Hebrews Chapter 12

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses , let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


1. Who are these witnesses?

The deceased people of chap. 11 give witness to the value and blessing of living by faith. …………..The great crowd is not comprised of spectators but rather is comprised of ones whose past life of faith encourages others to live that way. MSBN

The imagery suggests an athletic contest in a great amphitheater. The witnesses are the heroes of the past who have just been mentioned ( ch. 11 ). They are not spectators but inspiring examples. The Greek word translated “witnesses” is the origin of the English word “martyr” and means “testifiers.” They bear testimony to the power of faith and to God’s faithfulness. NIVSN

These are the OT “heroes of the faith” in ch. 11, as is indicated by the therefore in 12:1 and by the Greek wordplay between “witnesses” (martys, v. 1) and “commended” (martyreō, 11:39). “Witnesses” may have a double meaning: (1) These OT heroes witnessed to their faith by their words and their faithful lives. (2) Like spectators watching an athletic contest in an arena, they may now be watching or “witnessing” believers’ lives. The first sense is a common meaning for the word, but in this verse the imagery of being surrounded by these witnesses gives the sense that they are eagerly watching from heaven, and the image of running the race that is set before us might lead one to think of an athletic race in a sports arena, with all these heroes of the faith from ch. 11 watching as present-day believers take their turn in the same race that they once ran. ESVN

We must bear in mind that Hebrews was written to people who were being persecuted. Because they had forsaken Judaism for Christ, they were facing bitter opposition. There was a danger that they might interpret their suffering as a sign of God’s displeasure. They might become discouraged and give up. Worst of all, they might be tempted to return to the temple and its ceremonies. They should not think that their sufferings were unique. Many of the witnesses described in chapter 11 suffered severely as a result of their loyalty to the Lord, yet they endured. If they maintained unflinching perseverance with their lesser privileges, how much more should we to whom the better things of Christianity have come. They surround us as a great cloud of witnesses. This does not mean that they are spectators of what goes on on earth. Rather they witness to us by their lives of faith and endurance and set a high standard for us to duplicate. This verse invariably raises the question, “Can saints in heaven see our lives on earth or know what is transpiring?” The only thing we can be sure they know is when a sinner is saved: “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7) BBC

Hebrews 12: 3-4
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.


2. What is the comparison here?

The readers should think upon Jesus so they might not grow tired of persevering and lose heart. Meditation on Jesus and the cross encourage us to continue to follow God’s will faithfully. It is natural for us to overestimate the severity of our trials, and the writer did not want us to do this. “The clear implication for the audience is that if they were to relinquish their commitment to Christ under the pressure of persistent

opposition they would express active opposition against themselves (as in 6:6!), just as did Jesus’ tormentors. The readers had not yet resisted sin to the extent that their enemies were torturing or killing them for their faith, as had been Jesus’ experience. Evidently there had been no martyrs among the readers yet, though the writer and the readers undoubtedly knew of Christians elsewhere who had died for their faith (e.g., Stephen, James, et al.). Their striving against sin probably refers to both resisting sinful opponents and resisting temptations to sin in their own lives . CN

Again emphasizing perseverance. Many of the readers could identify with the hostility shown to Jesus, though on a lesser scale. Although they are suffering persecution, the readers were not suffering martyrdom, and hence their main test is fighting their own sinful nature. Not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood contrasts with Jesus’ endurance of the cross. ESVN

Hebrews 12:5-11
5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.


3. What is the purpose of God’s discipline?

The word rendered here “chastening” – παιδεία paideia- and also in Hebrews 12:6-8, and in Hebrews 12:9, “corrected” – παιδευτὰς paideutas- does not refer to affliction in general, but that kind of affliction which is designed to correct us for our faults, or which is of the nature of discipline. The verb properly relates to the training up of a child – including instruction, counsel, discipline, and correction (see this use of the

verb in Acts 7:22; 2 Timothy 2:25; Titus 2:12), and then especially discipline or correction for faults – to “correct, chastise, chasten;” 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Corinthians 6:9; Revelation 3:19. This is the meaning here; and the idea is, not that God will afflict his people in general, but that if they wander away he will correct them for their faults. He will bring calamity upon them as a punishment for their offences, and in order to bring them back to himself. He will not suffer them to wander away unrebuked and unchecked, but will mercifully reclaim them though by great sufferings. Afflictions have many objects, or produce many happy effects. That referred to here is, that they are means of reclaiming the wandering and erring children of God, and are proofs of his paternal care and love; compare 2 Samuel 7:14; 2 Samuel 12:13-14; Psalm 89:31-34;Proverbs 3:11-12. Afflictions, which are always sent by God, should not be regarded as small matters, for these reasons:

(1)The fact that they are sent by God. Whatever he does is of importance, and is worthy of the profound attention of people.

(2)they are sent for some important purpose, and they should be regarded, therefore, with attentive concern.

Men “despise” them when:

(1)they treat them with affected or real unconcern;

(2)when they fail to receive them as divine admonitions, and regard them as without any intelligent design; and,

(3)when they receive them with “expressions” of contempt, and speak of them and of the government of God with scorn.

It should be a matter of deep concern when we are afflicted in any manner, not to treat the matter lightly, but to derive from our trials all the lessons which they are adapted to produce on the mind. BN

Trials and sufferings in the Christian’s life come from God who uses them to educate and discipline believers by such experiences. Such dealings are evidence of God’s love for His own children. MSBN

Hebrews 12:12-13
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.


4. How does this exhortation apply to the situation with the Hebrew believers?

This is an allusion to Isa_35:3, which may be the background of the whole discussion in chapter 12. The mature ought to strengthen the weak (those close to shrinking back). “Strengthen” is literally “make straight,” which is a word play on the next vers.

