THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS
Lesson 12: Chapter 11
Roll call of Heroes and Heroines of the Faith
Beloved Lord and Father,
Sacred Scripture has given us many good examples of ordinary people who, through faith and trust in You, have led extraordinary lives in Your plan for salvation history. Give us, Lord, the meekness of Moses that we too might with unfailing trust submit completely to Your will for our lives. Give us also the vision of Jeremiah and Ezekiel to see Your plan for Your people and to cooperate by submitting ourselves as instruments of Your divine will for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And also, Lord, give us the humility of Mary, our Lord's blessed mother, who yielded herself in complete love and obedience in cooperation with the salvation of mankind. We petition You Father, to guide us in our study of the heroes and heroines of the faith in this section of our study of the Letter to the Hebrews. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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A sound faith is a mighty bulwark, a true faith to which nothing has to be added or taken away. Unless it is one, it is no faith, as the apostle says, "one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." Cling to this unity, dearly beloved, with minds unshaken, and "follow after" all "holiness" in faith. Carry out the Lord's commands in faith because "without faith it is impossible to please God." Without faith nothing is holy, nothing is pure, nothing is alive: "for the just lives by faith." St. Leo the Great, Sermon 25.6, [quoting Ephesians 4:5-6; Hebrews 12:14; and Habakkuk 2:4]
Do you see that he called Abel a martyr, as well as Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? For some of these died for God's sake in the same way that Paul spoke of when he said, "I die daily"' they died not by dying but only by their willingness to die. Discourses Against Judaizing Christians 8.8.3, St. John Chrysostom
Their trials then, were for this kind and number, but they did not yet receive their crowns. The God of all is waiting for the trials of the others so that, with the stadium no more, he may award acclaim to all the victors together. Theodoret of Cry: Interpretation of Hebrews 11
The last statement of chapter 10 is the introduction to a section of the discourse which focuses on a list of examples of lives lived in the fullness of faith. The men and women the inspired writer will hold up as examples of faith are not perfect human beings. Each one had their personal struggles but through their hardships they learned to trust God and to submit to Him in faith. In the last section of chapter 10 the inspired writer urged his Jewish-Christian audience to patiently endure and to hold firm to their faith in times of hardship because the eternal goal is so much greater than the temporal suffering. Now he will use examples from the lives of the Old Testament saints to encourage his audience to persevere in faith.
Please read Hebrews 10:39-11:7: The Faith of the Ancients
10:39 We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life. 11:1 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and "he was found no more because God had taken him." Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.
Question: The inspired writer has announced his theme through the repeated use of what word?
Answer: The inspired writer will use the Greek word "faith" [pristis/pristos] 27 times in the Greek text between 10:39 and 12:2 [10:38; 11:1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (twice), 8, 9, 11, 12 (pristos = faithful) 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 39; 12:2. And, by my count, in the Greek text of the Letter to the Hebrews the word "faith" is used 37 times [pristis = 31; pristos = 6].
The previous chapter concluded with a warning from Habakkuk 2:4 [from the Septuagint] in Hebrews 10:38: "But my just (righteous) one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him." This warning is followed by the encouraging statement We are not among those who draw back and perish [Hebrews 10:39]. On the contrary, the inspired writer encourages his audience, not only will we "not draw back", but we are among those who have faith and will possess life! This statement is the opening line in what follows, a discourse on the history of the hope and the persevering faith of the people of God.
The inspired writer's statement in 11:1: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen, is not meant to be a definition of faith. Instead his statement is meant to express the unseen hope of the faithful which culminates in the realization of that hope when the faithful come into the possession of the promises of God in the eternal reality of the heavenly Jerusalem. It is the city the inspired writer alludes to in 11:16: But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Question: What is a good definition of faith? For your answer consult a Catholic dictionary and CCC# 1814.
Answer:
The statement concerning "faith" in Hebrews 11:1 summarizes what the inspired writer will be covering in this section: beginning with the unseen promises made to a series of faithful men and women who believed in God's promises in Israel's historical past and culminating by picturing the realization of that unseen hope in a future glimpse of God's heavenly Jerusalem in 12:22-24. These heroes and heroines are the same "witnesses" who surround the audience in Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us... This "cloud of witnesses", the communion of heavenly saints, watches the progression of salvation history and prays for their younger brothers and sisters in faith from the heavenly Jerusalem. See CCC#946-48; 953; 960.
Hebrews 11:2-3: 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.
The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrew's historical list in praise of the faith of the ancestors of Israel is similar to a longer and more detailed list found in Sirach 44:1-50:21.
But here is a list of illustrious men whose good works have not been forgotten. In their descendants they find a rich inheritance, their posterity. Their descendants stand by the commandments and, thanks to them, so do their children's children. Their offspring will last for ever, their glory will not fade. Their bodies have been buried in peace, and their name lives on for all generations. The peoples will proclaim their wisdom, the assembly will celebrate their praises. Sirach 44:10-15 [New Jerusalem]
The word "faith" in verse 3 is in the first person plural and does not refer to the Old Testament heroes and heroines but to the inspired writer's Jewish-Christian audience.
Question: What did Jesus tell His Apostles one week after the Resurrection concerning faith in what cannot be seen? What was the event that led to the teaching? See John 20:24-29.
Answer: On Resurrection Sunday when Jesus had appeared to the Apostles in the Upper Room, all of them had seen Him except St. Thomas who was not with them when Jesus came. When the miracle was related to him he refused to believe because he had not seen Christ with his own eyes. When Jesus appeared to him a week later, Thomas believed. Jesus' reply to him was: Have you come to believe because you have seen me: Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. From the earliest history of man and his relationship with God, faith in God has been based on what is not seen but that which is believed by faith. Man has fallen into error and has become separated from God either from not believing in the God he cannot see with human eyes, or from not believing in the warnings of unseen punishments, or in not having faith in the unseen future promises of God. Faith is the first step on the road to salvation [CCC#163; 1816].
Question: What is it that "by faith" his audience understands concerning the cosmos?
Answer: That everything in the cosmos was created by God.
Question: How did the "visible" come into being through the "invisible" in the Creation event? See CCC#295; 338
Answer: God is invisible and yet He created all things that are visible to us in Creation.
Question: How did God initiate the Creation event? See Genesis 1:3 and John 1:1-5.
Answer: God "spoke" and the universe was ordered by the word of God. St. John identifies the "word" of God, that Word is the Son: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. [see CCC#291].
Question: What role does faith play in our understanding of Creation and God?
Answer: It is by faith that we understand that the word of God ordered the universe because without faith there is no understanding. If things are unseen, how can one be sure that they exist? St. Augustine wrote: If they are not seen, how can you be convinced that they exist: Well. Where do these things that you see come from, if not from one whom you cannot see? Yes, of course you see something in order to believe something, and from what you can see to believe what you cannot see. Please do not be ungrateful to the one who made you able to see; this is why you are able to believe what you are not yet able to see. God gave you eyes in your head, reason in your heart. Arouse the reason in your heart, get the inner inhabitant behind your inner eyes on his feet, let him take to his windows, let him inspect God's creation. Sermon 126.3
It is through Creation that God has revealed Himself to man as well as through Creation reveling the good of natural law, encouraging man to choose what is good over what is evil. St. Paul wrote in Romans 1:18-20 that the wicked have no excuse that they did not understand the good conduct that God requires: The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse... [also see Wisdom 13:1-9; Sirach 17:8; Acts 17:24-31].
