew).

————Jews and Arabs————

 

Read Hebrews 11:20… 

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

 

By faith Isaac finally believed the revelation which God made to him concerning the future destinies of Esau and Jacob.  True faith will eventually bow to God’s plan and purpose and act in accordance to God’s will.  Although our faith is not perfect, because we are just sinners saved by grace, the object of our faith (Christ) is perfect.

 

Clearly, it Isaac’s faith wasn’t perfect, but ultimately, he believed God, and accepted Jacob as the one to be blessed with regard to things to come.

Read Hebrews 11:21…

21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

 

Jacob trusted God and worshipped Him to the very end.  In this passage we are told about Jacob’s blessing the sons of Joseph

 

(see Genesis 48:8-19).

8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”

9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.”

10 Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.”

12 Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground.

13 Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.

14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 He blessed Joseph, and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

16 The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,

Bless the lads;

And may my name live on in them,

And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

 

Again we see a younger son being blessed over the first born, birth order and human favoritism cannot thwart God’s plan; God works through whom He choses.

 

At the very end of his life, Jacob continues to anticipate the fulfillment of God’s promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and himself, and even though Jacob never saw their ultimate fulfillment, in the end his dysfunctional and fractured family received and passed on God’s blessing to us.

 

Read Hebrews 11:22… 

22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

 

Joseph believes that God is going to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and he wants his bones to be taken out when they go

 

(see Genesis 50:22-26).

22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.

24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”

25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

 

More than 350 years later Moses brought Joseph’s bones out of Egypt into the wilderness

 

(cf. Exodus 13:19);

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.”

 

it would be several more decades before Joseph’s bones would come to rest in the land of Promise, finally to be buried by Joshua in Shechem

 

(cf. Joshua 24:32);

32 Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.

 

this land having been promised to Abraham’s descendants by God

 

(cf. Genesis 12:6-7).

6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

 

These witnesses to God’s faithfulness (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) trusted God for what they could not see, even at the very end of their lives, they continued to believe that God would be faithful to His promise; they are role models for us in the way we are to live out our faith.

 

God is faithful to fulfill all His promises, even though we may not see them in our lifetime; but ultimately, when all the people of God are gathered together, it shall be finally realized.

 

Read Hebrews 11:23… 

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

 

Moses’ parents trusted that God would effect a deliverance for their son, that God would save him, even though Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh, and even though it was Pharaoh who ordered the slaughter of all those Hebrew boys.  Moses’ parents fully believed in God and they trusted Him with their son.

 

Read Hebrews 11:24-28…

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

 

After Moses grew up he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, for he determined he would not be identified with Egypt, or with the power of Egypt, but instead he would be identified with the people of Israel, no matter what it cost him.

 

We are told here that he chose to be associated with his people in their suffering; and although he could have had an easy life, he chose to identify with the Hebrew people, with God’s called-out people.

 

Moses could have had a life of pleasure and privilege if he would have been willing to follow after the gods of Egypt, but he refused to live like those who rejected the true God.  Moses would rather be disgraced and suffer, by remaining true to God, then to have the riches and privilege as a son of Pharaoh.

 

Moses had every opportunity to be satisfied with the things that this life provided him, and yet he refused to be captured by the treasures of this world.

 

Hebrews 11 gives us an example to encourage us not to become drawn toward and/or satisfied with the temporary comforts and pleasures of this world, for God is providing us with an eternal and heavenly reward.

 

Notice again Hebrews 11:27,

“By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”  The true strength of Moses’ faith is that he believed in the reward that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in a sense, Moses had seen [believed in] “Him who is invisible.”

 

Moses should have been scared to death at the thought of going up against the Pharaoh of Egypt, the most powerful man in his part of the world.  But Moses feared God so much that he had no fear of any man.

 

Notice again Hebrews 11:28,

“by faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

 

The destroying angel of God came over Egypt and killed the firstborn males (human and animal) in all the houses that did not smear lamb’s blood on their doorpost.  Moses trusted that God would fulfill His promise not to destroy the firstborn of Israel; Moses obeyed God, instructing the people to smear blood from the Passover lamb on the doorposts of every house.

 

Notice how living faith is displayed not just by believing, but also by responding to God’s word, believing what God says; and, of course, in this case faith involved looking for an eternal reward, one not seen, and revering God, who cannot be seen.

If you don’t fear God more than you fear those in the world, and seek God’s pleasure more than the world’s pleasure, you will become captivated by the world.

 

Jesus commands us to love one another, to love our neighbor, and even to love our enemies; He also commands us not to love the world or to become captivated by the things of this world

 

(cf. 1John 2:15-17).

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

 

God’s blessing is the greatest reward in this life

 

(Philippians 4:12-13,

12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

 

Philippians 4:19-20).

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

Truth be told, if we do not recognize and receive the love of God in this world, we will not see heaven; but we’ll spend eternity apart from the love of God, in hell.

 

Read Hebrews 11:29…    

29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

 

The people of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land; the Egyptians who were chasing them, were drowned.

 

As we have studied in Hebrews 11, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, all had a personal faith that was expressed through personal obedience and perseverance, they were God’s men, living out their faith on earth while trusting God for their future in heaven.

 

If you belong to God through Christ you will seek to be a person of obedient faith

 

(James 2:17),

17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

 

“faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

 

Titus 2:11-14,

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

 

1Peter 2:9-10,

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

 

 
 Pastor Mike
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