Heb_12:13 “make straight paths for your feet” This may be an allusion to Pro_4:26 in the Septuagint (LXX) or to a well known proverb using “straight paths” as an OT metaphor for righteousness. UC

In poetic OT language (perhaps intentionally drawn from Isaiah and Proverbs) the author exhorts his readers to endurance in the race set before them. ESVN

Hebrews 12:14
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

5. Why the instruction about peace?

Follow peace with all men – Do not give indulgence to those passions which lead to litigations, strifes, wars; see the notes on Romans 14:19. The connection here requires us to understand this mainly of persecutors. The apostle is referring to the trials which those whom he addressed were experiencing. Those trials seem to have arisen mainly from persecution, and he exhorts them to manifest a spirit of kindness toward all – even though they were engaged in persecuting them. This is the temper of the gospel. We are to make war with sin, but not with people; with bad passions and corrupt desires, but not with our fellow-worms.

And holiness – Instead of yielding to contending passions and to a spirit of war; instead of seeking revenge on your persecutors and foes, make it rather your aim to be holy. Let that be the object of your pursuit; the great purpose of your life. Men might in such cases counsel them to seek revenge; the spirit of religion would counsel them to strive to be holy. In such times they were in great danger of giving indulgence to evil passions, and hence, the special propriety of the exhortation to endeavor to be holy.

Without which no man shall see the Lord – That is, shall see him in peace; or shall so see him as to dwell with him. All will see him in the day of judgment, but to “see” one is often used in the sense of being with one; dwelling with one; enjoying one; see the notes on Matthew 5:8. The principle here stated is one which is never departed from; Revelation 21:27; Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 52:1; Isaiah 60:21; Joel 3:17; Matthew 13:41; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. No one has ever been admitted to heaven in his sins; nor is it desirable that anyone ever should be. Desirable as it is that lost people should be happy, yet it is benevolence which excludes the profane, the impious, and the unbelieving from heaven – just as it is benevolence to a family to exclude profligates and seducers, and as it is benevolence to a community to confine thieves and robbers in prison. This great principle in the divine administration will always be adhered to; and hence, they who are expecting to be saved without holiness or religion, are destined to certain disappointment.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but God will not admit one unrepenting and unpardoned sinner to heaven. It was the importance and the certainty of this principle which made the apostle insist on it here with so much earnestness. Amidst all their trials; when exposed to persecution; and when everything might tempt them to the indulgence of feelings which were the opposite of holiness, they were to make it their great object to be like God. For this they were to seek, to strive. to labor, to pray. This with us in all our trials should also be the great aim of life. How deeply affecting then is the inquiry whether we have that holiness which is indispensable to salvation! Let us not deceive ourselves. We may have many things else – many things which are in themselves desirable, but without this one thing we shall never see the Lord in peace. We may have wealth, genius, learning, beauty, accomplishments, houses, lands, books, friends – but without religion they will be all in vain. Never can we see God in peace without a holy heart; never can we be admitted into heaven without that religion which will identify us with the angels around the throne! BN

In this epistle, it is explained as 1) a drawing near to God with full faith and a cleansed conscience (10:14, 22), and 2) a genuine acceptance of Christ as the Savior and sacrifice for sin, bringing the sinner into fellowship with God. Unbelievers will not be drawn to accept Christ if believers’ lives do not demonstrate the qualities God desires, including peace and holiness.MSBN


Hebrews 12:15
15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

6. How would a man fall short of the grace of God?

Negatively the writer warned against neglecting God’s grace (help). God’s grace enables us to persevere (cf. 3:12), but here it is almost synonymous with the Christian faith. This neglect would result in unfaithfulness spreading as a poison among God’s people (cf. Deut. 29:17-18). The writer pictured departure from the truth here as a root that produces bitter fruit in the Christian community. It results in the spiritual defilement of many other believers eventually. The writer was not implying that most of his readers were in danger of apostatizing (cf. 6:9) but that the failure of only one individual can affect many other believers. CN

The image is taken from a company of travellers, one of whom lags behind, and so never reaches the end of the long and laborious journey. JFB

Lest any person should come behind, or fall off from, this grace or Gift of God; this state of salvation, viz. the Gospel system or Christianity; for this is most evidently the meaning of the apostle. It is not the falling from a work of grace in their own souls, but from the Gospel, to apostatize from which they had now many temptations; and to guard them against this, the whole epistle was written. ACC

Hebrews 12:16-17
16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

7. So what was Esau’s problem?

Esau is deemed unholy (likely due to his treating his birthright as profane; Gen. 25:33–34); sexually immoral probably also applies to him (there is no direct OT evidence of this, but cf. Gen. 26:34–35; 28:6–8). Clearly the author calls his readers to be holy and sexually responsible (see Heb. 12:10, 14; 13:4). afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. Esau’s failure to win back the inheritance he had rejected (Gen. 25:33–34; 27:34–40) also serves to caution the Christian community against rejecting the inheritance offered to believers (Heb. 6:4–6; 10:26–31; 12:25; on

inheritance, see 1:14; 6:12; 9:15). no chance to repent. The author is not saying that Esau longed to repent but God refused to forgive him, for it can be seen from Peter’s denials and subsequent forgiveness that those who repent are always forgiven. though he sought it with tears. “It” probably refers to the blessing rather than repentance. Esau still wanted the blessing. If one understands “it” to refer to repentance, then the verse likely means that Esau desired the good consequences of repentance but was not truly sorry for his sins. ESVN

Apostasy is closely linked with immorality. A professing Christian may fall into gross moral sin. Instead of acknowledging his guilt, he blames the Lord and falls away. Apostasy and sexual sin are connected in 2 Peter 2:10, 14, 18 and Jude 8, 16, 18.

Finally, apostasy is a form of irreligion, illustrated by Esau. He had no real appreciation for the birthright; he willingly bartered it for the momentary gratification of his appetite.

Later Esau was remorseful at the loss of the older son’s double portion, but it was too late. His father could not reverse the blessing.

So it is with an apostate. He has no real regard for spiritual values. He willingly renounces Christ in order to escape reproach, suffering, or martyrdom. He cannot be renewed to repentance. There may be remorse but no godly repentance. BBC

Now don’t make a mistake here thinking that he could not repent. That he was trying to repent, but couldn’t. No, all he sought with tears was the blessing. When Jacob received the blessing and Esau finally came in with the venison for his old man, and he said, “Hey, Dad, I fixed the barbequed venison just like you like.” And he said, “Then who was it that was here earlier? I’ve already given the blessing.” He said, “No, Dad, I’m Esau your son.” “Well,” he said, “it must have been Jacob then, but I blessed him.” He said, “Oh, but bless me.” And he started to cry. He wanted the blessings of the father. And he sought the blessings with tears. And he said, “I can’t. I’ve already given everything to your brother.” And so, though he sought the blessings with tears, there was still no repentance, no place of repentance in his heart. All he wanted was the blessings, the benefits. CSTTB


Hebrews 12:18-24
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.