Faith is a gift of God the Holy Spirit which inspires belief in what cannot be seen or touched. The visible wonders of God's Creation inspire us to faith in the invisible Creator. Faith inspired by the Holy Spirit leads to the second of the three theological virtues, which is "hope." Faith does not fail because it is supported by hope. These two theological virtues are expressed in the third virtue, which is love. If you do not have faith and hope what good is love? Love generated by faith and hope is love that outlives the one act of charity and is instead magnified in the love of Jesus Christ who enriches the soul of the faithful person beyond the scope of earthly treasures. St. Cyril of Jerusalem defined the faithful person as one who "belongs to the whole world of wealth" [quoting from Proverbs 17:6 from the Septuagint], in that he disdains and tramples on it. For they who in appearance are rich and have many possessions are poor in soul: since the more they gather, the more they pine with longing for what is still lacking. But the faithful person (a strange paradox, indeed) is rich in poverty. Such a person knows that we only need to have "food and clothing", and being "content with these" [1 Timothy 6:8] he has trampled riches underfoot. Catechetical Lectures 5.1-2.
Hebrews 11:4-32 begins a list of named heroes and heroines of the faith from the second generation after Adam to the period of the monarchy of Israel. Notice that only two women are mentioned: Sarah, and the Gentile harlot Rahab. Jesus of Nazareth is a descendant of both these women:
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Saint |
Some Old Testament Scripture passages |
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1. Abel |
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2. Enoch |
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3. Noah |
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4. Abraham |
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5. Isaac |
Genesis 17:19-21; 21:1-11; 22:1-19; 24:4-66; 25:9-11, 19; 26:1-40; 36:28-29 |
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6. Jacob |
Genesis 25:19-35:29; 37:1-35; 42:12, 29-38; 43:6-14; 47:6-12, 27-31; 48:1-50:14 |
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7. Sarah |
Genesis 11:29-31; 12:5-17; 16:1-8; 17:15-18:15; 20:2-21:12; 23:1-19 |
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8. Joseph |
Genesis 30:22-25; 33:2-7; 35:24; 37:2-36; 39:1-23; 40:3-50:26; Exodus 1:5-8; 13:19 |
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9. Moses |
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy |
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10. Rahab [Rachab] |
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The next 5 "conquered kingdoms" 11. Gideon |
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12. Barak |
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13. Samson |
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14. Jephthah |
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15. David |
Ruth 4:17, 22; 1 Samuel 16:1-2 Samuel 24:25; 1Kings 1:1-2:11; 1Chronicles 10-23:32; 25:1; 27:23, 32; 28:-29:30 |
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16. Samuel |
Cain is mentioned in 11:4 as a contrast to righteous Abel, just as the unnamed and hard-hearted Egyptian pharaoh is mentioned in 11:27 as a contrast to the obedient Moses, and ungrateful Esau in contrast to Jacob who desired the spiritual promises belonging to the firstborn son in 11:20. These are negative examples of faith. Pharaoh's daughter is mentioned in 11:24 but only as an illustration of Moses' choice between remaining the son of an Egyptian princess and choosing to identify with his people's suffering.
Hebrews 11:32 begins a list of unnamed heroes of the faith, from the period of the prophets to the period of the Maccabees who are only identified by mention of their suffering and martyrdom The only unnamed faithful believers in the first section from 11:4-32 are Moses' parents.
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Saints |
Scripture Passages |
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1. The parents of Moses [Jochebed and Amran] |
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2. The Old Testament Prophets who conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises... |
1-2 Samuel; 1-2 Kings; 1-2 Chronicles; Books of the Prophets |
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3. Closed the mouths of lions: Samson, David, Benaiah, Daniel |
Judges 14:5-6; 1 Samuel 17:34-37; 2 Samuel 23:20; Daniel 6:24; Sirach 47:3 |
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4. Quenched the power of fire: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego [Azariah in Hebrew] |
The Book of Daniel 3:1-23; the Song of Azariah in the furnace in Daniel 3:23-90 [LXX] and in Catholic Bibles 3:24-90 |
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5. Some escaped the sword like Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah and the Jews in the time of Esther, but others died by the sword: the Maccabee brothers and their martyred soldiers; Prophets like Uriah; Christians |
Books of Exodus, Joshua; 1-2 Samuel; 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles; 1-2 Maccabees The prophet Uriah [Jeremiah 26:20-23]; other prophets [1Kings 19:10; 14; Jeremiah 2:30]; Christians [Acts 12:2] |
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6. Strong in battle & turned back foreign invaders: Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, Saul, David, Hezekiah, the Maccabees, Judith |
Books of Joshua & Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, Isaiah 36-38; 1-2 Maccabees, Judith |
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7. Tortured/ scourged martyrs: -Eleazar, the 90 year old scribe who was tortured to death when he refused to violate God's law by eating pork during the persecution by the Greek-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. -the 7 sons of the righteous mother who also refused to eat pork during the same persecution
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Eleazar the Scribe: 2 Maccabees 6:18-31 The 7 sons: 2 Maccabees 6:30; 7:1-42; Christians, Acts 22:24; Jesus, Matthew 20:19 |
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8. Righteous who were stoned: Stoned=Naboth, Zechariah son of Jehoiada, Perhaps New Testament heroes like: Stephan and Paul who were both stoned but Paul survived. |
Naboth: 1Kings 21:11-19; Zechariah: 2 Chronicles 24:19-22; Stephen: Acts 7:59; Paul: Acts 14:19; 2 Corinthians 11:25
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9. Imprisonment: Jeremiah, Hanani, Micaiah, Paul and Christians |
Jeremiah 37:4-21; 20:1-2; Hanani, 2 chronicles 16:7-10; Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:26-27; Paul, Acts 24:27; Hebrews 10:34; 13:33 |
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10. Made powerful out of weakness: David over Goliath; Samson in blindness, Elijah against 450 prophets of Baal, Gideon defeated a large army with a small band, Esther, Judith |
Samson in Judges16:19-30; Gideon in Judges 7; Elijah in 1Kings 18; St. Clement applauds both Esther and Judith in 1 Clement 55:3-6 for being given power out of weakness to defeat Israel's enemies. |
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.
Abel son of Adam is the first martyr. Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was the firstborn son and the first dispossessed "firstborn son" in a long litany of disgraced firstborn sons in the Book of Genesis. Both sons of Adam brought sacrifice to Yahweh but only one was received with favor.
Question: Whose sacrifice was refused and why? What was the result of the rebuke? See Genesis chapter 4.
Answer: Abel brought the firstling lamb of his flock while Cain brought a grain offering. Abel's offering of the lamb was received but Cain's offering was not received with favor. In his anger Cain killed his brother Abel, an act of violence that has been repeated throughout the course of human history with brother killing brother within the human family.
