Hebrews 11.19
August 24th 2014
Meat
Whether you are here live in the studio/church or watching online streaming we welcome you.
GUEST SPEAKER?
PRAY
Sing Word of God
Silence
Alright, we left off last week talking about Abraham.
And we spoke about how, as the Father of Faith, there were a number of things about him and his life that support this title.
The writer first touched on the fact that Abraham, when called out of his homeland, departed into a place that was unknown to him.
Then the writer spoke of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who, through faith, received strength in her body to conceive seed from him, who was as good as dead.
Speaking of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob, the writer notes, in verse 13 that
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
And now, in the first verses of our text for the day, the writer leaves the topic of Sarah and Isaac, and Jacob, and returns to speak about their sojourning in a foreign land as strangers and says:
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Back to verse 14.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
What things is the writer speaking of? The things said in verse 13:
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
All who say such things, who “confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” “declare that they seek a country, he writes.
I interpret this to mean:
Those who consider themselves strangers and pilgrims on this earth – whether in a specific foreign land (as Abraham was) OR those on earth today who confess that they do not belong her, declare quite clearly that they seek another place, or, as the writer says, a country.
Such people were the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and then even Moses. They lived and acted just as if they had not yet found a permanent habitation, but were travelling in search of one.
Then the writer makes the point of this illustration taken from Abraham to believers today, saying:
15 And truly, if they had (these Hebrew patriarchs) been mindful (been looking back with fondness) of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
In other words, in the case of Abraham, if he was recalling his days in Ur or Harran with enough sentiment, you know, longing and loving that life and all it contained before, he would have returned to it.
In Abraham’s case the journey back was not so long or perilous that they could not have retraced their steps.
In other words the writer is suggesting that had Abraham had it IN HIS HEART to return to Ur he could have – there was nothing stopping him.
But the writer suggests that he didn’t because he wasn’t mindful of it, or did not reflect upon it with enough fondness to draw him back into its boundaries.
Again, despite all the hardships and difficulties, the trials, the uncertainty, they never returned. They preferred to be unmoored and waiting on “another city,” rather than return to their native land or former lives.
Of course the illustration applies to every believer in the very same way as all of us have, indeed, come out of a former life – EVEN those who have been raised Christian TOO ought to sojourn out and look, like Abraham, for “another city.”
The parallel’s are obvious when it comes to people steeped in lives of sin, who walk away in exchange for a relationship with the Lord.
There is ample opportunity, ample freedom (at least in the flesh) to return, like a dog to it’s vomit, to such a life.
And because it is so much like a dog returning to its vomit most people would rather remain in the trials of walking by faith than ever going back.
Certainly, we all will stick a toe here and there in the pond called our former home, but the water is often found so lukewarm, so polluted, it doesn’t take long for the stench of it to reach the nose and remind us that there really is nothing there of value.
Occasionally, however, the inducements of the world overwhelm even some of the “best Christians,” and the allure of the open arms of former friends and associations are too much to forfeit.
Years ago as I was trying to make ends meet for the family I took a job working at FedEx as a loader and during the Christmas season was assigned to work as a runner for one of the more seasoned drivers.
He was known around the station as an hard partier and guy who got around with the ladies.
One day while we were at lunch he opened up to me. He knew I was in deep search for truth and God and was only working the job but had no interest in anything but theology or philosophy or wherever truth lied.
Even though I was LDS still I will never forget what he communicated to me that day – and it was something we shared between us as I continued to work as a loader and never road with him again.
He said, munching on a piece of pizza, “yeah, I once had the truth in my life.”
“Really,” I replied.
“It was the greatest time in my life. Beyond compare. I was really tuned in to everything with God, I was living the life, and I gotta tell you, when you are in that place there is nothing better.”
“You were a Christian?” I asked.
“I was . . . I guess I still am,” he said with a look of sadness in his eyes I will never forget (but admittedly when he said that I, as a latter-day Saint proudly mocked him in my heart).
“So what happened?”
He was still in thought. And then he said sadly, “I went back to everything from before.”
“I just couldn’t let it go.”
His pager went off and we were off and never talked again. But I have indelibly impressed upon my mind the face of a man who knew what it was like to have sojourned without a country, who went back to where he came from.
I hope he’s made another departure.
The writer of Hebrews continues on speaking of Abraham and his progeny,
And says of them
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
In other words at the time when they confessed that they were “strangers and sojourners” they showed that they sought a better country than the one which they had left.
