Hebrews 11:9

Having declared the foundation of the faith of Abraham, and given the first signal instance of it, he proceeds to declare his progress in its exercise, first in general, and then in particular acts and duties; wherein he intermixeth some especial acts of it, whereby he was enabled and encouraged in and unto all other duties of it.

That which he ascribes unto his faith in general is laid down in this verse; whereunto he adjoins that encouraging act of it which enabled him in his duty, verse 10.

Hebrews 11:9. Πίστει παρῴκησεν εἰς τὴν γὴν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν, ἐν σκηναῖς κατοικήσας μετὰ ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ ᾿Ιακὼβ τῶν συγκληρονόμων τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς αὐτῆς. Παρῴκησεν. Syr., הוָא תַּיְחָבָא, “he was a stranger,” “a sojourner.” Vulg. Lat., “demoratus est,”'”he tarried.” Rhem., “he abode.” Erasm., “commigravit;” that is, μετῴκησεν, saith Beza, “be went,” or “wandered,” to answer the preposition εἰς following, “he went into the land.” Beza, “commoratus est,” “he abode;” and then it must refer unto κατοικήσας, “he dwelt in tents.” Others, “advena fuit;” he was “a stranger,” “a guest,” “a sojourner.” Heb., גֵּי הָיָה, “he was a stranger,” or גּוּר, “he sojourned.”

᾿Εν σκηναῖς. Vulg. Lat., “in casulis.” Rhem., “in cottages.” “In tentoriis,” “in tents” or “tabernacles.”

Hebrews 11:9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

1. That which is assigned in general unto the faith of Abraham is, that “he sojourned.”

2. The place where is added; “in the land of promise.”

3. How he esteemed of that land, and how he used it; “as in a strange country.”

4. Who were his companions therein; namely, “Isaac and Jacob,” on the same account with himself, as “the heirs of promise.”

1. “He sojourned.” Παροικέω is “commoror,” “to abide;” but it is to abide as a stranger. So it is used Luke 24:18, Σὺ μόνος παροικεῖς ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλήμ; “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem?” a sojourner there for a season, not an inhabitant of the place. And it is nowhere else used. Thence is πάροικος, “a stranger,” “a sojourner :” Acts 7:6, “Thy seed shall be γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ a stranger; “should sojourn in a strange land.” So πάροικοι, are joined with παρεπίδημοι, 1 Peter 2:11, “Strangers and pilgrims;” and with ξένοι, Ephesians 2:19, “foreigners;” and are opposed to πολῖτοι, “citizens,” or the constant inhabitants of any place. Χρόνος παροικίας, is the “time of our pilgrimage” here, 1 Peter 1:17. Wherefore παρώκησε, is, “he abode as a stranger,” not as a free denizen of the place; not as an inheritor, for he had no inheritance, not a foot-breadth in that place, Acts 7:5; not as a constant inhabitant or house-dweller, but as a stranger, that moved up and down as he had occasion. His several motions and stages are recorded by Moses.

2. There is the place of his sojourning; “in the land of promise,” εἰς τὴν γῆν for ἐν τῇ γῇ, “into” for “in the land.” So Acts 7:4, “The land εἰς ἥν ὑμεῖς νῦν κατοικεῖτε,” “wherein ye now dwell;” Hebrew, בָאָרֶצ.

And from the use of the Hebrew בְּ, εἰς is frequently put for ἐν in the New Testament, and on the contrary. Wherefore not the removal of Abraham into that land, which he had mentioned in the foregoing verse, but his abode as a stranger, a foreigner, a pilgrim in it, is intended. And this was “the land of promise;” that is, which God had newly promised to give unto him, and wherein all the other promises were to be accomplished.

3. He sojourned in this place “as in a strange land.” He built no house in it, purchased no inheritance, but only a burying-place. He entered, indeed, into leagues of peace and amity with some, as with Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, Genesis 14:13; but it was as a stranger, and not as one that had any thing of his own in the land. He reckoned that land at present no more his own than any other land in the world, no more than Egypt was the land of his posterity when they sojourned there, which God had said was not theirs, nor was so to be. Genesis 15:13.

The manner of his sojourning in this land was, that he “dwelt in tabernacles;” “in cottages,'saith the Vulgar Latin, absurdly It was no unusual thing in those days, and in those parts of the world, for many, yea some nations, to dwell, in such movable habitations. Why Abraham was satisfied with this kind of life the apostle declares in the next verse. And he is said to dwell in tabernacles, or tents, because his family required more than one of them; though sometimes they are called a tent only, with respect unto that which was the peculiar habitation of the master of the family. And the women had tents unto themselves. So Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent, Genesis 24:67. So Jacob and his wives had all of them distinct tents, Genesis 31:33. These tents were pitched, fixed, and erected only with stakes and cords, so as that they had no foundation in the earth; whereunto the apostle in the next verse opposeth a habitation that hath a foundation. And with respect unto their flitting condition in these movable houses, God in an especial manner was said to be their dwelling-place, Psalms 90:1.

4. He thus sojourned and dwelt in tents “with Isaac and Jacob.” It is evident that Abraham lived until Jacob was sixteen or eighteen years old; and therefore may be said to live with him, as unto the same time wherein they both lived. Nor is there any force in the objection, that Isaac had a separate tent from Abraham; for it is not said that they lived in the same tents, but that at the same time they all lived in tents. Yet there is no need to confine it unto the same time; the sameness of condition only seems to be intended. For as Abraham was a sojourner in the land of Canaan, without any inheritance or possession, living in tents, so was it also with Isaac and Jacob, and with them alone. Jacob was the last of his posterity who lived as a sojourner in Canaan; all those after him lived in Egypt, and came not into Canaan until they took possession of it for themselves.