The question that is often asked is, "Why did God refuse Cain's offering?" The text does not provide a clear answer to this question. Some have suggested it is because Cain did not bring the best of his harvest and Abel brought the best of his flock. It is obvious from God's counseling of Cain in 4:7 that there is more to this than the superiority of one gift over another.
Question: What is the central issue of the problem; what is God's warning to Cain?
Answer: The problem is sin.
Question: What do the inspired writers of Sacred Scripture identify as God's remedy for sin? See Leviticus 17:11; 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21; Psalm 51:16-17; Psalm 50:5-6.
Answer: The blood sacrifice of an animal was the remedy for atonement for sin but it was only an outward sign of a desired interior condition, a repentant heart. Is it possible that Cain's first failure was in refusing to provide a blood sacrifice for sin, a failure which pointed to his major failing, the refusal to acknowledge and repent his sins. God warned him in Genesis 4:7: If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master. Renouncing sin and repentance of sins through the blood sacrifice which cleanses sin and restores communion with God is the only way to master sin.
In Abel's case he had faith in God and was obedient to his covenant commitments. Faith is more than intellectual knowledge that God exists. Faith is man's response to God's grace and the first step in accepting the covenant bond that creates a unity between God and man as a covenant family. The inspired writer says By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Abel's offering was by faith because he understood who God was and what his relationship was to God. This understanding is exhibited in his obedience in offering the prescribed sacrifice of not only the animal but of himself. The inspired writer continues by adding that Through this, meaning Abel's obedient faith, he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.
Question: How is it that Abel still "speaks"? See Genesis 4:10.
Answer: God told Cain He could hear his brother's innocent blood crying out from the ground, his "blood-voice" a continual witness of his faith.
Question: Whose innocent "blood-voice" does God hear now which "cries out" for justice and mercy for all repentant souls?
Answer: The blood of Jesus Christ.
There is a subtle undercurrent in this section that accompanies the major theme of living faith in this roll call of the faithful.
Question: Briefly read through the chapter. What do you notice concerning this particular list of the faithful? Why were these men and women chosen while other heroes and heroines like the great military leader Joshua, the first High Priest Aaron, the great King Solomon, and valiant women like Deborah judge of Israel, the resourceful Judith and Queen Esther, or the gentle and faithful Ruth were not included in the list?
Answer: An undercurrent of death is present and associated in the living faith exhibited in almost every saint in the inspired writer's list. Each saint named faced the prospect of suffering and death only armed with faith in the promises of God. Abel died not just because of his brother's jealousy but because his faith in God in the sacrifice he offered attested to his righteousness which ultimately led to his death just as Jesus righteousness ultimately lead to his "brothers' (kinsmen's)" jealous rage and His death [Wisdom 2:24; Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10; Hebrews 11:4]. St. John Chrysostom noticed this connection when he wrote: Do you see that he called Abel a martyr, as well as Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? For some of these died for God's sake in the same way that Paul spoke of when he said, "I die daily"' they died not by dying but only by their willingness to die. Discourses Against Judaizing Christians 8.8.3.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and "he was found no more because God had taken him." Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God.
Question: Who is Enoch and why did he "not see death"? See Genesis 5:18-24.
Answer: Enoch was the descendant of Seth in whom the righteous "promised seed" of Genesis 3:15 continued. He was the 7th generation from Adam through Seth.
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Generation #1: ADAM |
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SETH [Genesis 5:1-32] |
CAIN [Genesis 4:12-24] |
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Enosh |
Enoch |
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Kenan |
Irad |
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Mahalalel |
Mehujael |
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Jared |
Methushael |
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Enoch |
Lemach |
Question: Righteous Enoch was a contemporary of Lemach, descendant of the violent line of Cain. Who is Enoch? How is Lemach's character contrasted with Enoch? See Genesis 4:19-24 and Genesis 5:23-24.
Answer: Enoch is the descendant of Adam's son Seth and Seth's righteous son Enosh, the first man to invoke the name of Yahweh [New Jerusalem, Genesis 4:26]. Enoch is described as a man who "walked with God", a Semitism meaning Enoch was completely obedient and in full communion with God all his life. He is also mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:37.
Noah and Elijah are also described as men who "walked with God" [see Genesis 6:9 and 2 Kings 2:11ff]. Enoch did not live as long as many other Old Testament patriarchs but he attained the significant age of the solar year: 365 days, symbolic of a "perfect" age in the life of men. Lemach by contrast is the first bigamist and a violent man who was guilty of a murder for which he felt no remorse. Enoch lived in a violent age and yet his faith in God separated him from the sins of his contemporaries and at the time of his death God spared him the experience the corruption of physical death and took him out of the world of men because of his great faith. The inspired writer of Sirach records: Few men on earth have been made the equal of Enoch, for he was taken up bodily [Sirach 49:14]. Enoch is the first prefigurement of the resurrection. That is not to say he did not die but he did not experience corruption of the flesh. The prophet Elijah, who "walked with God," was also taken up into heaven without experiencing death and corruption of the flesh. Both Enoch and Elijah approached the threshold of death but because of a special grace of God did not experience death and corruption but were taken up into the heavenly reality. It is a tradition of the Jews that Moses also did not experience corruption of the flesh but upon his death God took him up into the heavens: Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" Jude verse 9 [also see The Assumption of Moses].
The inspired writer of Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] begins his eulogy of the ancestors with Enoch: Enoch pleased the Lord and was transferred to heaven, an example for the conversion of all generations, and, No one else has ever been created on earth to equal Enoch, for he was taken up from earth [Sirach 44:16; 49:14; New Jerusalem]. St. Jerome translated the last words of Sirach 44:16 in the Latin version: to bring conversion to the nations'Enoch is our first hope of the resurrection of the dead. Enoch's special relationship with God, which led to his translation into heaven, made Enoch an especially revered ancestor among the Jews and two ancient texts dated to the 2nd century BC, falsely attributed to Enoch and known to us as 1st and 2nd Enoch, were very popular among Jews and Christians from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD; these two documents were also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Question: Can you think of a third person who, according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, also did not experience physical death and corruption of the flesh but was taken up into heaven?
Answer: The dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary declares that she was also taken into heaven without experiencing death and corruption. See CCC# 966.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
That God judges unrighteous behavior has been a consistent teaching in Sacred Scripture, judging the behavior of those who profess faith and those who deny He exists. Psalm 53:1-7 attests to the foolishness of those who deny the existence of God: Fools say in their hearts, "There is not God." Believing in God and in Jesus Christ who is sent by God for the sake of our salvation is absolutely necessary for obtaining the gift of salvation. Believing in God is more than simple acknowledgement that He exists, faith in God is defined by an intimate relationship in which the faithful believer is concerned with pleasing God and knowing that He cares about human conduct. Concerning the necessity of faith CCC# 161 states: Since without faith it is impossible to please [God] and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life but he who endures to the end.
Question: Once faith in God is declared in response to grace, is it possible to loose that gift of faith or is faith forever secure for the Christian who has made a sincere declaration of faith in God?
Answer: Faith is a precious gift but it is a gift that can be lost or rejected. CCC# 162 warns: Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." To live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must get the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.