Interestingly, even though Abraham was promised a land of his own, the writer is not referring to him waiting and looking for it.
Instead he says that Abraham, while sojourning, had no expectation of a permanent residence on earth but was looking to another world.
Maybe we can suppose that Abraham knew that his posterity had been promised the land, but he himself, considered himself a stranger and foreigner on this earth AND looked toward a heavenly country, city, and residence.
For this reason we see that Abraham did not personally seek to take land by conquest, made no claims to have title or entitlements to terra firma, didn’t even purchase grazing land.
All he bought was a grave for Sarah and all of this serves as proof of where his heart was focused – on high – or, as the writer puts it, on a “better country, even an heavenly.”
Once again, the parallels are evident.
Chuck Smith used to put it this way:
“Keep a light touch on the things of this world.”
Very, very tough for some believers today because everything (especially in the US) revolves around the all mighty buck, on home-ownership, and on material acquisition.
This is not to say that such things are antithetical to being the truest and best Christian – they’re not.
Abraham was a wealthy individual in terms of material wealth.
The point is his focus was on the future heavenly home, not establishing roots in the present. Apparently, Abraham, while wealthy, kept a very light touch on the things of this world.
I’m going to say something that will sting a bit. But, as human beings, we talk about the contents of our hearts.
I may be wrong but when I sit with people the general rule is people ultimately reveal what takes up the most room, or gets the most attention in their heart and mind.
It doesn’t take long for the mouth to confirm what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Of course I would rather sit all day with a person who speaks the truth of his heart than those who attempt to feign its contents through words. The latter is a lot of work.
But in the end we all reveal the contents of our heart though the mouth.
And those who have a heavy hand on the things of this world, those whose want to seek a place in this world instead of have their focus on a heavenly country reveal it – constantly.
But here the writer tells us that Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob) were not this type. They sought a heavenly habitation.
The result? The writer says:
“Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”
I’m not so sure there isn’t a greater hope in all of scripture (excepting the hope of salvation) when we think about it.
I want God to not be ashamed to be called my God.
I often wonder if that is possible in relation to myself but never the less, what a concept, right!
It is thought that the writer is referring to Exodus 3:6.
There Moses went up onto Sinai and saw the burning bush and we then read that God said to him:
“I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
I mean, among other things that is a mighty compliment.
But God was not ashamed to call himself their God the aim of their heart was so elevated that God was willing to speak of himself as their God.
I doubt God is ever ashamed by anything at all – but sometimes I have to wonder.
Then, after saying “whereforeGod is not ashamed to be called their God:”
He justified this by saying
“for he hath prepared for them a city.”
Interestingly enough, this is what the writer (in verse 10) says that they expected.
We could take this literally and believe God is building a city in heaven or believe it is speaking of heaven itself.
Probably the New Jerusalem which I believe is completely spiritual – but could be wrong.
But what we do see is that they obtained what they had looked for by faith.
So, I read these passages like this:
The wandering and unsettled patriarch Abraham was told to leave his former home and God gave him a promise.
I will give your posterity a land of their own.
In the meanwhile he (and then ultimately them) lived all their lives regarding themselves as strangers and pilgrims, and while their posterity ultimately were presented with earthly land, they were admitted into a home of permanent rest which they looked and longed for while traveling through this world.
Few verses better demonstrate that the patriarchs believed in a future state in heaven than this.
Okay, so let’s move on – verses 17-19 – which wrap up the writers insights on Abraham.
And here he presents the part about Abraham that is best known – the sacrifice of his long awaited son Isaac.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Okay . . .
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
So far the writer has shown many ways that Abraham was a man of faith but he ends the whole matter with the cu de graw – to take his only son, the son of the promise, and sacrifice him on an altar the way a pagan would offer human sacrifice . . . possibly like the pagan’s did around him when he lived in Ur.
Of course this one is possibly the greatest example from man in scripture – to take a kill a son, and especially this son.
Where the writer refers to this as “when he was tried,” the word really means tempted in most other places in the New Testament, but not tempted in the way we think of it.
So tried is really the best word because it means “tested, tempted to seek another way, and it even means examined – when Abraham’s faith was examined.
In the end we might say that the meaning is that Abraham was placed in a circumstance that which examined or tested the strength of his confidence in God.
