Faith in the Faithfulness of God

Hebrews 11:20-40

Main Idea: Life within the covenant family of God is marked by faith and trust in his covenant promises.

1. The Future-Looking Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (11:20-22)
2. Moses’s Faith-Fueled Obedience (11:23-27)
   1. Faith fixed on the worth of God
   2. Faith bearing witness to Jesus
   3. Faith trusting in the unseen
3. Surprising Faith in the Covenant-Keeping God (11:28-31)
4. Final Examples of Faith (11:32-40)
   1. Flawed lives marked by remarkable faith
   2. Old promises fulfilled in a new covenant

In this passage the author gives us a glimpse of the spiritual ancestors who went before us, those through whom God initiated his work of redemption. Though they were not perfect, Scripture holds them up as examples of faith from whom we ought to learn. They serve as paradigms of what it means to live faithfully, trusting in God and his promises. They did not throw away their confidence, and therefore they did the will of God and received what was promised (10:35-36). As we read this passage, we need to remember that it isn’t merely a summary of Old Testament history; it’s part of every Christian’s story. These examples are not merely Israel’s patriarchs, matriarchs, and heroes of the faith. They are also ours. We are members of the same family under the headship of the Lord Christ.

The Future-Looking Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph

Hebrews 11:20-22

Isaac was the son through whom God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, yet the building of the nation would ultimately take place through his sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac passed the promises he had received from his father to his sons (Gen 27:27-29,39-40). This demonstrated his trust in God’s promise that through Abraham’s heir his offspring would be as numerous as the stars (Gen 15:1-6; Gal 3:29). Isaac looked to the future and believed God would fulfill his covenant promise to Abraham.

Like his father, Jacob also trusted God to keep his promise. Even as he neared death, he blessed his sons and anticipated what God would do in the future (Gen 48:1-22). His faith was future oriented and fixed on God’s faithfulness.

Similarly, Joseph looked forward in faith and trusted that God would redeem his people from Egypt. As the text says, he anticipated the day he would return to Israel (Gen 50:24-25). That would only happen when God led Israel out of Egypt and into the land of promise. For Joseph to look forward to the exodus and to communicate that to his sons is almost as shocking as Abraham saying to Sarah, “We are going to have a child.” Nevertheless, Joseph demonstrated remarkable trust in God’s plan. He believed God would not leave or forsake Israel in a foreign land. That is faith—the kind of faith we are to emulate.

Moses’s Faith-Fueled Obedience

Hebrews 11:23-28

Faith Fixed on the Worth of God

The author continues exploring the exemplary faith of Israel’s patriarchs. Here he particularly concentrates on the faith Moses displayed during the events of the exodus. When the author says Moses was hidden because he was “beautiful,” he is not saying Moses was hidden because he was a cute baby. Rather, Moses’s beauty alludes to his particular destiny. Moses was a beautiful child because he was set apart for a specific task by God: leading Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan. Therefore, his parents were not afraid to disobey the king’s edict that every son born to the Hebrews be cast into the Nile but every daughter be allowed to live (Exod 1:22). Instead of acting in fear, Moses’s parents saw the exquisite quality of their son and trusted in God.

In verse 24 the spotlight shifts from the faith of Moses’s parents to Moses’s own faith. If Moses had not rejected sonship to Pharaoh’s daughter, he would have been choosing the fleeting pleasure of sin. The choice before him was ultimately this: comfort and privilege in the house of Egypt or persecution and suffering with the people of Israel. Making the former choice is faithlessness; the latter is faithfulness. Moses chose the latter. Rather than laying claim to stature, he aligned himself with Israel because he trusted the Lord and knew Egypt was not his home. Moses recognized the vanity of Pharaoh’s house and the all-surpassing worth of obedience to God.

Faith Bearing Witness to Jesus

Verse 26 raises an interesting question: What does Christ have to do with Moses’s rejection of Egypt? The storyline of Scripture rests squarely on the promise of a coming Messiah. The author of Hebrews demonstrates that Moses’s mistreatment ultimately pointed to Jesus, the very Messiah who would come to redeem his people. Moses himself wrote that a prophet would come who was greater than he and who would fulfill God’s promises (Deut 18:15-22). The covenant promises, in which these Old Testament saints believed, all find fulfillment in Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). Moses, therefore, was looking for the One who would redeem Israel, and the reproach he endured because he identified with the Israelites bore witness to the reproach Christ would bear for his people.