Question: What warning did God give to Noah in Genesis 6:13-14.
Answer: God warned Noah that His judgment was going to descend upon human wickedness, but if Noah had faith and was obedient, he and his family would be saved.
Question: What two choices did Noah have? What choice did he make and why?
Answer: He could, without any visible evidence of a disaster, believe God, renounce the world and build an Ark as God commanded or he could refuse to have faith in God and to choose to unite himself to his contemporaries. Despite persecution and ridicule by his neighbors he chose faith in God and he and his family were saved. Through choosing God he "condemned [or rejected] the world and inherited the righteousness that come through faith."
The inspired writer of Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] eulogized Noah: Noah was found perfectly upright, in the time of retribution he became the heir: because of him a remnant was preserved for the earth at the coming of the Flood. Everlasting covenants were made with him that never again should every living creature perish by flood [44:17-18, New Jerusalem]. The prophetic promise of the "faithful remnant" that will bring salvation is acknowledged in the story of Noah and his family and is brought to completion in the "faithful remnant" of Israel who establishes the New Covenant people of God at the Second Great Pentecost in the Upper Room in 30AD.
Please read Hebrews 11:8-12, The Faith of Abraham and Sarah:
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age and Sarah herself was sterile, for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
The inspired writer of Sirach praises Abraham in Sirach 44:19-21: Abraham, the great ancestor of a host of nations, no one was ever his equal in glory. He observed the Law of the Most High, and entered into a covenant with him. He confirmed the covenant in his own flesh, and proved himself faithful under ordeal. The Lord therefore promised him on oath to bless the nations through his descendants, to multiply him like the dust on the round, to exalt his descendants like the stars, and to give them the land as their heritage, from one sea to the other, from the River to the ends of the earth.
Hebrews 11:8: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
Question: When did God first call Abraham to faith? What did God ask Abraham to do? See Genesis 12:1; 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2-4.
Answer: Abraham was living in the great ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur of the Chaldeans. God told him to go to an unidentified land: Yahweh said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your kindred and your father's house for a country which I shall show you...'. The unidentified land to which he was to go was land which had been given to Abraham's ancestor Shem but which had been usurped by the descendants of Canaan, son of Shem's disgraced brother Ham [Genesis 9:25-27; 10:6-7].
Abram continued living with his father and his extended family, journeying westward toward the land of Canaan but settling instead with his father in Haran in what is today modern Syria. It probably wasn't until his father death that Abram took his wife and nephew and completed the journey [Genesis 11:31-32; 12:4-7; Acts 7:4]. Abram was slow in acting on his faith in the beginning of his relationship with God, but God was patient. We don't need to have great faith that moves mountains to please God, if we, even in small ways, step forward in faith God is always faithful to reward our efforts and increase our faith.
Question: Why did Abraham have to believe on faith in order to receive the promise God made to him in Genesis 12:1-3?
Answer: He was evidently unfamiliar with the land to which God had called him and not having seen it he had to have faith that this land was the place of his destiny and the hope for the future of his family. The place where he was living was the New York City of the ancient world. Ur was a great cultural center, offering everything that was considered to be the highest standard of living possible in the ancient world of Abram/Abraham. Abraham had no idea what was waiting for him in this unknown land God had promised him.
Hebrews 11:9-10: By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.
Abraham did not live to see God's promise fulfilled [Acts 7:5]. God's promise to Abraham was repeated to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob in Genesis 17:19; 26:3-5; and 28:14. The inspired writer of Sirach in 44:20 writes that God entered into covenant with Abraham and that He confirmed the covenant in his own flesh through circumcision. Abraham's faith [see Genesis 15:6; 22:1; Romans 4:1-25; and Galatians 3:6-14] secured the covenant that was passed on to his descendants: To Isaac too, for the sake of Abraham his father, he assured the blessing of all humanity; he caused the covenant to rest on the head of Jacob. Sirach 44:22-23a [New Jerusalem].
Question: Was it really the physical land of Canaan that God was promising Abram or was there something more? Did Abram/Abraham actually ever come to possess Canaan? See Hebrews 11:13-16.
Answer: The Promised Land of Canaan was a temporal "type" which prefigured a greater spiritual reality, the true Promise Land of Heaven. The three promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 were never fulfilled in his lifetime. It is true that his descendants through his son Isaac conquered the Canaanites after the Exodus experience and established an Israelite state but lost their national independence in the 6th century BC with the Babylonian conquest. The independence of the Jews was reestablished briefly under the leadership of the Maccabees and their descendants the Hasmonean kings in the 2nd century BC but the Romans conquered and dominated the Jews beginning from 63BC.
Question: The promise of possession of the "Promised Land", and the additional promises of a Kingdom and a world-wide blessing were not realized in Abraham's lifetime. When were these promises fulfilled?
Answer: The promise was fulfilled in the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Abraham heir, Jesus of Nazareth when the gates of heaven were opened and all who came to God through Jesus Christ, with the faith of Abraham, became heirs of Abraham's promise of the Promised Land of Heaven, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven; and the Gospel of Jesus Christ which became a world-wide blessing [see CCC# 536; 1026].
Question: The inspired writer of Hebrews says in 11:9, By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country... Like Abraham do we also sojourn in a land that is not our own while longing for our Promised Land? See 1 Peter 1:16-19.
Answer: Yes. Like Noah we must renounce this world in order to be saved from it. We must renounce this world in order to inherit the better land which has been promised to us, for we are looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. In the meantime, we are exiles on this temporal earth who long for the heavenly kingdom of which we have been declared citizens by our Priest-king Jesus Christ. As St. Peter advised the Church: Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb [1 Peter 1:16-19].
Hebrews 11:11-12: By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age and Sarah herself was sterile, for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
Question: How old was Abraham when God promised Sarah would conceive Isaac? See Genesis 17:1, 19, 24; 21:2. How old were they when the child was born? See Genesis 17:17; 21:5.
Answer: He was 99 and Sarah 89 when the promise was made and they were 100 and 90 respectively when the child was born.
The inspired writer is correct in indicating that it was Sarah who was sterile and not Abraham. After Sarah's death Abraham remarried and had 6 sons in addition to Ishmael and Isaac [Genesis 25:1-6]. Both Sarah and Abraham had to accept God's promise of descendants on faith. Their common human experience told them that an elderly man and a woman whose period of fertility had come to an end would never produce a child. After attempting to bring God's promise to fruition on their own merits, a plan which resulted in the birth of Ishmael by the slave girl Hagan and the resulting family discord in their old age both Sarah and Abraham yielded in faith to God's plan, despite the seemingly insurmountable physical obstacles. The result was a miraculous birth of a promised son, Isaac. Verse 12, quoting from Genesis 22:17: So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore, contrasts the one man of faith, Abraham, with the multitude of men and women who descend from him.
Question: In this promise from Genesis 17:22 and repeated several other times in Scripture, God promised Abraham numerous descendants using what two different metaphors? See Hebrews 11:12; Genesis 15:5; 22:17; Exodus 32:13; Daniel 3:36 [LXX]; and Sirach 44:21.
