HEBREWS 11: 13-16
FAITH’S PERSECTIVE / SEEKING A BETTER HOMELAND
[Revelations 21: 1-7]
There is a story about an extremely RICH MAN who was determined to take it all with him when he died. He prayed and prayed until finally the Lord gave in to his prayer request. The only condition was that he could only take one suitcase of his wealth with him. The rich man therefore filled his suitcase with gold bullion.
The day came when God called him home. St. Peter greeted him at the gate and told him he could come in but he would have to leave his suitcase outside. The man replied, “It's okay because I have an agreement with God to allow me one suitcase in heaven.”
“That’s very unusual,” replied St. Peter. “Would you allow me to take a look inside?”
The man opened the suitcase to reveal the shining gold bullion bars. St. Peter was taken back and asked, “Why in the world would you want to bring pavement to heaven? Heaven is a far better place than earth, isn’t it?
Faith in the God of the Future is the theme of this passage. Faith in God is demonstrated through faith in the promises of God. People of faith place their hope for the future in the promises of God. Faith in the promises of God provides hope, direction, and motivation for the life of the true believer. The things hoped for, though not yet seen, control the life of a person of faith (CIT).
The people of faith in Hebrews 11, had not received what had been promised to them, yet they continued to live in light of the promises because, in faith, they saw the fulfillment of the promises from afar. These believers looked into the future with the eyes of faith and had some glimpse of the fulfilled promises God had for them and for their children.
Instead of craving immediate satisfaction of their desires, they lived by faith in God’s promises. They denied themselves short-term pleasures because they sought long-term fulfillments. They made the sacrifice of quick gratification in order to possess the greater satisfaction of God’s eternal promises. They lived their life by faith in these promises they would not receive in their lifetime. But because they lived by faith, they set an example for all those who would come after them. May our life of faith do the same for those who follow after us. [Song: Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah]
I. LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S PROMISES, 13-14.
II. SEEKING A BETTER HOMELAND, 15-16.
Verse 13 states that faith directed their life even as they faced death. “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”
“All these” refers to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob [and perhaps the others that follow this passage]. These people “died in faith,” [kat? p?st?? lit., “according to faith”] in that they trusted in God’s promises. When they died they were still living their life under the controlling direction of a reality not yet experienced. They faced death still living by the faith that guided their life. They were faithful even unto death.
How or why did they face life and death based on an unseen reality? They could because they had “seen them” as our passage states. They could not literally see the promises (Heb. 11:1, 7), but they saw them in that they believed and saw them through the eyes of faith. [The Greek verb translated “not having received” indicates not having the promise in one’s possession or pocket, as it were.] By faith these saints of old saw the promised realities from a distance and this vision caused them to persist in their pilgrimage, looking for a country not of this world. By faith they saw the heavenly realities and believed that the promises would eventually be theirs (11:1). They lived by faith and died in expectation or hope.
They therefore welcomed [?spas?µe???] or “greeted them” (Gen. 49:18) meaning the promises. These saints embracing the vision of faith to their hearts, realizing they were merely pilgrims and strangers in the here and now. Their faith in God’s promises enabled them to regard their present life as only temporary and preparatory. The desire for their true home was intense, yet they sensed this was not God’s timing. They placed their lives on the foundation stones of faith in their reliable God who would build the future (verse 10). [Evans, L. H., Jr, & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). The Preacher’s Commentary Series: Hebrews (Vol. 33, p. 199). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
The pilgrimage of the patriarchs was characterized by two objects: a tent and an altar. They were wanderers and worshipers, pilgrims and priests. So, too, as I look around this world, I feel like I fit in less and less. Like the patriarchs, we are strangers because it’s strange around here. And, like them, we realize that what we’re looking and longing for is not to be found here. [Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (p. 1496). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.] [Do you remember Jesus saying….“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56, emphasis added).]
So we too live by faith in promises whose fulfillment can only be seen by the eyes of faith.
The orientation of our forefathers’ lives made it clear that they were seeking a higher homeland as verse 14 states. “For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.”
When they admitted to being aliens and strangers on earth (Gn. 23:4; 47:4, 9), they made it clear that they were looking for a country of their own. Their patient faith endured great hardship because they believed God had something better. They realized that God’s plan goes beyond human history. They look forward to the redemption from sin and longed for the future God had prepared for them (Jn. 14:1-2).
They sought and we are seeking heaven or an eternal home. Heaven is a place without sin, a place without hate, a place without war, a place without cancer, without disease or sickness, a place without evil, a place without death.