Of course we know that God knew the outcome so I would suggest the trial was to show Abraham, those around him, and ultimately every one of us the quality of faith he possessed.
And the writer says that in the face of this, “he offered up Isaac.”
According to the Greek, this line is written in the “perfect active indicative of prospherô a verb used throughout this letter and it means the act was already and completely consummated as far as Abraham was concerned.
Obviously the trial of his faith had to have been excruciating to hear, but apparently Abraham was so convinced that God would do all that He said He would do the deed was done and if he hadn’t been stopped by the angel the knife would have fallen.
Pretty radical.
I have always thought of this story in different terms. I used to believe that Abraham was not believing but only doing ys he was told – that he, yes, got Isaac, and climbed the mountain, and built the altar, and raised the knife but the whole time he was like, (raise the knife) “Come on Lord, I’m really not going to have to do this, right? I know this is a test and that you are going to stop me . . . Lord? Lord?
But this is not the case. He was decided in His mind to the point that he had already sacrificed Isaac.
The Son, according to God, was the only son of the promise, the son upon whom all the promises rested, or, as the writer says, speaking of Isaac (in verse 18)
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
His child from the bondwoman Hagar would not have worked.
The children born to him through Ketura would not have worked – only Isaac.
In this we have the idea that when it comes to our solutions they are ineffectual when compared to God’s. With Him and His sovereign will in our lives His ways work out – ours do not.
He allows us to attempt them, but the point of Christianity is to follow his ways through to the end – in faith – allowing Him to test our resilience, our determination, our resolve to do things His way.
This is a constant in ministry. Will we do it His way or our own. Will we trust in Him to the end or will we stop short and rationalize a stop-gap measure.
Often people ask how you can tell which is our will and what it His? In this we cannot compare ourselves to Abraham. His was a unique place where no law had been established and no nation or history of faith could be used as a guide.
But I can also honestly answer this question by saying to things:
First, we have the word to test our inclinations and inspirations by. This too can be difficult but it is a failsafe that can corral our most idiotic drives.
In other words, there have been people led to also take their children and offer them up to God.
All we have to do is read the account of Abraham to see He has NEVER had ANYONE do such a thing.
Then we can take into account that Jesus came and fulfilled the law. In light of this so, so, so many behaviors, often done in the name of God have become absolutely untenable.
He finished it – there is nothing more to do, or inflict, or punish.
Finally, He rules and reigns by His Spirit.
Admittedly this idea is EXTREMELY difficult for people to navigate – especially if mental illness is part of a person’s make-up.
When I was LDS there was a family in our ward where the mother said that God told her to take her family and live in a tent out in the dessert.
The notion is certainly biblical, is it not?
But what can we say? “You’re bonkers?” It’s a tough one because there’s always that little suspicion that maybe God did tell her to move to the desert.
How do we know? I DON’T KNOW.
All I can say do is first quote scripture, and second, tell you how it works in my life – warts and all.
I’ll combine the two and see if we can come to a suggestion, at least.
Psalm 37:4 says “that God shall give us the desires of our heart.”
This passage is used frequently by all sorts of believers but unfortunately not always contextually.
The full passage actually says:
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
There are a lot of important caveats found in these passages NOT always included in how to discover the will of the Lord for our lives and direction.
First of all, the promise is prefaced on a directive:
“Delight thyself also in the Lord,” . . . FIRST.
This is paramount to walking with Him by faith. Delighting in our relationship with Him. Being in relationship with Him.
This does NOT mean perfunctory allegiance or action but from the heart, as in Abraham who, from the heart, had already sacrifice Isaac before he even raised the knife.
That seems to be the heart.
Time and time again I speak with people who claim to want to follow the Lord, who want to do what He want’s them to do, but they do not delight in His ways, they might even fear His ways.
I would suggest the we FIRST have in our heart a delight for Him and His ways – no matter what they might be.
No matter what. It has to be in the heart to delight in him in this way. Sure we fail, sure we get weak or fleshly.
But in the end, are His ways delightful in our minds . . . because we trust Him, love Him, and know He will work all things out far better than we will.
I cannot help but believe, having studied Abraham, that he delighted in the ways of the Lord – it was evidenced by all He had already done in relation to God’s will.
After this is in place we read:
“and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
So from this I think we can safely say that if we first delight in His ways He will grant the desires of our heart.
The word for desires in the Hebrew also means “the petitions” of our heart.