8. What is the contrast the writer seeks to explore?

Now the contrast. He is writing to Hebrews who had been under the law, who were now come to a new covenant through Jesus Christ, and thus, a new relationship with God in the new covenant. He speaks again in contrasting now the old covenant of the law.

Let’s go back for a moment to Exodus, chapter 19, and read the account of Mount Sinai where God gave the law to Moses. Let’s start reading with verse 14. “And Moses went

down from the mount unto the people, and he sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, ‘Be ready for in the third day: do not come to your wives.’ And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord and gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also come near,'” and so forth (Exodus 19:14-22). And here is this awesome scene, and then in the next chapter God gave the law to Moses.

He said, “You haven’t come to this awesome scene of Mount Sinai. The mountain that couldn’t be touched with hands. People dared not come close. The mountain that was covered with the smoke and the fire and the thunders, and the darkness, the tempest, the trumpet sound. So awesome was the sight that Moses himself quaked.“

But you’ve come [to a different mount] to mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, unto an innumerable company of angels, unto the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks of better things than that of Abel (Hbr 12:22-24). CSTTB

This grand passage, extending to the end of the chapter, forms a magnificent finale to the lengthened general exhortation to constancy, beginning at Heb_10:19, which occupies so important a place in the Epistle. The verses before us exhibit a highly wrought and impressive contrast between the Mosaic and the Christian dispensations. Mount Sinai is the emblem of the one, Mount Zion of the other. And Zion is incomparably superior to Sinai, in the privileges and blessings which flow from it.

I A PICTURE OF THE OLD REVELATION AT SINAI (Vers. 18-21) The nature of the dispensation inaugurated there was reflected in the character of the scene on occasion of the giving of the Law. The old economy was:

1. Sensuous. Sinai was “a mount that might be touched” (ver. 18); i.e. a tangible, palpable, physical mountain. The expression suggests the ceremonialism which was so prominent a feature of the Mosaic dispensation. The scene at Sinai was spectacular; and Judaism, in like manner, was a religion of externals. Its teaching was elemental, because elementary, Its ritual was sensuous. Its precepts were sustained by earthly sanctions.

2. Obscure. When God came down upon Sinai, he made blackness and darkness” his pavilion; he revealed himself in flame and storm. This is an emblem of the clouded character of the Old Testament revelation. Under it the plan of redemption still remained veiled in mystery. “The way into the holy place was not yet made manifest”. (Heb_9:8) The Jews, in their ignorance and weakness, could only bear a shaded, shadowy, portentous manifestation of truth.

3. Exclusive. God spoke at Horeb only to one small nation, gathered before him there on the plain, and separated by the rocks and passes of the desert from the great peoples of the world. The Jews were a little flock, and the Shepherd of Israel shut them into a little fold by themselves.

4. Remote. The Hebrews dared not approach the God who revealed himself to them. The mountain was fenced round, and the stern penalty of death was threatened upon the trespasser (ver. 20). Similarly, while the Mosaic economy granted a certain access to God, and Israel was “a people near unto him,” this access was yet not the most real. For Jehovah, to the mind of the Jew, was clothed with thunder; legal barriers stood between him and sinful men; and the Levitical system was saturated with ceremonial restrictions. Moses could not be an adequate mediator for Israel, to bring them to God; at the giving of the Law he was himself smitten with fear and trembling (ver. 21).

5. Terrible. This is the most prominent feature of the whole picture. At Sinai the lightnings flashed and the thunder rolled; the trump of God sent forth its wild weird blasts, and the awful voice of the Eternal spoke the ten “words” (ver. 19). But the people could not endure the revelation. They crouched and cowered in terror. When God of old came down from heaven, In power and wrath he came; Before his feet the clouds were riven, Half darkness and half flame. Around the trembling mountain”s base The prostrate people lay; A day of wrath, and not of grace; A dim and dreadful day. (Keble.)

Now, this awful scene symbolized the spirit and genius of the old dispensation. The Law inspired terror. It was “the ministration of death” and of “condemnation.” It “bore children unto bondage.” The ceremonial system became an unbearable yoke, by reason of its burdensome constraints; while the moral law pronounced its pitiless curses upon the disobedient.

6. Temporary. Sinai rears its shaggy cliffs of granite in the naked wilderness, and Israel made only a year”s encampment there. The tented plain of the desert was not their home. And so the dispensation set up at Mount Sinai was provisional and preparatory. It was only to stand until, under the Divine leading, the Church should be brought to the spiritual Mount Zion, and to the heavenly Jerusalem as its “city of habitation.

II A CONTRASTED PICTURE OF THE NEW REVELATION AT ZION. (Vers. 22-24) Although we did not attempt to trace the various points of comparison in detail, we should yet be impressed with the contrast as seen in the large outlines of the two pictures, and in their general tone and color. The new economy, as represented by Mount Zion, is:

1. Spiritual. The Church of Jesus Christ is the ideal Zion. It is also “the heavenly Jerusalem,” the metropolis of the mediatorial kingdom. The New Testament system of religion is inward, supersensible, experimental. The types and ceremonies of Sinai have passed away. The matter of the new revelation is more spiritual. Christianity speaks of righteousness, not of ritual. The gospel laws are written upon the heart.

2. Clear. No night, or cloud, or storm gathers around Mount Zion; its very name means “sunny.” The Sun of righteousness shines upon its towers and palaces, gilding them with brightness and beauty. The new covenant is “clear as the sun” in its teachings. It has given the world the most advanced truth; and it presents that truth in the simplest and the most explicit form.

3. All-embracing. Mount Sinai stands in the lonely and silent desert; but Mount Zion is the center of a populous city, whose teeming inhabitants are cosmopolitans. The Jewish Church was shut out from intercourse with the rest of the world; but our fellow-citizens under the new covenant are:

(1) The holy angels: “myriads of angels, a festal assembly” (vers. 22, 23); the cherubim and seraphim, all the princes, potentates and rulers of the celestial hierarchy.

