HEROES OF FAITH The Achievements of Faith, illustrated from the annals of Israel, beginning with the patriarchs and coming down to the martyrs. The writer has already mentioned faith as a necessary condition of a righteous life, and he now proceeds to illustrate the fact that it was by faith that th... [ Continue Reading ]
RV renders, 'Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proving of things not seen.' The word represented here by 'assurance' is rendered 'substance' in Hebrews 1:3; RV and 'confidence' in Hebrews 3:14. What is meant is that faith is that which gives assurance or certainty of things still i... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ELDERS] i.e. the faithful men under the old dispensation. OBTAINED A GOOD REPORT] RV 'had witness borne to them,' sc. by God in the Scriptures. 3. Faith enables us to perceive the invisible cause of the phenomenal world: cp. Romans 1:20, The writer begins with Genesis 1 before proceeding to giv... [ Continue Reading ]
ABEL] The writer says that the greater excellence of Abel's sacrifice was due to his faith, but _in_ what particular the faith was manifested he does not say. It may have been a 'fallen consciousness of the claim of God to the best'. YET SPEAKETH] 'Yet,' i.e. still to us. The reference is to Genesi... [ Continue Reading ]
RAISED TO LIFE AGAIN] RV 'by a resurrection.' This literal rendering of the original is necessary to bring out the contrast expressed in the words at the end of the v., 'a better resurrection,' i.e. one to a life which would not, as in the former case, be again interrupted by death.... [ Continue Reading ]
NOAH] His faith rested on a direct revelation of 'things not seen as yet,' viz. the destruction of the world and the means of salvation. FEAR] is 'godly fear,' as in Hebrews 5:7. HE CONDEMNED THE WORLD] i.e. either because he warned the world of the impending doom (see 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5); or... [ Continue Reading ]
ABRAHAM] By faith he realised the promises, and made a great surrender in obedience to God's call. He was preeminently a man of faith, the first whose faith is definitely mentioned in the OT. (Genesis 15:6); he is the 'father of the faithful.' All his life he 'sojourned, dwelling in tents,' i.e. not... [ Continue Reading ]
SARA] RV 'Even Sarah herself,' i.e. in spite of her earlier and natural incredulity: see Genesis 18:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
OF ONE] i.e. Abraham.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PROMISES] i.e. the fulfilment of them. Persuaded of _them_, and embraced _them_] RV 'greeted them from afar.' They looked forward by faith and saw the promises and 'saluted them,' or hailed them, from afar, and lived here as in a foreign land, conscious that their true fatherland was not here, b... [ Continue Reading ]
ABRAHAM'S FAITH IN OFFERING ISAAC: see Genesis 22. This was the supreme trial of Abraham's faith. He was not allowed to slay Isaac, but he did actually offer him, i.e. surrender him to God, although he was the 'only-begotten,' the child of promise and the only link in the chain of the promise. But f... [ Continue Reading ]
TOP OF HIS STAFF] The Heb. in Genesis 47:31 reads, 'the head of his bed.' The difference is due to the same consonants being read with different vowels, _mittah_ being 'bed,' and _matteh_ being 'staff.' 23-28. The faith of Moses and his parents.... [ Continue Reading ]
PROPER] i.e. goodly or beautiful. The appearance of the child is said here to have quickened their faith in God that He had destined the child for some great purpose, and their faith was shown in their daring disregard of the king's commandment: see Exodus 1:16. 24. Moses' faith was shown in his re... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST] cp. Hebrews 13:13; Romans 15:3. The same reproach as Christ suffered in delivering His people: cp. Romans 2:10. There may, however, here be the deeper thought not merely of similarity, but of identity of suffering. Christ, who was from all eternity, may be conceived as actual... [ Continue Reading ]
The keeping of the Passover was an act of faith, because it was the appointed means of deliverance from death, and the performance of it implied faith in God's promise of safety.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEM THAT BELIEVED NOT] i.e. the people of Jericho who knew what Jehovah had done for Israel: see Joshua 2:9; Joshua 2:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
OBTAINED PROMISES] cp. Joshua 6:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
A GOOD REPORT] see on Hebrews 11:2. 40. There is here the answer to an implied objection, that the faith of these suffering heroes was all in vain, seeing they did not receive the fulfilment of the promises. But, the writer says, this is a wrong inference, the truth being that God has merely deferr... [ Continue Reading ]