And they were “heirs with him of the same promise;” for not only did they inherit the promise as made unto Abraham, but God distinctly renewed the same promise unto them both; unto Isaac, Genesis 26:3-4; and unto Jacob, Genesis 28:13-15. So were they heirs with him of the very same promise. See Psalms 105:9-11.

The sense of the words being declared, we may yet further consider the matter contained in them.

We have here an account of the life of Abraham after his call. And it fell under a twofold consideration:

1. As unto the internal principle of it; so it was a life of faith.

2. As unto the external manner of it; so it was a pilgrimage, without a fixed, settled habitation. Both are proposed in the first words of the text, “By faith he sojourned?

1. As unto the internal principle of it, it was a life of faith

(1.) The life which he now led was a life of faith with respect unto things spiritual and eternal. For he had for the foundation and object hereof,

[1.] The promise of the blessed Seed, and the spiritual blessing of all nations in him, as a confirmation of the first fundamental promise to the church, concerning the Seed of the woman that was to break the serpent's head. And,

[2.] God entered expressly into covenant with him, confirming it with the sea] of circumcision, wherein he obliged himself to be his God, his God almighty, or all-sufficient, for his temporal and eternal good. To suppose that Abraham saw nothing in this promise and covenant but only things confined unto this life, nothing of spiritual grace or mercy, nothing of eternal reward or glory, is so contrary to the analogy of faith, to express testimony of Scripture, so destructive of all the foundations of religion, so unworthy of the nature and properties of God, rendering his title of “the father of the faithful,” and his example in believing, so useless, as that it is a wonder men of any tolerable sobriety should indulge to such an imagination.

(2.) It was a life of faith with respect unto things temporal also. For as he was a sojourner in a strange land, without friends or relations, not incorporated in any political society or dwelling in any city, he was exposed unto all sorts of dangers, oppression and violence, as is usual in such cases. Besides, those amongst whom he sojourned were for the most part wicked and evil men, such as, being fallen into idolatry, were apt to be provoked against him for his profession of faith in the most high God. Hence, on some occurrences of his life that might give them advantage, it is observed, as a matter of danger, that “the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land,” Genesis 13:7; Genesis 12:6. And this he feared, Genesis 20:11. Moreover he had sundry particular trials, wherein he apprehended that his life was in imminent danger, Genesis 12:11-13; Genesis 20:2. In all these dangers and trials, with others innumerable, being helpless in himself, he lived in the continual exercise of faith and trust in God, his power, his all-sufficiency, and faithfulness. Hereof his whole story is full of instances, and his faith in them is celebrated frequently in the Scripture.

(3.) In things of both sorts, spiritual and temporal, he lived by faith, in a constant resignation of himself unto the sovereign will and pleasure of God, when he saw no way or means for the accomplishment of the promise. So was it with him with respect unto the long season that he lived without a child, and under the command he had to offer him for a sacrifice, when he had received him.

On all these accounts he was the father, the pattern, or example of believers in all generations. We saw before the foundation of his faith and the entrances of his believing; here we have a progress of them proposed unto our imitation. And that wherein we are instructed hereby is, that when we are once engaged, and have given up ourselves to God in a way of believing, there must be no choice, no dividing or halting, no halving; but we must; follow him fully, wholly, and universally, living by faith in all things.

2. For the external part, or manner of his life, it was a pilgrimage, it was a sojourning. Two things are required unto such a state of life:

(1.) That a man be in a strange country;

(2.) That he have no fixed habitation of his own.

If a man be free from either of these, he is not a pilgrim. A man may want a habitation of his own as his inheritance, and yet, being in his own country, not be a pilgrim; and a man may be in a strange country, and yet, having a fixed habitation of his own therein, he may not be a pilgrim: but when both these concur, there is a state of pilgrimage. And so it was with Abraham. He was in a strange land. Though it was “the land of promise,” yet having no interest in it, no relation, no possession, no inheritance, it was unto him a strange land. And he did but sojourn in any place, having no habitation of his own. And this of all others is the most disconsolate, the most desolate estate, and most exposed unto dangers; wherefore he had nothing to trust unto or rest upon but divine protection alone. So are his state and protection described, Psalms 106:12-15. And we may observe,

Obs. 1. That when faith enables men to live unto God as unto their eternal concernments, it will enable them to trust unto him in all the difficulties, dangers, and hazards of this life. To pretend a trust in God as unto our souls and invisible things, and not resign our temporal concernments with patience and quietness unto his disposal, is a vain pretense. And we may take hence an eminent trial of our faith. Too many deceive themselves with a presumption of faith in the promises of God, as unto things future and eternal. They suppose that they do so believe as that they shall be eternally saved; but if they are brought into any trial as unto things temporal, wherein they are concerned, they know not what belongs unto the life of faith, nor how to trust in God in a due manner. It was not so with Abraham; his faith acted itself uniformly with respect unto the providences as well as the promises of God. Wherefore,

Obs. 2. If we design to have an interest in the blessing of Abraham, we must walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham. Firm affiance in the promises for grace, mercy, and eternal salvation, trust in his providence for preservation and protection in this world, with a cheerful resignation of all our temporal and eternal concerns unto his disposal, according to the tenor of the covenant, are required hereunto. And they are all indispensably necessary unto that obedience wherein we are to walk with God, as he did. The faith of most men is lame and halt in the principal parts and duties of it.

Obs. 3. When faith is once duly fixed on the promises, it will wait patiently under trials, afflictions, and temptations, for their full accomplishment; as did that of Abraham which is here celebrated. See the exposition on Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 6:15.

Obs. 4. Faith discerning aright the glory of spiritual promises, will make the soul of a believer contented and well satisfied with the smallest portion of earthly enjoyments, etc.