HEBREWS 11:28-31
SOME VISIBLE RESULTS OF FAITH
[Colossians 1:19; 2:9-10]
We have been learning how to leave a legacy through faith lessons from God’s heroes. These men and women became more than they could have imagined because their faith attached them to God. God therefore built His enabling into them so that they could accomplish God’s will in the situations in which they lived.
Faith stands out as the quality the New Testament mentions most- 483 references to faith, belief, believe are found. Jesus pointed to it as man’s only hope. The apostles centered the gospel around it. Furthermore, we have been learning that something extraordinary occurs when people live by faith. The faith connection we make with God is far more potent than even changing our DNA. It makes us more in a most spectacular way by bringing us into the “fullness of God.”
Jesus said that mustard seed faith can uproot trees or cast mountains into the sea. That is what faith in God can do in and through us, if we live by it. Living by faith grows, matures and multiplies us. By faith we tap into God’s presence and power. To test and demonstrate the power of our faith God often places us in circumstances where our faith can manifest itself in the physical, in the tangible realities of this world and this world system. When we step out by faith in God, led by the Spirit of God, grounded in the Word of God, we see visible answers to our faith (CIT). These answers act as verification for our faith in the unseen spiritual realities and encourage its growth.
Our passage today contains multiple different events in which people demonstrated their faith in God.
I. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY KEEPING THE PASSOVER, 28.
II. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY PASSING THROUGH THE SEA, 29.
III. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY ENCIRCLING THE CITY, 30.
IV. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY HELPING THE OBEDIENT, 31.
The first demonstration of faith is drawn from the obedience of Moses and enslaved Israel in verse 28. “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.”
By singling out Moses as “the one who kept the Passover” our author, indicates that he made arrangements for the Passover. He believed God and acted on his belief, thus the Israelites believed Moses and acted on God’s Word (Ex. 12:12-45).
So they made the un-leaven bread, slew the spotless lamb and applied the blood of the lamb to the door posts of their dwelling place so that the death angel would see the blood and pass over that house and not slay the first born.
Right here I must ask, have you been born again by the Spirit of God? You too need to have the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world applied to your life. When the angel of death comes, he will cut off from the land of the living those who only have been born by flesh alone.
Did simply hearing the story or even believing the story was true keep the death angel from their dwelling? No, only when they acted in accordance with the instructions that God delivered through Moses and applied the blood did the death angel pass over. Have you believed and demonstrated the validity of your belief by acting on it?
[Exodus 12:23. See Pentecost, p 200.]
[The Passover was a type of Christ. The sacrifice was a substitutionary lamb, and in allusion to it Christ is called “the Lamb of God.” It was taken out of the flock, so Christ was taken out of the flock of of mankind; it was shut up separate from the flock, so Christ was separate from sinners; it was without blemish, so Christ is declared to be a “lamb without blemish;” it was to be slain, so was Christ slain for us; it was a sacrifice, and so Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us; it was to be roasted with fire, which signified the fiery wrath of God that Christ underwent; not a bone of it was to be broken, this is expressly declared to be the manner of the death of the Lord Christ; it was to be eaten wholly an entirely, and so Christ is the spiritual food of the Church in the communication of the fruits of His mediation to us by faith.]
And then by faith Moses “kept the sprinkling of blood” (Ex. 12:22–23). Though this belonged only to the first celebration of the Passover it reflects the significance of blood in God’s covenantal relationship with His people (e.g., Heb 9:12–22; 10:4, 19, 29; 12:24). The application of the blood of “the” Passover lamb is still available by faith. Still today we are taught by it that whoever comes to the cross and is sprinkled with the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain and sacrificed for us, is covered from the anger and displeasure of God; and that it is this alone that gives us security from Him who has the power of death and Hell.
Have you applied by faith the shed blood of Christ, God’s true Passover Lamb to your life? Not only hearing it but by believing true enough to acted on it? If you applied His blood by faith the death angel will pass-over you when leave this life.
The original result of believing and applying the Passover blood was “that He who destroyed the firstborn might not touch them.” They were all in their midnight sleep in Egypt when this messenger of death came amongst them, and destroyed the firstborn of man and beasts, and this was done at the same hour throughout the whole land of Egypt. But the blood on the houses was a lesson to Israel that when the destroying angel went through the land and saw the blood on a house, he would pass over the blood marked house and “not touch” the firstborn of Israel. [Adapted, Owens, John. Hebrews, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998) p. 236)]
II. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY PASSING THROUGH THE SEA, 29.