When we are delighting in Him I think we can say that the petitions of our heart will be granted – because they will be in harmony with His will.
And maybe we can suggest that when the petitions of our heart are NOT granted that maybe they contain some amount of self-will – which He may or may not grant.
To me, the heart that delights in the Lord would not desire or petition him for things aimed at the self.
To me, the petitions will always include the umbrella of “you will be done.”
To me, the petitions are almost always for God to help us face and receive His will by faith and in love and to ignore the things that come from our flesh.
The second line of these passages continues and says (to then):
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Again, we have the fact that we are first committed unto His ways and will, that we trust in Him, and then HE will bring what we are desiring in our hearts to pass – we won’t.
The summary is truly to walk in faith. To love and trust Him with accomplishing the (can we say, righteous or Godly) desires of our hearts – come what may?
Again, oh so very difficult.
Abraham has pretty much done what God has told Him to do – left home, sojourned, the old snippy snippy, let Ishamal and Hagar go away, sired Isaac, looked for a heavenly city, and was ultimately blessed by God accomplishing His will through He and Sarah – once they were good as dead.
But even after all of this God was NOT done with Abraham.
And now He tells Him to take Isaac and offer him up as a sacrifice.
The actual account is found in Genesis chapter 22. This is what it says:
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
That name, JehovahJireh means, The LORD will provide.
See, this is the question Abraham was facing – “How will the Lord take care of this situation.”
Abraham was dedicated to the action He was commanded to take. But within that dedication was the faith that God would provide the solution.
It is NOT one bit different for us to this very day as we seek to walk by faith.
I do not believe this means providing the solution ourselves and then saying, “Look how the Lord has worked.”
I believe it is literally allowing Him to fix the situation, provide the way out.
And again, not an easy way to live.
We do have to note, however, that Abraham did act.
He went to the mountain and took His Son. He built the altar, He raised the knife and at the end of all he was told to do, when it was as if the act was completed, when Isaac was now “as good as dead,”
The Angel of the Lord told him to stop.
I have failed so many times in allowing the Lord to take me (and my life) to the point where situations were as good dead that I can say I have reached a place where the successes are not an frequent as the failures.
In establishing the ministry to the LDS there were several times where the ministry was as good as dead – where the knife was raised above my throat – and He provided the solution.
In the case of our eldest daughter Mallory, a joy in our lives and a woman we are so proud of today, we had to allow her to get to a place – and remain in a place – where she was as good as dead – and God resurrected her to new life.
My marriage, due to innumerable factors, has been on the brink of death – on one occasion that it seems like we were at an impasse where it could not be revived – was saved, when He showed up and changed things – especially, in that situation, me.
And almost every time something seems to take to life, get roots, and grow in our lives, the Lord literally has me take it to Morah, build an alter and sacrifice it . . . to something better, trusting the whole time that GOD is able to provide a solution . . . and it is always a better solution than anything I could do.
What was in the heart of Abraham as that knife was lifted into the air?
The writer tells us, saying that he was (verse 19):
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Because the writer of Hebrews says this we can take it as biblical fact – Abraham believed that God was capable of bringing Isaac back from the dead.
To resurrect him.
Maybe by this point Abraham had seen enough to know God was able to do anything. After all, Isaac was created in a supernatural manner (just like the Messiah that would come through his loins) and therefore it seemed God could raise Him up in a similar fashion (just as He would raise the Messaih in the same way).
This certainty, in Abraham’s mind was there and present throughout the Genesis narrative.
In fact, where we read in Genesis 22:6:
“And Abraham said unto his young men, (those who assisted them to the mountain) “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder, and worship, and come again to you;”
The Hebrew for “and come again to you (is in the plural) and has Abraham saying “And we (Isaac and I) will return.”
So while Abraham was fully convinced in his heart that he was going to sacrifice Isaac, he was also fully convinced that God would provide a way for Isaac to come back down with him once it was all over.
That, my friends, is faith . . . it is the faith I want to live by, and it is the type of faith that pleases God.
There is a last line here where the writer ends the account by adding:
“From whence also he received him in a figure.”
And while there is ALL sorts of thoughts on what this actually means, I believe it means that “Abraham received Isaac from off the alter in a figure of God providing a solution.”
Of course we all know of the picture this event has for the Messiah to come, and it would be fun to think this is what the writer meant, but I don’t think so.
Maybe you do.