Answer: Descendants as numerous as the sands on the sea shore, and as numerous as the stars in the sky. St. Justin Martyr makes an interesting comparison between these two ways of expressing the promise of numerous descendants as both stars and sand in comparison to the offspring of Abraham who through the "promised seed" of Isaac and his son Jacob and those other men who descend through the other lines of the other sons of these men: Notice how the Lord makes the same promise to Isaac and Jacob. Here are the Lord's words to Isaac: "By your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." And to Jacob: "By you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed." But the Lord does not address this blessing to Esau or to Reuben or to any other, but only to them from whom Christ was to come through the Virgin Mary in accordance with the divine plan of our redemption. If you were to think over the blessing of Judah, you would see which I mean, for the seed is divided after Jacob and comes down through Judah and Perez and Jesse and David. Now, this was a sign that some of you Jews would certainly be children of Abraham and at the same time share in the lot of Christ, but that other , also children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the beach, which, though vast and extensive, is barren and fruitless, not bearing any fruit at all, but only drinking up the water of the sea. Dialogue with Trypho 120, Justin Martyr [martyred circa 155AD].
Please read Hebrews 11:13-16: Promise of the Heavenly Jerusalem
13 All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, 14 for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
All these: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob died in faith without having received their promised inheritance.
Question: What was their promised inheritance and why didn't they receive it in life or in death? Did they ever receive the city God has prepared for them?
Answer: With the exception of Enoch, Elijah and perhaps Moses all the Old Testament Patriarchs and all men and women, including Jesus and the inspired writer's ancient and modern audience, experienced physical death. However, prior to Jesus' Resurrection no human, no matter how righteous, could enter the gates of heaven [CCC#1026]. Heaven had been "closed" since the fall of our original parents. All the dead, both the righteous and sinners in need of purification went to Sheol, the grave to await the coming of the Redeemer.
All the Old Testament faithful and unfaithful waited for the coming of the Messiah to whom, according to St. Peter the Gospel of salvation was preached: ...he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark [1 Peter 3:19-20] and For this is why the Gospel was preached even to the dead they, though condemned in the flesh in human estimation, they might live in the spirit in the estimation of God. [1 Peter 4:6Ephesians 4:7-10. With these souls rescued from the grave Christ stormed the gates of heaven: By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has "opened" heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ [CCC# 1026].
We often see the Old Testament people of God as ignorant of the full meaning of the promised Redeemer but the depth of their faith shows that they had a far better grasp of the future reality than we give them credit for understanding. Origen wrote concerning their understanding of the promise of salvation: The saints who preceded Jesus' bodily sojourn, who had a somewhat greater mental grasp than the majority of believers, received the mysteries of divinity because the word of God was teaching them even before he became flesh, for he was always working, being an imitator of his Father of whom he says, "My Father is working still." He says, perhaps to the Sadducees who do not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection, "Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not God of the dead, but of the living." If, therefore, God "is not ashamed to be called the God" of these people, and they are numbered among the living by Christ, and all the believers are sons of Abraham, since all the nations are blessed in the faithful Abraham whom God appointed father of the nations, are we hesitant to accept that the living have known the lessons of the living, since they were instructed by Christ, who has existed before the morning star, before he became flesh? [On the Gospel of John, 6.17-18].
Please read Hebrews 11:17-22: Abraham's Test of Faith
17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, "Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name." 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol. 20 By faith regarding things still to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and "bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff." 22 By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and give instructions about his bones.
Abraham's test of faith came in Genesis chapter 22:1-3 when God commanded him to offer in sacrifice the beloved "son of the promise", Isaac: It happened sometime later that God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied. God said, 'Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you.' Such a test of faith is also called a "covenant ordeal." It is the same kind of "covenant ordeal" which Adam and Eve faced when confronted by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. But this is Isaac's covenant ordeal as well as Abraham because he also had to submit in faith.
Question: Why does the inspired writer of Hebrews say that Abraham was willing to be obedient to God in this horrifying request?
Answer: Because Abraham believed God's promise to him that this son would have many descendants, as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed that God was faithful to His promises and therefore, God was capable of raising his son from the dead in order to fulfill His promise.
Question: Is there any proof of the inspired writer of Hebrew's interpretation in the text of Genesis 22:1-19?
Answer: In Genesis 22:5 Abraham tells his servants to stay behind with the donkey and that he and Isaac would return. Telling the servants both of them will return supports the interpretation that Abraham believed the boy will survive the "covenant ordeal."
Question: What does the inspired writer mean when he says in verse 19 the Abraham received Isaac back "as a symbol"?
Answer: On the 3rd day after beginning the journey [Genesis 22:4], Abraham received back his son back from death. He received back from God in His mercy his "only son", his "beloved" son [Genesis 22:2] as a symbol of Christ and the Resurrection.
This frightening Old Testament "covenant ordeal" is full of sacrificial imagery of Christ's Passion and is known in Hebrew as the "akeidah"'the binding of Isaac. Commenting on Hebrews 11:19, Theodoret, Bishop of Cry wrote: "Figuratively speaking, he did received him back", that is, by way of a symbol and type of the resurrection. Put to death by his father's zeal, he came back to life at the word of the one who prevented the slaughter. In him the type of the saving passion was also prefigured. Hence the Lord also said to the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the prospect of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." Interpretation of Hebrews 11, Theodoret, Bishop of Cry (Cyrrhus) 393-466AD.
Question: What parallels do you see between Isaac and Jesus? How is Isaac a "type" of Christ?
Answer:
ISAAC SON OF ABRAHAM A "TYPE" OF JESUS CHIRST
Comparisons between the "offering up" of Isaac in sacrifice found in Genesis 22:1-18 and the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ:
¨ Isaac and Jesus were "only, beloved" sons of a righteous father; Ishmael had been sent away in Genesis 21:14 [Genesis 22:2].
¨ Both Isaac and Jesus are identified as the "son of Abraham" [see Genesis 21:3; 22:2; Matthew 1:1].
¨ Both were offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:2; John 1:29; Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; John 11:50, 19:17-18].
¨ The sacrifice was offered in the land of Moriah – Jerusalem [Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Matthew 16:21-23].
¨ Both sons carried the wood for their own sacrifice [Genesis 22:6; John 19:17]
¨ Both were "bound" and placed on top of the wood [Genesis 22:9; John 19:18-19; Philippians 2:8].
¨ Both willingly allow themselves to be offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:7-8; Colossians 2:6-8].
¨ Both sons were given "resurrected" or "given back" to their fathers on the third day. Isaac was essential "dead" to his grieving father when God commanded him to sacrifice his son. On the "third day" God provided another sacrifice and his son was restored. God's son died on the Cross and was resurrected on the third day! [Genesis 22:4; Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:22; 24:7, 44-47; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4].
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2000, revised 2007 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Question: How is it that as a result of Abraham's obedience in offering up Isaac for sacrifice that Abraham fills a special role in the lives of all believers?