By choosing persecution instead of the fleeting pleasures of sin, Moses acted in accordance with his faith in God’s promise. The reward for trusting in God and his promise rather than in the wealth of man is greater than everything this world can offer. Indulging in sin will bring great pleasure, but that pleasure is temporary. Joining Jesus in his reproach, like Moses did, brings an everlasting reward and unending joy.

Faith Trusting in the Unseen

Moses also demonstrated his faith in God by leaving Egypt. Note the parallel with Joseph. Moses, like Joseph, knew that Egypt was not his home; it was not the promised land. He left because he believed God’s promises to Israel. Verse 27 is a reminder of a basic biblical principle: we must decide whose anger we fear more—the anger of the world and its governing authorities, or the anger of the Lord, the One who will judge the living and the dead. Moses clearly understands who God is: the Lord, sovereign over all. Thus, Moses did not fear Pharaoh. Instead, he followed God.

Though it may seem odd, the author’s point that God is invisible is very important. Recall the first verse of this chapter: “Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (emphasis added). Not only is this truth—God is invisible—the essence of theism (we do not look to an idol), it is also connected to the trust displayed by those mentioned in this chapter. Their trust in promises was intimately connected to their trust in God. As they trusted in the unseen God, so they trusted in the unseen fulfillment of his promises. This is the very essence of faith.

Verse 28 identifies Moses’s faith in keeping the Passover. The substitution pictured in the Passover foreshadowed the final perfect Lamb who would be slain for the forgiveness of those who put his blood on the doorpost of their hearts by faith (Isa 53:7; Matt 27:14; Acts 8:26-40). Led by Moses, the Israelites kept the Passover, not doubting that God would keep his promise to them. The death of the firstborn son would have ended the covenant promise to Abraham. But Israel’s firstborn were protected. Why? Because Moses did not waver in availing himself of the substitutionary sacrifice God provided. He trusted God to be faithful.

Surprising Faith in the Covenant-Keeping God

Hebrews 11:29-31

Verse 29 mentions one of God’s most extraordinary and miraculous displays of his lordship: the parting of the Red Sea. It was a foretaste of the redemption that would come when Jesus liberated sinners. The author of Hebrews, an inspired interpreter of the Old Testament, makes explicit what is implicit in Exodus: it took faith in the trustworthiness of God to walk across the seafloor as one would on dry land. What held the water back? God, in his providence, keeping his covenant promise to Israel. This is why, when the Egyptian army tried to cross, the water was released and they were drowned.

Verse 30 moves us from the exodus to the battle of Jericho (Josh 6). It is rather curious that the author would draw our attention to faith demonstrated by Israel at Jericho. After all, Joshua does not record anything about the people’s faith. Nevertheless, the writer says that they obeyed the Lord’s battle plan in faith.

In verse 31 the author takes us from Jericho to the story of Rahab, which at first seems like a dramatic shift in content. Until this point, the author has identified people we naturally assume would be set forth as examples of faith. Rahab, however, is not a name we expect to find on this illustrious list. A prostitute is not one typically described as faithful to God. Still, he puts Rahab forward as an example to emulate. How did she trust God and why is her faith commendable, despite her occupation? Rahab hid Israel’s spies and informed them how they could escape (Josh 2). As a result, Rahab and all her household were spared (Josh 6:22-25). She was not motivated by courage, self-protection, or some political calculation. She was motivated by faith. Rahab trusted in the God of Israel not only to fulfill his promise to his people but also to protect her from the destruction of Jericho. In a time of danger, she identified herself with the people of Yahweh and believed his promises, even though she was not an Israelite. Hers is truly a faith worth emulating.

Final Examples of Faith

Hebrews 11:32-40

As we come to the chapter’s end, it is as if we have experienced a great symphony. There has been expansive movement across many portions of the Old Testament. And now the list of characters culminates in a crescendo of final examples. Even though we may be less familiar with them, the central message intended is the same: the individuals were marked by an astonishing faith in God. The same should mark us.