(2) The saints or, earth: the “Church of the Firstborn who are enrolled in” the album of heaven. Israel was mustered and numbered at Sinai; and so the New Testament Church, although dispersed all over the world, forms but one society of firstborn ones, each of whom is a prince of the blood of God.

(3) The believers of the ancient Church: the spirits of just men made perfect.” The disembodied souls of the Old Testament saints could not be made perfect “apart from us”; (Heb_11:40) and thus we now form one brotherhood with them, as well as with departed believers who lived in Christian times.

4. Access-giving. At Sinai “the people stood afar off.” They could not draw near to God. The presence of his attending angels brought them no confidence. The mediation of Moses could not remove the barrier of their guilt. But now the great invitation is, Come. ” The sum of gospel privilege is expressed in the words, “Ye are come” (ver. 22). Believers have been admitted to the mount and city of God, to the companionship of his angels, to the fellowship of his redeemed saints, and into his very presence as the righteous Judge, the God of all.” And to what are we indebted for this access? We have come to God, because we have come “to Jesus,” and have been sprinkled with his “blood” (ver. 24). Christ and his blood are the ground of all our blessings, and the sum of all. The nail-pierced hand of a better Mediator than Moses has opened for us the door of access.

5. Genial. The scene at Sinai was terrific; but all is peaceful in the sunny garden-city of Zion. It is true that the punishments connected with the new dispensation are far more dreadful than the merely spectacular terrors of the old; but these occupy the background of the picture, while at Sinai the terrors were in the foreground. And all who really come “to the blood of sprinkling” are safe. The atmosphere of the new covenant is balmy and genial by reason of the merit of that blood. Abel spoke (Heb_11:4) by his sacrifice only of a coming atonement and a future redemption; but Christ”s blood certifies that these blessings have been secured. And so the whole panorama of Zion is genial and attractive. Its verdure is unfading; (Psa_72:6) all is winsome and gladsome and serene.

6. Final. “The heavenly Jerusalem” is “the city which hath the foundations”. (Heb_11:10) The life of the Church now is no longer a tent-life. It has exchanged the tabernacle for the true temple. The covenant of which Jesus is the Mediator is a “new,” i.e. (according to the Greek in ver. 24) a fresh covenant, one that shall never become stale or old. The kingdom of heaven is a “kingdom that cannot be shaken” (ver. 28). As this whole picture embraces the entire history of the Christian Church, its truthfulness will be more and more appreciated as the centuries roll on, and most of all in the times of the latter-day glory.

Sinai was in the wilderness, and there is some reason to suppose that it has now more of the wilderness than ever, that its desolation is greater than when the children of Israel camped there. Zion was in the city. Men lived about it all their lives. He who comes to Zion comes to an abiding company. The earthly Jerusalem where the ark dwells, typifies that heavenly Jerusalem where the God of the ark really dwells. Thence the messengers of God issue forth on their errands of righteousness and mercy, and thither they return to resume the service of the higher, holier sphere. At Sinai just men, struggling with their sense of sin, were made to feel their imperfection. On Zion just men are gathered in their purity of heart and spiritual completeness, enabled forever to look on the face of God. The two contrasted pictures must not be pushed too much into detail. Let the imagination rather try to group each as a whole. The passage suggests two frameworks, in one of which we may gather the peculiarities of the old covenant, and in the other the peculiarities of the new. PBC

And to an innumerable company of angels. The Greek here is, “to myriads [or ten thousands] of angels in an assembly or joyful convocation.” The phrase, “tens of thousands,” is often used to denote a great and indefinite number. The word rendered “general assembly,” (Hebrews 12:23)—πανήγυρις—refers, properly, to “an assembly or convocation of the whole people in order to celebrate any public festival or solemnity, as the public games or sacrifices.” Rob. Lex. It occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and refers here to the angels viewed as assembled around the throne of God, and celebrating his praises. It should be regarded as connected with the word angels, referring to their convocation in heaven, and not to the church of the first-born. This construction is demanded by the Greek. Our common translation renders it as if it were to be united with the church—”to the general assembly and church of the firstborn;” but the Greek will not admit of this construction. The interpretation which unites it with the angels is adopted now by almost all critics, and in almost all the editions of the New Testament. On the convocation of angels, Job 1:6. The writer intends, doubtless, to contrast that joyful assemblage of the angels in heaven with those who appeared in the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. God is always represented as surrounded by hosts of angels in heaven. See Deuteronomy 33:2, 1 Kings 22:19, Daniel 7:10, Psalms 68:17; comp. Hebrews 12:1; see also Revelation 5:2, Matthew 26:53, Luke 2:13. The meaning is, that under the Christian dispensation Christians, in their feelings and worship, become united to this vast host of holy angelic beings. It is, of course, not meant that they are visible, but they are seen by the eye of faith. The argument here is, that as, in virtue of the Christian revelation, we become associated with those pure and happy spirits, we should not apostatize from such a religion, for we should regard it as honourable and glorious to be identified with them.

And church of the firstborn. That is, you are united with the church of the firstborn. They who were firstborn among, the Hebrews enjoyed peculiar privileges, and especially pre-eminence of rank. Colossians 1:15. The reference here is, evidently, to those saints who had been distinguished for their piety, and who may be supposed to be exalted to peculiar honours in heaven-such as the patriarchs, prophets, martyrs. The meaning is, that by becoming Christians we have become, in fact, identified with that happy and honoured church, and that this is a powerful motive to induce us to persevere. It is a consideration which should make us adhere to our religion amidst all temptations and persecutions, that we are identified with the most eminently holy men who have lived, and that we are to share their honours and their joys. The Christian is united in feeling, in honour, and in destiny, with the excel. lent of all the earth and of all times, lie should feel it, therefore, an honour to be a Christian; he should yield to no temptation which would induce him to part from so goodly a fellowship.

Which are written in heaven. Marg. enrolled. The word here was employed by the Greeks to denote that one was enrolled as a citizen, or entitled to the privileges of citizenship. Here it means. that the names of the persons referred to were registered or enrolled among the inhabitants of the heavenly world. Luke 10:20.