Faith in God and obedience to His word will open a way where there is no way. Verse 29: “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.”
In Exodus 14 we read how the children of Israel were wondrously enabled to pass “through the Red Sea” and how “the Egyptians were engulfed” when they tried to do the same. “They by faith” indicates the faith of some spoken of as the faith of all for it encouraged all to pass through the Sea. The man of God was given the ability to orchestrate its opening, but the people had to determine to follow into the never-before-seen path that was dividing the sea. It was at this moment that the faith of Moses communicated itself to the people and they followed him. Here we see the faith of a leader and of a people who were prepared to attempt the impossible at the command of God. Though what God commands may seem impossible His people of faith respond in faith and God makes a way where there seems to be no way. They acted in faith and saw the salvation of God.
The business of faith is helping individuals and congregations to move on “through” despite obstacles and barriers instead of lying down and complaining about the situation. Faith in God and obedience to His commands through His chosen leaders is God’s way. This is the way of deliverance from the circumstances that are pressing in on them.
III. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY ENCIRCLING THE CITY, 30.
The author of Hebrews now commends the second generation of the exodus for their faith, which brought down the walls of Jericho in verse 30. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.”
The writer has been citing examples of faith before Israel entered the promised land. Now he takes two examples from the period when the children of Israel were struggling to obtain the land of promise. They entered the land of Canaan at the command of God and fought for the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. Despite the fact that it was promised to them they had to fight for it in “faith” that they would succeed.
Jericho was a strong city, and its fortified walls were massive structures. The settlement was “surrounded by a massive stone wall over 3.6 meters (12 ft) high and 1.8 meters (5 ft 11 in) wide at the base, inside of which stood a stone tower, over 8.5 meters (28 ft) high, containing an internal staircase with 22 stone steps and placed in the center of the west side of the tell. [Barkai, Ran; Liran, Roy (2008). "Midsummer Sunset at Neolithic Jericho". Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture. "Ancient Jericho: Tell es-Sultan". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.]
Some city walls of this period were wide enough at the top to drive two chariots on side-by-side. Jericho was a frontier fortress city, strategically located on a major spring close to the Jordan river. The city was fortified to protect the land from eastern invasion. [The spring of Ein es-Sultan produces 3.8 m3 (1,000 gallons) of water per minute, irrigating some 10 square kilometers (2,500 acres). At 58 meters (846 ft) below sea level [Wadi Qelt] it is the lowest city in the world. The Holman Illustrated Study Bible-HCSB. Broadman & Holman. p. 1391.] Its walls were designed to protect it from the strongest enemy attack. By the standards of that day, it was virtually indestructible.
Around this city a ragtag multitude of former slaves who had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years began to march. No doubt their enemies ridiculed them and harassed them from these walls. At God’s command though they marched around the city once a day for six days in silence with the priests in front carrying ram’s horns before the ark. A doubting heart would cause one to stop such marching long before the seventh day. But by faith they persisted in obedience to God’s command. The seventh day they marched around seven times and then the priests blew their horns. Now all this might seem ridicules to military science, but God’s strategy was first to teach His people faith before He taught them warfare. The people obeyed in faith and the walls came tumbling down as predicted (Josh. 6:3-5).
Another seemingly impossible military victory occurred in another war. The people of England erected a Monument on Plymouth Hoe to commemorate the event. Inscribed on the monument is “God sent His wind and they were scattered.” They too fought in faith and gave God glory for their impossible victory over the Spanish Armada.
The spiritual descendants of Abraham, the children of faith, are also commanded to enter into the promised land and live by faith in God’s promises. We claim the promises and fight the good fight of faith not with physical weapons but with spiritual weapons. As the Israelites obeyed and saw victory so we too obey God’s Word and see victory over the strongholds of sin, Satan and the world. We see walls come down by obedient faith in God.
