Believing and Hope in Hebrews 11 and 12

I remember throughout my younger years enjoying Alan Hale Jr. as the “Skipper” on the television show “Gilligan’s Island.” When, as a news reporter, I was promised an interview with him, I anticipated his arrival on what was Sherry and my “tropical paradise” (Guam). With this hope, I believed to prepare some good questions, and even dressed up like his “little buddy.” We had a great time together, and I won a Gannett Award for my article on him.

Believing faith is being certain of those things that we can’t see. Hope is anticipating what we don’t have yet. The Old Testament has many examples of “believers” who had great hope for God’s future promises. This translation of Hebrews 11 and 12 is from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips.

Hebrews 11:1,2:
Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old.

Let’s look at some of these saints of old: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jeptha, David, Samuel and the Prophets. Finally, we will look at who their ultimate hope was–Jesus Christ–and how he believed to do God’s will by hoping in God’s faithful promises to him.

ABEL 

Hebrews 11:4:
It was because of his faith that Abel made a better sacrifice to God than Cain, and he had evidence that God looked upon him as a righteous man, whose gifts he could accept. And though Cain killed him, yet by his faith he still speaks to us today. 

God, the Creator, looks on the heart. The first sons of Adam and Eve may have looked similar on the outside, but they were very different on the inside. Abel was a keeper of sheep (Genesis 4:2), and hoped that his flocks would multiply so that he could show his thankfulness to God for all His goodness. Cain was a tiller of the ground and was more interested in how his offering looked to others. He was so disappointed and jealous that he killed his own brother.

ENOCH 

Hebrews 11:5,6:
His [Enoch’s] reputation was that “he pleased God”. And without faith it is impossible to please him. The man who approaches God must have faith in two things, first that God exists and secondly that it is worth a man’s while to try to find God.

Enoch was known to be pleasing to God. Others saw his great believing faith in the Creator. Enoch also hoped that God would reward him for his faithfully seeking after Him. And God was faithful to do His part.

NOAH 

Hebrews 11:7:
It was through faith that Noah, on receiving God’s warning of impending disaster, reverently constructed an ark to save his household. This action of faith condemned the unbelief of the rest of the world, and won for Noah the righteousness before God which follows such a faith.

Noah is an amazing example of believing and hope. He believed to build an ark, based on the hope that God’s promise to save him and his family would come to pass. Imagine hoping in God’s protection from a flood, when no one else thought such a thing as a deluge and a flood was even possible.

ABRAHAM AND SARAH

Hebrews 11:8-10:
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the summons to go out to a place which he would eventually possess, and he set out in complete ignorance of his destination. It was faith that kept him journeying like a foreigner through the land of promise, with no more home than the tents which he shared with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs with him of the promise. For Abraham’s eyes were looking forward to that city with solid foundations of which God himself is both architect and builder.

Abraham hoped that God would take care of him wherever he went, so he believed God’s promise and traveled westward. Even in the land of promise, he hoped for a future home that God would build. Abraham believed to carry out God’s plan, and he will be in the future resurrection of the just.

Hebrews 11:11:
It was by faith that even Sarah gained the physical vitality to become a mother despite her great age, and she gave birth to a child when far beyond the normal years of child-bearing. She could do this because she believed that the one who had given the promise was utterly trustworthy.

Sarah believed to conceive Isaac, and she had her hope that she would deliver this child.

Hebrews 11:17-19:
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, made a sacrifice of Isaac. Yes, the man who had heard God’s promises was prepared to offer up his only son of whom it had been said ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called’.  He believed that God could raise his son up, even if he were dead. And he did, in a manner of speaking, receive him back from death.

Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. He hoped in God’s promise that in Isaac his seed would be called. This was Abraham’s hope for future generations that would come from his line through Isaac.

ISAAC, JACOB, AND JOSEPH 

Hebrews 11:20-22:
It was by faith that Isaac gave Jacob and Esau his blessing, for his words dealt with what should happen in the future. It was by faith that the dying Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons as he bowed in prayer over his staff. It was by faith that Joseph on his death-bed spoke of the exodus of the Israelites, and gave confident orders about the disposal of his own mortal remains.