Flawed Lives Marked by Remarkable Faith

The lives of those mentioned in this passage serve as examples for us. Were they perfect examples? No. Luther’s dying words, which underscore our need, apply to them: “We are beggars. This is true.” Gideon demanded signs from God and led Israel to sin when he made an ephod (Judg 6:36-40; 8:24-27); Samson was sexually promiscuous and broke his covenant with God (Judg 13–16); Jephthah vowed to sacrifice his own daughter (Judg 11:30-31,34-40); David committed adultery with a woman and tried to cover it up by arranging the death of her husband (2 Sam 11). Even so, the author does not remember them for their flaws. He commends them for their faith. Though they sinned, their lives were ultimately marked by their faith in God, which the author highlights in verses 33 and 34. They failed yet accomplished each of these feats by faith, so they serve as examples of remarkable trust in God.

Verses 35-38 shift our attention to those who suffered for the sake of Christ by faith. The women receiving back their dead is probably a reference to the work of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-23 and the work of Elisha in 2 Kings 4:18-36. These women trusted God and so received back their dead. Those who experienced the terrible suffering the author details did not fail in their faith, even in the midst of their persecution. They believed God would not fail to give them the promised land and trusted he would raise them to life on the last day. Though they were counted righteous by their faith, they were despised by the world for their devotion to God, so “the world was not worthy of them.”

The author is not calling us to die like they did, but he is calling us to trust in the covenant Lord like they did—even if that means suffering a death like theirs. Justin Martyr, an early church father, echoed this same kind of faith. When beholding the very place where he and his congregation would be martyred, Justin said, “Remember brothers and sisters, they can kill us, but they can’t hurt us.” This is the kind of devotion that marked these Old Testament saints, and it’s the kind of devotion we should display in our own lives.

Old Promises Fulfilled in a New Covenant

The author ends the symphony of chapter 11 by taking his readers back to its beginning, namely the theme of 11:2. These saints only had preliminary glimpses of God’s wondrous fulfillment of his promises. They did not live to see the coronation of King Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Still, they are commended for their extraordinary faith in God’s promise. They did not receive the ultimate fulfillment of that promise, but they recognized that they would experience it eschatologically. Their faith, like that of those the author discussed earlier, was a future-looking faith.

This again highlights the supreme significance of the new covenant. It was only in the establishment of the new covenant by the blood of Jesus that the old covenant promises could be fulfilled. This is what the author means in verse 40. Apart from the new covenant, there is no hope of perfect, unmitigated fellowship with God on the last day.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Do you actively remind yourself of the promises God has made to you as a member of the new covenant? How does remembering the promises of God affect the way you live? How do they help you fight sin and strive for holiness?
2. Are you feeling at home in this world? Do you long for comfort in the culture in which you live? How can you better prepare for the day when Christ will return and you will be home in every sense of the word? How can you fight against feeling at home in this world?
3. How did Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph demonstrate faith in the covenant promise of God? How did Joseph’s faith in particular point to the exodus?
4. What does it say of Moses’s parents that they hid him in spite of the possibility of retribution from the government? In what ways might we be forced to practice similar acts of faith in our own cultural context? Is your life marked by the same lack of fear of man that Moses’s parents displayed? If not, why?
5. What things did Moses do that demonstrated his faith? How did his actions reveal the worth of God? Does your life say the same—namely, that the worth of God is all-surpassing and the pleasures of this earth are fleeting? In what way can you actively demonstrate the worth of God in your own context?
6. In your own words, explain what the author means by mentioning reproach for the sake of Christ in relation to Moses. How do the events of the exodus point to Jesus?
7. Does the inclusion of Rahab the prostitute in this list surprise you? What does this tell us about God’s character toward sinners who put their faith in him?
8. How should God’s faithfulness affect how we understand our circumstances? How do those who suffered for their faith encourage you to endure?
9. What does it mean to have a future-looking faith? How did all of the examples in this chapter demonstrate a future-oriented faith? In what ways might new covenant believers do so?
10. What does the author mean when he says that these saints “would not be made perfect without us”? What does the new covenant have to do with their perfection?