Perhaps there is a wall between you and your son or daughter, and it won’t come down. You’ve been marching around, working on, going through this situation for a long time. That’s great —“because the longer the wall has been up between you and your husband, you and your father, or you and your daughter—the more you know it can’t be brought down by your own effort. Walls come down when God moves in. But until God moves in, you’ll just chip away, and frustration will fill your heart. Have faith in God, for when you finally realize that human skill or ability is insufficient, when you finally say, “Lord, if anything’s going to happen, it’s going to be because of You”—that’s when the wall will fall.
Oh, it might take a week or a month, a year or a decade. But by faith in God, the wall will come down. How? In a way you would never have guessed, planned, or predicted. The older I get, the less impressed I am with people’s abilities to solve problems and the more amazed I am at God’s faithfulness if we’ll just believe Him. If you think that’s a cop-out, join the jeerers of Jericho. But if you want to see a miracle, march with the Lord, and see what He’ll do. [Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 1499.]
[Unbelievers have long scoffed at the biblical story of the fall of the ancient city of Jericho. That’s why I delight in the front-page newspaper headline: NEW STUDY BACKS BIBLICAL VERSION OF JERICHO’S DEMISE.
The associated Press article began, “the walls of Jericho did come tumbling down as recounted in the Bible, according to an archeological study.” Archeologist Bryant G. Wood of the University of Toronto said, “when we compare the archeological evidence at Jericho with the biblical narrative describing the Israelite destruction of Jericho, we find remarkable agreement.” Wood noted that the Bible places the event after spring harvest and indicates that the Israelites burned the city – both factors confirmed by the archeological remains.
Once again, archeology bears testimony to the truthfulness of Scripture. But we don’t believe the Bible just because its authenticity is attested to by man’s word. We believe it because it is God’s Word. As 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” We can therefore have complete confidence in what it says.
It’s a fact - the walls of Jericho did fall. The Bible stands! The Bible stands like a mountain towering far above the works of man; its truth never disproved and destroy it they never can. To the wise, the Word is sufficient.]
IV. FAITH DEMONSTRATED BY HELPING THE OBEDIENT, 31.
Verse 31 gives the example of Rahab’s who demonstrated her faith by her deeds. “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”
Rahab is the most surprising hero of faith we’ve encountered. When Joshua sent out spies to spy out the situation in Jericho, they found lodging in the house of Rahab. Rahab was a harlot, not one you would think that might ascend to the hall of heroes of the faith. Jesus will accept any sinner that will come to Him in repentance and as they follow Him, He changes their life. Rahab protected the spies when the city sought them and helped them escape. She asked that in return when Jericho was taken that she and her family be saved from the general slaughter.
Rahab illustrates that anyone, even a gentile woman of questionable character could be delivered by faith from decreed judgment. Faith helps turn us around and do what is right regardless of our past or the disapproval of others.
Rahab the harlot in the face of all the facts, in oppositions to her own people, believed in the God of Israel. Read Joshua 2:9-11. On her first opportunity to more fully learn of the Lord God she made a wonderful confession of faith. Her confession was followed through by a life- threatening action when it may have seemed impossible for the children of Israel to capture Jericho. She had never seen these desert nomads who possessed no artillery, siege engines or combat training. Yet Rahab believed, unlike the other inhabitants of the city who had the same witness given them (Josh 2:8ff) and staked her whole future in the belief that this God who moved her to help the spies would make the impossible possible. When common sense dictated otherwise, she had the uncommon sense to listen to God and see beyond the immediate situation.
Her real faith found courage to take the Lord’s side and hope in Him if not in man (Jas. 2:25). Her faith would place her in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:5) as the mother of Boaz who married Ruth, the great-grandmother of David.
In CLOSING
There is no doubt that our faith in God faces tough testing when we suddenly find our self in uncharted territory, facing circumstances we have never before faced. During those times we can look back to Moses, the Israelites, and Rahab who in desperate situations obeyed God and moved forward by faith.
Has God asked you to apply your faith in Him to situations in life so that He might deliver people? He desires to answer your faith and change situations in this world by means of your obedience to Him. As we obey in faith, our faith grows. God will change people’s circumstances by pouring out His delivering grace, if we would only believe and obey. Will you?
Maybe you are here, and you have never accepted Christ, we invite you to come now. Or if you have felt God's leadership in joining us here and serving the Lord with us, come forward now. Perhaps, you have another decision, and you want to come share that or simply come to the altar and pray.