Isaac believed to give a proper blessing, and had the hope that it would come to pass for his sons. Shortly before his death, Jacob believed to summon up his strength and bless Ephraim and Manasseh, hoping that they would do great things for God. As Joseph lay dying, he believed to give the children of Israel the great hope that they would someday return from Egypt to the Promised Land.

MOSES 

Hebrews 11:26-29:
He considered the “reproach of Christ” more precious than all the wealth of Egypt, for he looked steadily at the ultimate, not the immediate, reward. By faith he led the exodus from Egypt; he defied the king’s anger with the strength that came from obedience to the invisible king. By faith Moses kept the first Passover and made the blood-sprinkling, so that the angel of death which killed the first-born should not touch his people.  By faith the people walked through the Red Sea as though it were dry land, and the Egyptians who tried to do the same thing were drowned.

There are many examples in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy of Moses’ believing to see God’s power come to pass and deliver the children of Israel. Moses hoped that God’s people would return to the Promised Land. Although he never reached it himself, Moses was allowed to view this land from Mt. Pisgah and continue to hope for God’s people.

RAHAB 

Hebrews 11:31:
It was because of her faith that Rahab the prostitute [or innkeeper] did not share the fate of the disobedient, for she showed her faith in the true God when she welcomed the Israelites sent out to reconnoitre.

Rahab went against the culture around her and hoped in the Lord God of heaven and earth (Joshua 2:9-11). She believed to rescue the spies from danger so that they could report back to Joshua. And she continued to believe until her family was safely brought out of Jericho.

GIDEON, BARAK, SAMSON, JEPTHA, DAVID, SAMUEL, AND THE PROPHETS

Hebrews 11:32-35:
And what other examples shall I give? There is simply not time to continue by telling the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jeptha; of David, Samuel and the prophets. Through their faith these men conquered kingdoms, ruled in justice and proved the truth of God’s promises. They shut the mouths of lions, they quenched the furious blaze of fire, they escaped from death itself. From being weaklings they became strong men and mighty warriors; they routed whole armies of foreigners. Some returned to their womenfolk from certain death, while others were tortured and refused to be ransomed, because they wanted to deserve a more honourable resurrection in the world to come.

Remember how Barak believed to overcome King Jabin of Canaan and his captain, Sisera? (Judges 4) Think about Gideon, with his army of three hundred men, believing to defeat a much greater foe (Judges 7). The Lord honored Jeptha’s believing and delivered the children of Ammon into his hands (Judges 11). Samson slew one thousand Philistines as he believed in God’s mighty power to help him (Judges 15). All of these great leaders hoped for “a more honourable resurrection” in the future.

Samuel and David believed to deliver Israel from their enemies. David had great hope that the Messiah would come from his family line. That hope kept him going in the midst of life-threatening attacks from the adversary.

Psalms 16:8: [King James Version]
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

The final group mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 are “the prophets.” Daniel and his friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were great examples of those who spoke for God. Daniel literally saw God send and angel to “shut the mouths of lions” (Daniel 6:22). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw God deliver them as He “quenched the furious blaze of fire,” and “they escaped from death itself” (Daniel 3:26, 27). There wasn’t even the smell of smoke on them!

Our Greatest Example of Believing and Hope

Hebrews 11 is full of great examples of believers who had hope. But what was their great hope? The coming of God’s promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Having studied so many great believers who had hoped for his coming, Jesus believed to endure the cross because he had the great hope of what his Father would do for him—and for all of mankind—when He raised Christ from the dead.

Hebrews 12:1-3:
Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus the source and the goal of our faith. For he himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering; and he is now seated at the right hand of God’s throne. Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.

Jesus Christ was so sure of his Father’s promise to raise him from the dead, he went to the cross and died. We too can run our race with joy, even when times are tough, knowing that we have the hope of God’s promises—and especially the hope of Christ’s return for us. As we “think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him,” then we will not lose our purpose or our courage. Today, take on each task before you with believing, knowing that you have a sure hope that is an anchor to your soul (Hebrews 6:19).