Answer: It is a teaching of the Church that in offering up his physical son Isaac Abraham becomes the spiritual father of all believers. Abraham realized this covenant ordeal had implications beyond what he and his son had faced. He told his son, when Isaac first realized there was no lamb for the sacrifice: "Yahweh will provide", meaning the sacrifice. And later when Abraham had offered up the ram in place of the life of his son, Abraham names the place "Yahweh will-provide!" in the future tense, which looks forward in time to the offering up on that very site the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! St Paul writes concerning Abraham's faith in Romans 4:16-17 "That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as a free gift and is secure for all the descendants, not only those who rely on the Law but all those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, the ancestor of us all as Scripture says: 'I have made you the father of many nations'. Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into existence what does not yet exist." Now both Jews and gentiles come to God through one Lord, Jesus Christ and are incorporated into one holy covenant family. See CCC# 2570-72
The Fathers of the Church saw Isaac as a prefigurement of the Christ. Clement of Alexandria wrote of Isaac as a type of Christ not only in being offered for sacrifice by his father but in his name, which means "laughter": Isaac is a type of the infant Lord as son, and, in fact, Isaac was the son of Abraham as Christ is of God, victim as was the Lord. But he was not cut down like the Lord; no, Isaac only carried the wood of the sacrifice, as the Lord did his cross. He laughed mystically by way of prophesying that the Lord fills us with joy, we who have been redeemed by his blood. He did not suffer but left to the Logos, as is fitting, the first fruits of suffering. What is more, because he was not immolated, he signifies also the divinity of the Lord. For after his burial, Jesus was raised up, thus leaving suffering behind, just as Isaac had escaped the sacrifice. Christ the Educator 1.5.23.1-2
Hebrews 11:20-22 By faith regarding things still to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and "bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff." 22 By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and give instructions about his bones.
Isaac blessed both Jacob and Esau but it was Jacob, the younger son, who received the double blessing of material wealth and spiritual blessings that were to supposed to go to the "firstborn" [see Genesis 25:23; 29-34; 27:1-45]. In Hebrews the inspired writer uses Esau's lack of faith in contrast with Jacob's living faith, both were imperfect men but Esau only had distain for God's promised spiritual blessing. In 12:15-17 the inspired writer warns his audience to avoid Esau's example: See to it that on one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled, that no one be an immoral or profane person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit his father's blessing, he was rejected because he found no opportunity to change his mind, even though he sought the blessing with tears. Esau couldn't value what he could not see, he only valued the material he could feel, touch, or eat. He did not have faith in God's spiritual promises and later when he regretted his decision, it was too late. His remorse was not from repentance in having offended God but from regret for his own loss.
Question: What do each of these "blessings" and instructions have in common in Hebrews 11:20-22 concerning Isaac, his son Jacob and Jacob's son Joseph? See Genesis 27:27, 39; 48:15ff; 47:15ff; 50:24-25.
Answer: These are all death-bed blessings and instructions. In the face of death their faith sustained them. The Promised Land is the symbol for heaven but the Jordan River is the symbol for death. We must "cross over" from death to life to enter heaven just as the children of Israel had to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land of Canaan. Each of these Old Covenant saints understood God's plan of salvation extended far beyond their lifetimes and that they also had the hope of participating in that plan in the future, beyond the time of their normal lifespan.
The inspired writer of Sirach affirms that Abraham's covenant with Yahweh was continued with his son and grandson: To Isaac too, for the sake of Abraham his father, he assured the blessing of all humanity; he caused the covenant to rest on the head of Jacob. He confirmed him in his blessings and gave him the land as his inheritance; he divided it into portions, and shared it out among the twelve tribes [Sirach 44:22-23].
Please read Hebrews 11:23-31: The Faith of Moses and Rahab
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.
The life of the great prophet/lawgiver Moses is summarized in Sirach 45:1-5. He is described as a generous, gentle and loyal man beloved by God: From Jacob's stock he produced a generous man who found favor in the eyes of all humanity, beloved by God and people, Moses, of blessed memory. He made his the equal of the holy ones in glory and made him strong, to the terror of his enemies. By the word of Moses, he made prodigies cease and raised him high in the respect of kings; he gave him commandments for his people, and showed him something of his glory. For his loyalty and gentleness he sanctified him, choosing him alone out of all human beings; he allowed him to hear his voice, and led him into the darkness; he gave him the commandments face to face, the law of life and knowledge, to teach Jacob and his ordinances and Israel his decrees.
Question: What power threatened the life of Moses when he was a baby and how did the faith of his parents save him? See Exodus 2:1-4; Acts 7:20.
Answer: Their faith in God was greater than their fear of the Egyptian Pharaoh who had commanded that all boy babies were to be killed at birth. Moses' parents placed him in a pitch-covered basket, placed the basket in the Nile River and place their baby's fate in the hands of God.
Hebrews 11:24: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.
Question: What decision did Moses make that changed his destiny from that of a prince of Egypt to that of a fugitive and an enemy of his foster family? Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:23-29.
Answer: Moses' decision to save an Israelite by killing an Egyptian began a series of events that led to a crisis of identity. The murder separated him from his Egyptian family and the rejection of the people of his birth left him both an orphan and an exile. As a member of the royal family he probably would have had enough wealth and influence to free himself of the murder charge but according to the inspired writer of Hebrews, it was Moses choice to renounce the wealth of Egypt for exile in the wastes Midian.
Hebrews 11:26 is an interesting verse: He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense.
The word "Anointed" in the Greek text is Christos, which is always used to indicate Jesus in the New Testament. The phrase "reproach of the Anointed" recalls Psalm 89:50-51 or 88:50-51 in the Septuagint: Remember, Lord, the insults to your servants, how I bear all the slanders of the nations. Your enemies, LORD, insult your Anointed; they insult my every endeavor. In service to Yahweh he not only suffered the insults of the Egyptians but of his own people, the Israelites who where constantly challenging his authority and threatening his life. And yet, like Christ, he patiently bore the abuse because he was faithful to the mission to which God had called him, knowing that the eternal reward was greater than the temporal suffering.
Question: But does something seem to not quite fit in this passage concerning the events of Moses' life? Is there something more that the inspired writer is telling his audience in addition to relating the events of Moses' life and giving illustrations of obedient faith? What could there be in this passage for the Jewish-Christians?
Answer: They are also suffering the insults of their Jewish brothers who have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, but like Moses, if they persevere in faith, their eternal reward will be worth the struggle.
Notice the parallels between how Moses' struggles and sufferings are related to the trials facing the Jewish-Christians and how the examples of Rahab's faith and salvation in a time of armed conflict will be an example of faith for Christians in the coming Jewish war against Rome. Each sentence in Hebrews 11:23-31 recalls events in Moses' and Rahab's lives and the choices and decisions made and the actions taken in faith which also can be applied to the Jewish-Christian's audience's own choices, decisions, and actions:
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1. Hebrews 11:23: Fear of personal safety |
Versus |
Not fearing the king's edict |
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2. Hebrews 11:24-25: Material wealth and the pleasures of sin |
Versus |
Choosing to suffer with the people of God |
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3. Hebrews 11:26: The reproach of Christ |
Versus |
Eternal blessings and promises |
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4. Hebrews11:27: Leaving one's family affiliations |
Versus |
Persevering in faith with the promise of seeing God in heaven |
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5. Hebrews 11:28: Falling into the hands of Satan and death. |
Versus |
Salvation through Christ the "firstborn son" and the blood of His the sacrifice which saves Christians from eternal death |
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6. Hebrews 11:29: Fear of drowning in the Red Sea |
Versus |
Salvation from the enemy in passing through the waters |
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7. Hebrews 11:30-31: Dying in the conflict |
Versus |
Trusting in God and choosing God's peace over man's power |
The parallels are unmistakable. The inspired writer is not only providing examples of faith and perseverance but warning Jewish-Christians they will have to make hard choices:
Hebrews 11:27b-29: for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.