And to God the Judge of all. God, who will pronounce the final sentence on all mankind. The object of the reference here to God as Judge does not appear to be to contrast the condition of Christians with that of the Jews, as is the case in some of the circumstances alluded to, but to bring impressively before their minds the fact that they sustained a peculiarly near relation to him from whom all were to receive their final allotment. As the destiny of all depended on him, they should be careful not to provoke his wrath. The design of the apostle seems to be to give a rapid glance of what there was in heaven, as disclosed by the eye of faith to the Christian, which should operate as a motive to induce him to persevere in his Christian course. The thought that seems to have struck his mind in regard to God was, that he would do right to all. They had, therefore, everything to fear if they revolted from him; they had everything to hope if they bore their trials with patience, and persevered to the end. _ And to the spirits of just men made perfect. Not only to the more eminent saints-the “church of the firstborn”-but to all who were made perfect in heaven. They were not only united with the imperfect Christians on earth, but with those who have become completely delivered from sin, and admitted to the world of glory. This is a consideration which ought to influence the minds of all believers. They are even now united with all the redeemed in heaven. They should so live as not to be separated from them in the final day. Most Christians have among the redeemed already not a few of their most tenderly beloved friends. A father may be there; a mother, a sister, a smiling babe. It should be a powerful motive with us so to live as to be prepared to be reunited with them in heaven.

Verse 24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant. This was the crowning excellence of the new dispensation, in contradistinction from the old. They had been made acquainted with the true Messiah; they were united to him by faith; they had been sprinkled with his blood. Hebrews 7:22, and Hebrews 8:6. The highest consideration which can be urged to induce any one to persevere in a life of piety is the fact that the, Son of God has come into the world and died to save sinners. Comp. Hebrews 12:2, seq. of this chapter.

And to the blood of sprinkling. The blood which Jesus shed, and which is sprinkled upon us to ratify the covenant. Hebrews 9:18, seq.

That speaketh better things than that of Abel. Or, “than Abel; “the words “that of” being supplied by the translators. In the original there is no reference to the blood of Abel shed by Cain, as our translators seem to have supposed; but the allusion is to the faith of Abel, or to the testimony which he bore to a great and vital truth of religion. The meaning here is, that the blood of Jesus speaks better things than Abel did; that is, that the blood of Jesus is the reality of which the offering of Abel was a type. Abel proclaimed by the sacrifice which he made the great truth, that salvation could be only by a bloody offering-but he did this only in a typical and obscure manner; Jesus proclaimed it in a more distinct and better manner by the reality. The object here is to compare the Redeemer with Abel, not in the sense that the blood shed in either case calls for vengeance, but that salvation by blood is more clearly revealed in the Christian plan than in the ancient history; and hence illustrating, in accordance with the design of this epistle, the superior excellency of the Christian scheme over all which had preceded it. There were other points of resemblance between Abel and the Redeemer, but on them the apostle does not insist. Abel was a martyr, and so was Christ; Abel was cruelly murdered, and so was Christ; there was aggravated guilt in the murder of Abel by his brother, and so there was in that of Jesus by his brethren-his own countrymen; the blood of Abel called for vengeance, and was followed by a fearful penalty on Cain, and so was the death of the Redeemer on his murderers-for they said, “his blood be on us and on our children,” and are yet suffering under the fearful malediction then invoked;-but the point of contrast here is, that the blood of Jesus

makes a more full, distinct, and clear proclamation of the truth, that salvation is by blood, than the offering made by Abel did. The apostle alludes here to what he had said in Hebrews 11:4. Hebrews 11:4. Such is the contrast between the former and the latter dispensations; and such the motives to perseverance presented by both. In the former, the Jewish, all was imperfect, terrific, and alarming. In the latter, everything was comparatively mild, winning, alluring, animating. Terror was not the principal element; but heaven was opened to the eye of faith, and the Christian was permitted to survey the Mount Zion—the New Jerusalem-the angels—the redeemed-the blessed God—the glorious Mediator—and to feel that that blessed abode was to be his home. To that happy world he was tending; and with all these pure and glorious beings he was identified. Having stated and urged this argument, the apostle, in the remainder of the chapter, warns those whom he addressed in a most solemn manner against a renunciation of their Christian faith. BN

Hebrews 12:25-29
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

9. What is this final warning?

Given the superior nature of the new covenant, and the reign of Christ who warns from heaven, the author calls for a response of faith. They did not escape applies especially to the exodus generation, who rejected the voice of the one who spoke. A similar lesser-to-greater argument is made in 10:28–30. Most commentators believe that this refers to the danger of eternal judgment upon those who “reject him who warns from heaven.” Some have argued that such rejection of God can be committed by true believers, since “we” (in the phrase “much less will we escape”) includes the believing author; however, indicating a fundamental difficulty with this view. It seems most likely to understand the “we” as a reference to the current church participants, some of whom may not have possessed true faith. Another view is that the warnings are addressed to true believers and that the warnings are the means that God uses to keep his own from committing apostasy and to challenge believers to persevere in their faith.

Yet once more, both earth and the heavens will be judged in order to establish the future reality, which is eternal (the things that cannot be shaken).

Gratitude and worship are due in light of salvation. Acceptable worship takes into account (in reverence and awe) God’s holiness and his position as a judge to whom alone worship is due (see the context of Deut. 4:24, quoted here). Some say that this “acceptable worship” is depicted in the conduct described in Heb. 13:1–19 .ESVN

The One speaking probably refers to God. “Him who warned them on earth” probably refers to God when He spoke from Mt. Sinai. The contrast is not primarily between the persons who spoke but between the places from which God spoke (cf. v. 26). Another view is that the contrast is between a human oracle of God (Moses) and the divine Voice (Christ). This contrast would have been especially impressive to Jewish Christians. The present warning came from God in heaven and dealt with failure to continue to cleave to His Son .

God’s voice shook the earth at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 19:18; Judg. 5:4-5; Ps. 68:8; 77:18; 114:4, 7). It will shake the earth and the heavens at the end of the Millennium. That shaking will lead to the creation of new heavens and a new earth that will remain (Ps. 95:9-11; Hag. 2:6; Rev. 21:1).

