Hebrews 11:17–40.
Summary:
A review of how some old testament pillars of faith acted in faith despite the fact they they only had faith, not the full revelation of the completed work of Christ.
Questions:
6. Abraham, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
Moses, chose to be mistreated along with the people of God; he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible; he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
7. First comes God’s love and calling, then comes our answer and faith, finally comes our maturity in doing works pleasing to God. Rahab was a seeker – God is God of all whether they choose to accept His gift of salvation or not. Even if someone decides to reject God, that does not mean that he or she may not be part of God’s plan of salvation for others. Also, just because someone has sinned (acted unethically) does not mean God doesn’t know that they will someday be part of His family and reward and protect them as such. However, that does not mean that God encourages us to be broken or deceitful – if that were the case then Christ would have acted in that manner while on earth.
8. Other than Moses (who was allowed to see the back of the almighty) the others only had a shadow. We have the spoken word of God, the living messiah who came to earth. We have the revelation of the old testament prophecies and the comprehension of God’s plan for salvation of His people. Basically, we have a full set of the blueprints, in 3D, of God’s plan of saving the world from sin through his son. How great was their faith that they were pillars of this building without any idea of the plan of the completed structure. They stood by faith because of hope alone and trust in the master builder, not assurance that the work was completed.
Conclusion:
I really liked that BSF looped in Rahab and the spies. Sometimes the characters of the old testament can seem a bit larger than life, particularly to a new believer. Not that any of these men were without sin. The bible is unsympathetic in pointing out their faults as well as their strengths, but, I mean, when is the last time you dropped everything and constructed an Ark? But God is God, almighty and all knowing. He can use a sinner just like me, particularly if I am willing to stand out in faith, the same that he can and does with any other person on this planet.
The Notes are Good 