It was in faith that Moses marked the blood of the Passover sacrifice on the doors of the Israelites from the threshold to the door posts and lintel forming a cross of blood that prefigured the blood of the Christ in the last Passover when He instituted the Eucharist and began His walk to the Cross. In the same way, the miracle of the Red Sea prefigured Christian baptism, as the Israelites passed from slavery in Egypt to a new life as redeemed men and woman so too in Christian baptism do believers pass from an old life of sin and death to a resurrected new life in the Spirit as reborn sons and daughters of God [CCC# 168; 1236; 1253-55].
for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible. The concept that God is real but that He is so holy that a mere mortal cannot see Him, or to see Him a mortal risks death is found in both the Old and New Testaments. For example:
Also see Exodus 19:21; Leviticus 16:2; Numbers 4:20; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; John 5:37; 6:46; 1 John 4:12, 20; 1 Timothy 6:16.
God is so holy and powerful that there is danger for anyone who even hears His voice: Exodus 20:19; Deuteronomy 5:24-26; 18:16. It is for this reason that Moses in Exodus 3:6 and the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:13, and the holy Seraphim of the heavenly throne room [Isaiah 6:2] cover their faces in His presence. There were rare occasions, however, when a human was granted the privilege of seeing God face to face, a truly overwhelming experience for the blessed individual or individuals [Genesis 32:31; Exodus 24:9-11; Deuteronomy 5:24; Judges 6:22-23; 13:22; Isaiah 6:5]. It is a favor God grants to Moses in Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:7-8; and Deuteronomy 34:10 and to the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11ff, both of whom later are privileged, in the presence of the Apostles Peter, James, and John Zebedee, to consult with Jesus, God the Son face to face in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8 [Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36]. Redeemed human beings can only gaze on the face of God when they have been welcomed into heaven [Matthew 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2].
Hebrews 11:31 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.
The inspired writer now turns his attention to the second woman of faith named in the roll call of the faithful, Rahab the harlot of Jericho.
Question: What do Sarah and Rahab have in common?
Answer: Both women are in Jesus' genealogical line. Rahab is one of the 5 women mentioned by St. Matthew in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17: Salmon fathered Boaz, whose mother was Rahab...Matthew 1:5. Rahab is identified as a prostitute. Ritual prostitution was a common practice in Canaanite society. Many young girls were forced into ritual prostitution in Canaanite communities.
Question: For what courageous act of faith is Rahab known in the Book of Joshua? See Joshua 2:1-21 and 6:1-16, 22-25.
Answer: Rahab the Gentile woman of Jericho hid the 3 Israelite spies who were sent to investigate the strength of the Canaanite city. She heard of the strength of the Israelites and the miracles God had worked on their behalf. She professed to the spies that she believed Yahweh was going to give them victory and made the men swear that they would remember her kindness by saving her family. In return the Israelite spies promised to spare the lives of her family members and instructed Rahab in Joshua 2:17-19: This is how we shall fulfill the oath which you have made us swear: when we invade the country, you must tie this scarlet cord to the window from which you let us down and collect your father, mother, brothers and entire family inside your house. If anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head and we shall not be to blame; but the blood of all staying inside the house with you will be on own heads if a hind is laid on any of them.
The Fathers of the Church saw Rahab's conversion as a prefigurement of the mass conversion of the Gentile nations in the spread of the Gospel of salvation. St. Irenaeus, 2nd century Bishop of Lyon wrote of Rahab's faith and salvation: So also did Rahab the harlot, while condemning herself because she was a Gentile, receive the three speculators who were spying out the land which three were doubtless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and hid them in her home. And when the entire city in which she lived fell to ruins at the sounding of the seven trumpets, Rahab and all her house were preserved, through faith in the scarlet sign. So the Lord declared to those who did not receive the Lord, the Pharisees, that is, and to those who despised the scarlet threat, which signified the Passover and the redemption and the exodus from Egypt, that "the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you." Against Heresies,4.20.12, St. Irenaeus quoting Matthew 21:31.
Hillary of Poitiers saw the story of Rahab and her house as an allegory for the Church and the blood on the doors of the children of Israel's houses at the first Passover and sign of Christ's blood in the birth of His Church as the means of salvation: This episode in the Old Testament is a series of important types [sacramenta] of future spiritual events. The harlot takes into her house the two spies sent by Jesus [Joshua] to survey the land. The Church which was a sinner, receives the law and the prophets, sent to spy out the faith of men and acknowledges that "God is in heaven above and on the earth beneath." She receives from these same spies the scarlet sign of salvation, a color which is manifestly the color of royalty when considered as a dignity, and, when looked at, the color of blood. Both these features were found in the Passion, the Lord was clothed in scarlet, and blood flowed from his side. Manasseh also received scarlet as a sign. The dwellings in Egypt marked with the blood were spared, and with blood the book of the covenant was sprinkled and the people sanctified. Every member of the family found outside the house was guilty, a lesson that those apart from those called are responsible for their own death. Tractate of the Mysteries 2.9.154-156.
St. Gregory, Bishop of Elvira [359-85AD], teaching from Origen's identification of Rahab and her house as a "type" of the Church wrote: Rahab, who is a type of the Church, suspended the scarlet thread from her window as a sign of salvation, to show that the nations would be saved through the Lord's passion....The house of Rahab and all those with her were saved through the scarlet sign when Jericho was destroyed and burned and its king, a type of the devil, slain. So when this world is destroyed by fire and the devil who now has dominion over the world is overthrown, no one will be preserved for eternal salvation if that one is not bound inside the house of the ecclesia which is marked with the scarlet sign, that is, with the blood of Christ. St. Gregory of Elvira: Origen's Tractate on the Books of Holy Scripture 139.
Origen himself wrote that Rahab's story in the Book of Joshua and the blood colored cord which was the sign of salvation on her house foreshadowed the salvation offered through the Church of Jesus Christ: Even if anyone of this people [the Jews] wishes to be saved, let him come into this house in which the blood of Christ is the sign of redemption. Let there be no mistake, let on one deceive himself: outside this house, that is outside the ecclesia [church], there is no salvation. If anyone does go forth, he is the cause of his own death. Homilies on Joshua 3.l5; Origen of Alexandria, 185/200-254AD.
See CCC# 845-47.
Please read Hebrews 11:32-12:2 The Faith of Prophets and Heroes
32 What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, 34 put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. 35 Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were sawed in two, put to death at sword's point; they went about in skins of sheep, or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. 39 Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40 God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us, 2 while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.
