Carried by Faith, part 2
An expository study of the book of Hebrews
Chapter 11, Part II:
21. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
24. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25. choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26. esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
28. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Faith saw the invisible One
In verse 20, we saw God turn the will of Isaac, so that he performed the Lord’s purpose by faith. I am insisting that God gives faith in order to accomplish His purposes through people on the earth. Jacob learned that lesson well and when it came time to bless the sons of Joseph, he did it against Joseph’s expectations.
Carried by Faith, Part I
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4, quoted in Heb.10:38, Ro.1:17, and Ga.3:11
Chapter 11
1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
The substance and evidence of godly faith
The prophet, Habakkuk, contrasts the just soul with the soul of the puffed up… literal Hebrew, swollen: Here, I will mention leaven, which is always negative in biblical symbolism, because it swells beyond the substance, into which it is mixed. Therefore it fitly symbolizes pride, hypocrisy and deception. The unbeliever is self-righteous and self-sufficient. The soul, which is justified by faith, is one which is simple and truthful, humbly casting himself on God. That means that he believes or trusts in Him.
In verse 1, we have a definition for faith. Faith is that, which gives substance to the invisible things, for which the believer hopes. It is all the evidence needed for the unseen things. The New Testament deals with spiritual things, which are invisible, and faith is needed to provide substance and evidence to them. Intellect and scientific proof will fall short in the search for them and thereby, the ones, who try to build a religion on these two foundations, will never achieve their goal. Countless millions have made the attempt.
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