Our new man, our inner person, longs for heaven, for a place filled with love, a place filled with peace, a place filled with plenty, a place of wonder and awe, a placed filled with goodness and kindness, a place filled with joy and laughter.
II. SEEKING A BETTER HOMELAND, 15-16.
Verse 15 provides a demonstration of their faithfulness to the promises. “And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.”
These pilgrims never attempted to return to Mesopotamia [Ur]. They were home-sick not for an earthly land or place, but they longed for heaven (Job 19:25, 26, Ps. 27:4). They did not return to that past but focused their lives on what they could not physically see. They embraced God’s plan for them even though it made them aliens and strangers on earth.
They consecrated their life to God, to following God. Consecration means devoting myself to God. To trust and obey no matter the circumstance in which we live. It means putting my hand to the plow, my eyes upon the God of the future, and not looking back to the fallen life of the past.
Those held up as examples lived by faith in God’s promises and never turned back. In FLYING there is what is called the point of no return. When a airplane has reached that point it cannot go back. Its fuel level has reached a level where there is nothing left to do but go on. One of the tragedies of life is the number of people who turn back. Just one more effort, a little more praying, a little more time, a little more hoping, would make the difference. A Christian should feel he has already passed the point of no return and just keep on heading homeward no matter the feelings or contrary winds they face. [Barclay, William. The Letter to the Hebrews. Westminister Press. 1976. p. 150.]
Faith in God’s promises honors God and God honors those who honor Him which verse 16 reveals. “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
The Greek word translated “desire” [??????ta?] means, “they are yearning for,” “they stretch forth their hands towards.” [Farrar, F. W. (1893). The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews, With Notes and Introduction (p. 144). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.]
What motivated their faith and pilgrimage quest was the desire for a better, that is, heavenly homeland or a divine “city,” not simply new earthly dwelling place. The home they earnestly desire is better because it is heavenly (Heb. 11:16) and involves a full relationship with Christ (12:22–24). Jesus has promised us a better place (Jn. 14:1-2). He has gone before us to prepare it for us as He is now preparing us for it during our earthly pilgrimage.
The saints of old demonstrated life-long faith in God and His promises. Consequently, God was not ashamed of them. He honored them with a city [“prepared” is past tense- God has already prepared a City. City is p????.] This city is proof of God’s acceptance and favor. “The city “is the New Jerusalem. Peter prophesied that we have an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us” (1 Pet. 1:4). Faith rests in the fact that God is in ultimate control, and He will most certainly keep His promises.
IN CLOSING
When I pastored in Louisiana, I heard of a farmer in southern part of the state who captured a mallard duck. He tied it with a cord to a stake at the edge of his pond. Through the winter the mallard swam around with the domestic ducks and ate from the hand of the farmer. When spring came, all of the other wild ducks that had flown south and were wintering in the marshes, ponds, and waters of southern Louisiana began to fly toward the north. When those flocks arose, they saw the mallard duck down below on the pond. They called to him from the sky. The domesticated ducks did not hear, did not see, did not raise their eyes to look. They just swam in complacency on the farmer’s pond. But when the mallard heard the call from the skies, he lifted up his face and his wings and sought to rise. The cord which was tied to the stake pulled him back down. Flock after flock arose, circled, and called. Each time the mallard would rise. Finally, he broke the cord and joined the throng and moved toward the north.
People of the world are content here below. Their investments are here; their lives are here; their interests are here; their happiness is here; their dreams are here; their purposes are here. Everything they look forward to is here, for they are not children of God. But the child of God hears the call from heaven. He lifts up his heart, his eyes, his ears, and his hands, for his life is hid with Christ and God in heaven. This is what the Lord has done for us who have looked in faith to Him.
Faith involves getting to know God and learning to trust His character. Then as we contemplate His promises, we grow in confidence that He will make them come true. God is faithful to His promises. He will be our God and we will be His people. So we too therefore should renounce the opportunity to go back to any form of our fallen life and worldly religion and should persist in longing for a better country—a heavenly one. If we do, we, like the patriarchs, will be people with whom God is not ashamed to be associated.
While here on earth we are locked into moments and hours and days of life, but we look ahead by faith in Christ. Those that are looking to Christ are pilgrims on a journey of faith, bound for the inheritance God has provided for us. Learning to trust God in our situations, we, like the patriarchs, look to a reward that is beyond our earthly inheritance. Yet unlike the saints of old who did not have a clear promise of a heavenly homeland, we do. May God delight in our faith as He did their faith as we look forward to the city Jesus Christ has prepared for us and them (the heavenly Jerusalem mentioned in 12:22–24). [Peterson, D. G. (1994). Hebrews. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1347). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.]