I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets
Question: What roles did Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah play in the history of Israel?
Answer: Gideon, Samson and Jephthah were all judges in the pre-monarchy period of Israelite history. The "judges" were not so much civil administrators as military leaders.
Question: Who were Samuel and David?
Answer: Samuel the priest was the last judge of Israel. He anointed Saul, the first King of Israel and later anointed the young David, who would become Saul's successor and the greatest and most beloved of Israelite kings. David conquered the Philistines and brought peace and prosperity to Israel.
For more about the virtues of the Judges of Israel see Sirach 46:11-12; for praise of the priest-prophet-judge Samuel see Sirach 46:13-20; for the valor of King David see Sirach 47:1-11 , and for a eulogy on the great Prophets of Yahweh see Sirach 48:1-16.
Hebrews 11:38 sums up the faith of these valiant heroes of the faith: The world was not worthy of them. All these great heroes of the faith, included with the prophets are credited with a list of great feats in Hebrews 11:33-34:
out of weakness they were made powerful
However, there was also suffering associated with faithful obedience in Israel's history:
St. John Chrysostom wrote concerning the two qualities of faith: Some "escaped the edge of the sword," and some "were killed with the sword." What is this? Which do you praise? Which do you admire? The latter or the former? No, he says. The former, indeed is appropriate to you. The latter, because faith was strong even unto death itself, were a type of things to come. For the wonderful qualities of faith are two; it both accomplishes great things and suffers great things, treating suffering as if it were nothing. On the Epistle To The Hebrews 27.5
St. John Chrysostom writes that the inspired writer of Hebrews ends his roll call of the faithful with a list of the suffering the faithful of the past endured for a reason: "Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment." He ends with these, things that come nearer home. For theses examples especially bring consolation when the distress is from the same cause, since even if you mention something more extreme, yet unless it arises from the same cause, you have effected nothing. Therefore, he concluded his discourse with this, mentioning "chains, imprisonments, scourges, stonings." Alluding to the case of Stephen, also to that of Zechariah. [Chrysostom, On the Epistle to the Hebrews 27.5]
Hebrews 11:39-40 Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40 God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.
St. John Chrysostom said that faith "both accomplishes great things and suffers great things" [Homilies 27.5]. The inspired writer of Hebrews closes this passage with the disturbing statement that many of those who persevered and endured, who faced with insurmountable odds like the swords of enemies, torture and imprisonment may not have received the deliverance for which they prayed to God, a hoped for temporal salvation. And yet in the face of death they remained faithful and secure in the greater promise of salvation not of the body but of the soul. In their suffering they were "made perfect" and therefore, he assures his audience God had foreseen something better'something better for them and something better for "us".
so that without us they should not be made perfect.
The heroes and heroines of the Old Testament are waiting for us. First in the sense that they could not be "perfected" by the Old Covenant law [Hebrews 7:19; 9:9; 10:1] and so they waited until the time for the generation of the audience when the Messiah came and His saving work had been accomplished [Hebrews 12:23; Matthew 27:52-53; 1 Peter 3:19-20]. But now, in another sense, they are still waiting: Their trials then, were for this kind and number, but they did not yet receive their crowns. The God of all is waiting for the trials of the others so that, with the stadium no more, he may award acclaim to all the victors together. Theodoret of Cry: Interpretation of Hebrews 11
Now, united to the Resurrection of the Christ, the Old Testament Saints have obtained their promised reward for faithfulness, they have been "made perfect" in Christ [Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 7:28; 10:14] and access to heaven and eternal life has been made available to them through the action of Jesus' sacrifice, Resurrection and Ascension to glory [Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:19-22]. But they still wait, they wait for us! The Saints in heaven who have gone on before us pray for us and wait for us to join them in the Communion of Saints, and in the shared glory we will all receive together in the heavenly Sanctuary when we are all crowed in victory [Revelation 20:11-12; CCC# 946-48; 954-62; 1039; 1042; 1059].
Hebrews 12:1-2:Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us, 2 while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.
These heroes and heroines in the roll call of the faithful are the "cloud of witnesses" who patiently wait for us, urging us on to finish the "race"! They have gained their victory so many ages ago but they have not yet received their final victory crowns, the victory party begins when we all who have faithfully endured to finish the race arrive at the "finish line" of heaven. Jesus, as the leader, has set the course of the race; now we must take up our crosses daily and follow Him to finish the race [Matthew 10:38: 16:24; Mark 8:34; 10:21; Luke 9:23; 14:27; CCC# 1435; 1506].
Question: What does the inspired writer tell us should be our mission if our goal is to join the Saints in the heavenly Sanctuary?
Answer: We must rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. Just as every coach tells his team: "Keep your eye on the ball, the goal, or the finish line," the inspired writer of Hebrews, like St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, compares the endurance an athlete needs to persevere and to finish a race with the Christian's journey to salvation, a race of which our goal'our finish line, is Jesus Christ!
St. Thomas Aquinas points out that "endurance" to finish the race requires two things:
[Commentary on Hebrews; chapter 12, lecture 1]
Concerning the holy family of Saints patiently waiting for us, their younger brothers and sisters, St. John Chrysostom writes that like any loving father, our heavenly Father tells the older children who have finished their work that they must wait until their younger siblings have finished their work and come have come home to the table for the family to enjoy dinner together. He also writes concerning the unity of God's children: They were before us as regards the conflicts but are not before us as regards the crowns. God did not wrong them; God honored us. For they also wait for the siblings, for, if we are "all one body," the pleasure becomes greater to this body when it is crowned altogether and not part by part. For the righteous are also worthy of admiration in this, that they rejoice in the welfare of their siblings, as in their own, and, for themselves also, it is according to their wish to be crowned along with their own members. To be glorified all together is a great delight. [Chrysostom: On The Epistle to the Hebrews 28.2]
Questions for group discussion:
Question: Has God ever called you, like he called Abram, to a journey about which you had no assurance of the outcome? Share your experience of stepping out in faith into the unknown of God's plan for your life.
Question: Abraham was 99 and Sarah 89 when the promise was made that Sarah would bear a son and they were 100 and 90 respectively when the child was born. God's 3 fold covenant promise to Abraham of a Kingdom, numerous descendants and a world-wide blessing were not fulfilled until approximately 2,000 years later in his descendant Jesus Christ. Are you impatient when God does not answer your petitions in a timely fashion, or do you lose faith when promises like Christ's return seem long in coming? What can we learn from Abraham's experience? What should we do when we are disappointed that prayers "seem" to remain unanswered?
Catechism references for this lesson [*indicated Scripture quoted in citation]
|
11:1 |
146 |
11:19 |
2572 |
|
11:2 |
147 |
11:39 |
147 |
|
11:3 |
286; 295; 338 |
11:40 |
147 |
|
11:6 |
161; 848 |
12:1-2 |
165 |
|
11:8 |
145 |
12:1 |
946-48; 953; 960; 1161; 2683* |
|
11:17 |
145*; 2572 |
12:2 |
147; 946-48; 954-62; 1435; 1506 |
Resources used in this lesson:
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