“The ‘shaking’ is a metaphor for the judgment of God executed in history, as in the case of the fall of Babylon announced in Isa 13:1-22.”

Our kingdom is eternal. Our motive should be gratitude. Our activity should be the service of God. Our attitude toward Him should be reverence and awe in view of His ability to judge the unfaithful .

“As a consuming fire, God purifies all that is unworthy and unacceptable in those who serve Him and all that is unfit to abide in His presence.”

Many readers of Hebrews associate the figure of God consuming with His judging unbelievers in hell, but this figure also occurs in the Old Testament with reference to judgment of His people .

The reference to fire in verse 29 completes an inclusio begun with another mention of fire in verse 18. The whole section that these references to fire enclose deals with how important it is to respond properly to God.

“The warning proper is found in 12:25-29. The readers are called to heed Yahweh, for an eschatological shaking is coming in which the earthly material order will pass away, leaving only an eternal kingdom. The faithful readers who endure will have a part in the eschatological kingdom—the millennium and the New Jerusalem as ‘companions’ of Jesus, the Messiah-King (1:9, 13-14). This kingdom will become an eternal kingdom. .

“All five warnings in the epistle have a positive thrust and a negative impetus. . . . Disobedience to God and His Word will result in a forfeiting of eschatological rewards; obedience to God and His Word will result in a gaining of eschatological rewards.”

This chapter contains three resources that encourage and enable us to run the Christian race with endurance. They are the example of Jesus (vv. 1-4), the assurance of the Father’s love, and the enablement of God’s grace CN



ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert Deffinbaugh

NSB…………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB…………….…Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB……….……….Life Essentials Study Bible.

BBC……………………Believers Bible Commentary

UC………………………..Utley’s Commentary

PBC……………………….Pulpit Bible Commentary



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Hebrews Chapter 11

Hebrews 11:1-2 (ESV)
¹  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²  For by it the people of old received their commendation.


1. What is faith?

assurance. Greek hypostasis, also translated “confidence”. hoped for. On hope, convictionof things not seen. By defining faith (Gk. pistis) as “assurance” and “conviction,” the author indicates that biblical faith is not a vague hope grounded in imaginary, wishful thinking. Instead, faith is a settled confidence that something in the future—something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God—will actually come to pass because God will bring it about. Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable “leap in the dark”; rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy—the God who has revealed himself in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ, whose promises have proven true from generation to generation, and who will “never leave nor forsake” his own. Such faith in the unseen realities of God is emphasized throughout and has provided confidence and assurance to all who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. ESVN

There is scarcely any verse of the New Testament more important than this, for it states what is the nature of all true faith, and is the only definition of it which is attempted in the Scriptures. Eternal life depends on the existence and exercise of faith, and hence the importance of an accurate understanding of its nature. The word rendered substance—υποστασις—occurs in the New Testament is rendered confident and confidence; The word properly means that which is placed under, (Germ. Unterstellen;) then ground, basis, foundation, support. Then it means, also. reality, substance, existence, in contradistinction from that which is unreal, imaginary, or deceptive.

Of things hoped for. In heaven. Faith gives them reality in the view of the mind. The Christian hopes to be admitted into heaven; to be raised up in the last day from the slumbers of the tomb; to be made perfectly free from sin; to be everlastingly happy. Under the influence of faith he allows these things to control his mind as if they were a most affecting reality.

The evidence of things not seen. Of the existence of God; of heaven; of angels; of the glories of the world prepared for the redeemed. The word rendered evidence ελεγχος means, properly, proof, or means of proving, to wit, evidence; then proof which convinces another of error or guilt; then vindication or defence; then summary or contents.  The idea of evidence which goes to demonstrate the thing under consideration, or which is adapted to produce conviction in the mind, seems to be the elementary idea in the word. BN

2. Who are these ancients?

The elders. The ancients; the Hebrew patriarchs and fathers. BN

These saints were referred to in Hebrews 1:1, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers….” The fathers are the elders. This verse could be rendered, “By such faith as this the fathers received witness.” These Old Testament worthies believed God, and for them it was not a leap in the dark and it was not a hope-so. Their faith rested upon evidence. JVM

God has approved such confidence, as is clear from His commendations of Old Testament men and women who walked by faith. CN

In this context, the term refers to all saints, both men and women, under the older covenant, a select few of whom are described in vv. 4–40. commended for. Lit. “were testified to” or “had witness given about them”. God bears witness on the behalf of these saints that they lived by faith and divine approval is granted to them. MSBN

   
Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
³  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.




3. How does this verse refute the doctrine of an eternal universe.

God’s creation of the universe was accomplished by his word (Gk. rhēma). So that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible is consistent with the doctrine of creation ex nihilo (Latin, “from nothing”), but is not itself a full statement about this reality. It does, however, seem to correct Greco-Roman notions about eternally existing matter. The idea that God created the visible universe out of some other kind of invisible (“not … visible”) matter is not in the author’s mind; rather, he is saying that God did not make the universe out of any preexisting matter as humans know it, which is close to saying that he made it “out of nothing.” ESVN

"Belief in the existence of the world is not faith, nor is it faith when men hold that the world was made out of some preexisting "stuff." (In the first century there were people who did not believe in God but who held to some kind of "creation.") But when we understand that it was the Word of God ("God"s command," NIV) that produced all things, that is faith." CN

   

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV)
⁴  By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 

4. How was Abel's sacrifice better than Cain?

Cain represents religion, man trying to make himself acceptable to God based on his own efforts. 
Abel represents man relying on the required substitutionary blood sacrifice for his sin. 

Both brothers knew what God required. Abel obeyed and Cain did not. Abel acted in faith, Cain in unbelief. Through faith, Abel left testimony to all succeeding generations that a person comes to God by faith to receive righteousness. righteous. Because of his faith, evidenced in obedience to God’s requirement for sacrifice, Abel was accounted as righteous by God (cf. Ro 4:4–8). Christ Himself referred to the righteousness of Abel (Mt 23:35). Cain’s sacrifice was evidence that he was just going through the motions of ritual in a disobedient manner, not evidencing authentic faith. Without faith no one can receive imputed righteousness (cf. Ge 15:6). testifying about his gifts. Abel’s offering proved something about his faith that was not demonstrated by Cain’s offering. MSBN

commended as a righteous man. The chief reason for the acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice was that he offered it “by faith.” It is implied that Cain’s sacrifice was rejected because he offered it without faith, as a mere formality. NIVSB

 
Hebrews 11:5-6 (ESV)
⁵  By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
⁶  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

5. How do we know Enoch qualified as a man of great faith?

Whereas Abel suffered murder, Enoch never died, and both demonstrated faith. Enoch set an example of walking by faith all his life that readers would do well to follow. The Lord may return at any time to take modern Enoch’s into His presence just as He took that great saint.
Walking by faith involves not only believing that God exists but also believing that he will reward the faithful. The original readers faced temptation to abandon that hope, as we do. Note that those He will reward are those who “are seeking after Him” (present tense in Greek), not believers who have stopped seeking after Him. Ultimately we know God’s will by faith.
In almost all of the following exemplars of faith that the writer cited, there is a clear and direct relationship between faith and reward. CN

The quote is from Genesis 5:21-24 (NIV) 

²¹  When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.
²²  After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³  Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴  Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. 

Enoch. The LXX translated the Heb. idiom “Enoch walked with God” with “he pleased God.” The writer combines both in the reference. Enoch was miraculously taken to heaven without dying (cf. 1Th 4:17). impossible to please. Enoch pleased God because he had faith. Without such faith it is not possible for anyone to “walk with God” or “please Him” (cf. 10:38). He is. The emphasis here is on “He,” the true God. Genuine faith does not simply believe that a divine being exists, but that the God of Scripture is the only real and true God who exists. Not believing that God exists is equivalent to calling Him a liar (cf. 1Jn 5:10). rewarder. A person must believe not only that the true God exists, but also that He will reward men’s faith in Him with forgiveness and righteousness, because He has promised to do so. MSBN

   

Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)
⁷  By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

6. How did Noah manifest his faith?

It had never rained yet Noah had faith that God would do what he said he would ie. send a deluge which would destroy humanity.

The faith of Noah was based on God’s warning that He was going to destroy the world with a flood (Gen. 6:17). There had never been a flood in human experience, in fact, there is some reason to believe that there had never been rainfall up to that time (Gen. 2:5, 6). Noah believed God and built an ark, even though he was probably very far from navigable waters. Doubtless he was the butt of many a joke. But Noah’s faith was rewarded: his household was saved, the world was condemned by his life and testimony, and he became heir of the righteousness which is received on the basis of faith.

Perhaps many of the early Jewish Christians to whom this Letter was written often wondered why, if they were right, they were such a small minority. Noah steps out from the pages of the OT to remind them that in his day only eight people were right and all the rest of the world perished! BBC

  Hebrews 11:8-19 (ESV) 
⁸  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹  By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
¹⁰  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹  By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. ¹³  These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
¹⁶  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. ¹⁷  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,
¹⁸  of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
¹⁹  He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.



7. Why did the Hebrews consider Abraham to be the "father of their faith"?

We come now to Abraham, the man who is known as the man of faith. That is the way he is identified in the Word of God. Abraham is the supreme illustration of faith in the Epistle to the Romans and also in the Epistle to the Galatians. The writers of the

Gospels refer to him, and even the Lord Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). In Abraham we will see the worship of faith.
In Genesis 12 where the story of Abraham begins, we read that he came out of Ur of the Chaldees and went to Haran. He delayed in Haran and lost a great deal of time, but finally he went to the land of Canaan. When he appeared in the land, God appeared to him. “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him” (Gen. 12:7). Everywhere this man went he built an altar. When he came into the land of Shechem he built an altar. When he went down to the plains of Moreh he built an altar unto the Lord. Everywhere Abraham went he built an altar to God. All Abraham did was put up an altar, but he worshiped God, and that led to obedience of God. He worshiped God by faith; then he obeyed God by faith.
When God told Sarah at ninety years of age that she was to have a child, she laughed because it was ridiculous—it seemed utterly preposterous. She couldn’t accept it, but God gave her the strength and power to believe Him. Many of us need such strength. Do you remember the man who brought the demon possessed boy to the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus told the man that He could help him if he would believe. The man said, “I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.” The man recognized that he had a weak faith, but the Lord Jesus must have given him the faith because He healed the boy (see Mark 9:17–27). Sarah had a little boy named Isaac. Why? She “received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Sarah represents the power (or strength) of faith.
This is what happened, and it all took place by faith. But notice that Abraham and Sarah never saw the fulfillment of God’s promise to them:
Walking by faith will cause all of us to recognize that as children of God we are just pilgrims and strangers down here on this earth.
Faith looks out yonder to the future. And the child of God today is looking to the future. JVM

We now come to the greatest test of Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer up his only son, Isaac, upon the altar. With unhesitating obedience, Abraham set forth to offer to God the dearest treasure of his heart. Was he oblivious of the tremendous dilemma? God had promised him numberless progeny. Isaac was his only begotten son. Abraham was now 117 and Sarah was 108! BBC

Abraham, when he was tested (Gen. 22:1–19). 

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.  2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. ”  3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.   4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.   5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. ”  6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,   7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.  9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.   10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.   11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.  12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. ”  13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.   14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided. ”  15 The angel of the LORD

called to Abraham from heaven a second time   16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,   17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,   18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”  19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

The Greek for “tested” (peirazō) appears also in Gen. 22:1 (LXX). The word occurs elsewhere in Hebrews, though with a focus on temptation to sin; see. only son. Greekmonogenēs; cf. Gen. 22:2, 12 (where it reads “your only son” in Hb., but “your beloved son” in the LXX). Although Abraham also had Ishmael and other children , this word designates Isaac as Abraham’s unique son, the son who is “one of a kind,” his only heir and the only recipient of covenant promises. raise him from the dead. Abraham expressed confidence that he would return with Isaac . Hebrews makes a figurative analogy between resurrection and Isaac being saved from the sacrificial knife. Some interpreters perceive here an Isaac-Christ typology such as was common in the post-apostolic church fathers: as Isaac, Abraham’s only son, was offered in sacrifice and “raised,” so Jesus, God’s only Son, is sacrificed and raised. Others doubt that such typology is intended here . ESVN

Hebrews 11:20-22 (ESV) 
²⁰  By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
²¹  By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²²  By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. 

8. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph had faith in what?

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all demonstrated confidence in God’s word in the ways mentioned. They believed He would provide for them what He had promised. We should do the same. The faith of all three of these patriarchs affected their descendants. Ours should as well.

“With all three the significant thing was their firm conviction that death cannot frustrate God’s purposes.” CN

each of the sons. Both of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, received a blessing from Jacob. Consequently, two tribes descended from Joseph, whereas only one tribe descended from each of his brothers. top of his staff. According to Ge 47:31, Jacob leaned upon his “bed.” The two words (staff, bed) in Heb. have exactly the same consonants. Old Testament Heb. mss. were copied without vowels. Later Heb. mss., between the sixth and ninth centuries a.d., took the word as “bed.” The LXX, in the third century b.c., rendered it “staff,” which seems more likely although both could be factual. Joseph. Joseph spent all of his adult life in Egypt and, even though he was a fourth-generation heir of the promise given to Abraham, he never returned to Canaan while he was alive. Yet, facing death, he still had faith that God would fulfill His promise and demonstrated that confidence by making his brothers promise to take his bones back to Canaan for burial. MSBN

   
   

Hebrews 11:23-29 (ESV) 
²³  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴  By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵  choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶  He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
²⁷  By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. ²⁸  By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. ²⁹  By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.




9. Moses was a prince in Egypt, why would he throw that away to lead a bunch of Hebrew slaves?

Moses refused the sinful privileges of Egypt, including those of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Instead he identified with God’s people and thus sought God’s reward. fleeting pleasures of sin. Contrasted with eternal reward. reproach of Christ. As Christ (the true Israel) truly suffered on behalf of the people of God, so too Moses, who similarly suffered on behalf of the people, is said to bear Christ’s reproach. Hence Moses serves as a model for Christians to endure such reproach. By faith he left Egypt could refer to the exodus (though it would then not be in chronological order with v. 28), which would explain the reference to Moses’ seeing him who is invisible (i.e., in the burning bush, . Or it could refer to Moses’ earlier escape from Pharaoh. By faith he kept the Passover. Moses celebrated Passover before seeing the deliverance it would bring. It took faith to walk through the Red Sea, with walls of water on each side, relying only on God’s promise. ESVN

The people of Israel experienced victory over their enemies as they trusted God, and we can, too. At the Red Sea the Israelites willingly went forward at God’s word rather than turning back. Trust and obedience resulted in the Israelites’ preservation and eventual entrance into their inheritance. The believing community that originally received this homily could identify with a group of people who persevered, not just individuals who did. CN

  
Hebrews 11:30 (ESV)
³⁰  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 

10. How did the walls of Jericho fall?

The walls of Jericho fell down - This is particularly explained Joshua 6:1, etc. God had promised that the walls of Jericho should fall down, if they compassed them about seven days. They believed, did as they were commanded, and the promise was fulfilled. ACC

Joshua 6:1-21 (NIV)
¹  Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. ²  Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³  March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴  Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵  When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” ⁶  So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷  And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.” ⁸  When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. ⁹  The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰  But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹  So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.
¹²  Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. ¹³  The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. ¹⁴  So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
¹⁵  On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶  The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! ¹⁷  The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸  But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. ¹⁹  All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD

and must go into his treasury.” ²⁰  When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹  They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

   
Hebrews 11:31 (ESV)
³¹  By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.


11. A prostitute ?

She had strong faith. It was only a strong belief that Yahweh was the true God, and that the children of Israel were his people, which would have led her to screen the strangers at the peril of her own life; and when the city was encompassed, and the walls fell, and the tumult of battle raged she showed her steady confidence in their fidelity, and in God, by using the simple means on which she was told the safety of herself and her family depended; Joshua 6:22-23. BN

 
Hebrews 11:32-40 (ESV)
³²  And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— ³³  who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴  quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵  Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶  Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸  of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. ³⁹  And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰  since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.


12. And what more shall we say?

The rhetorical question, “And what more shall I say?” suggests that the writer did not consider that there was much point in citing more examples. The Old Testament is full of good models of persevering, living faith. Nevertheless, the writer selected these few additional Israelites for brief mention along with what their faith accomplished. Each individual that the writer mentioned was less than perfect, as is every believer. Yet God approved the faith of each one. CN

All of the men listed in this verse held a position of power or authority, but none of them is praised for his personal status or abilities. Instead, they are recognized for what each one had accomplished by faith in God. David. David is the only king mentioned in this verse. All the others are judges or prophets. David could also be considered a prophet. Samuel and the prophets. Samuel was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He anointed David as king (1Sa 16:13) and was known as a man of intercessory prayer. The many accomplishments and sufferings described in these verses apply generally to those faithful saints. Some experienced great success, whereas others suffered great affliction. The point is that they all courageously and uncompromisingly followed God, regardless of the earthly outcome. They placed their trust in Him and in His promises. conquered kingdoms. Joshua, the judges, David, and others. performed acts of righteousness.
Righteous kings like David, Solomon, Asa,

Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah. obtained promises. Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. shut the mouths of lions. Samson (Jdg 14:5, 6), David (1Sa 17:34, 35), Daniel (Da 6:22).quenched the power of fire. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Da 3:19–30). escaped the edge of the sword. weakness. Ehud (Jdg 3:12–30), Jael (Jdg 4:17–24), Gideon (Jdg 6:15, 16; 7:1–25), Samson (Jdg 16:21–30), and Hezekiah (Is 38:1–6). Cf. 1Co 1:27; 2Co 12:10.

Women received back their dead. The widow of Zarephath (1Ki 17:22) and the woman of Shunem (2Ki 4:34). tortured. The word indicates that they were beaten to death while strapped to some sort of rack . better resurrection. The deliverance from certain death or near death would be like returning from the dead, but would not be the promised resurrection. MSBN

ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB………Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB…………….Life Essentials Study Bible. 
BBC.....................Believers Bible Commentary

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