Hebrews 11:8-19  -  Abraham

 

When called to go, Abraham went.

When told to live in a foreign land that was promised to him, Abraham lived in tents

When promised an heir, Abraham believed.

When asked to offer his son, Abraham obeyed

When it was time to die, Abraham was still waiting.

His son and grandson also lived and died waiting.

 

When God calls you to go or give and you obey.

Then God will call you to go further and give again.

We live by faith.

 

Abraham Waited

Hebrews 6:13 - Abraham mentioned as having faith and waiting patiently

Acts7:2-5 – Stephen makes it clear that Abraham lived as a pilgrim

 

11:8

Abraham’s Faith Led to Obedience

Obedience to go to the land came first.   

Then the promise was given and continued to Isaac because Abraham obeyed.  See Genesis 26:5

 

The promise of the inheritance:

  • came after Abraham had returned from Egypt in Gen 13:14-17.
  • Confirmed when the heir was promised in Gen. 15:18-21
  • Confirmed again at the covenant of circumcision in Gen. 17:8.

 

God did not make a promise of the inheritance until after Abram had obeyed the call and went into the land.

 

11:9

Abraham received the promise of an inheritance after he obeyed.

Yet, the promise was never fulfilled in his life.

He lived like a stranger in a foreign land in tents.

 

Abraham received Isaac but only as a means of passing the unfulfilled promise onto.

Likewise, Isaac received Jacob while living in tents in a foreign land and handed down the promise.

 

11:10

The key to their ability to endure and wait:

 

εξεδεχετο    γαρ      την       τους       θεμελιους       εχουσαν       πολιν        ης

he expected       for          the            the           foundations           having               city            of which

 

τεχνιτης      και          δημιουργος                 ο θεος

craftsman              and               maker                               God

 

εξεδεχετο  “he was looking forward to (NIV)” means to await expectantly.  This preposition in compound means to be ready, to be prepared to deal with the situation.

 

τεχνιτης “architect (NIV)” means craftsman, artificer, designer, maker. 

 

δημιουργος “builder (NIV)” means public workman, constructor, maker. 

  • Taken from demos and ergon
    • “demos” means “people”
    • “ergon” means “work, labor, doing”
  • This is a word used an ancient papyrus written by Christians to identify Jesus Christ as the Creator of all things.

 

“technites” refers to the plan
”demiourgos” refers to the execution of the plan.

 

Abraham was looking forward to the eternal city.

Abraham was not looking forward to:

  • Canaan
  • Ur
  • The earthly city of Jerusalem

 

This city is mentioned in:

  • Psalm 87
  • Galatians 4:26
  • Philippians 3:20
  • Hebrews 12:22
  • Hebrews 13:14
  • Revelation 21:1-27

 

The Dead Sea scrolls called Mt. Zion New Jerusalem

 

11:11

Reasons for Abraham and not Sarah:

  1. Sarah is a poor example of faith.  She laughed when told of Isaac’s birth.
  2. Abraham and his faith are the focus of verses before 11:11 and then again in 11:12.
  3. The entire Genesis account is about Abraham’s faith.  Not Sarah’s.
  4. Paul uses the same story of Isaac’s birth in Rom. 4:20 as an example of Abraham’s faith.
  5. The phrase “katabolen spermatos” translated “to conceive seed” instead refers to the father’s part and literally means “for the deposition of seed”. 
    1. KJ, NKJ and NAS translate “katabolen spermatos” in the passive sense of receiving the seed.  These translations see this term as an idiom for receiving the seed.
    2. NIV translates in agreement with its meaning “casting down” and as a technical term used by the Greeks for sowing of seed.

 

11:12

If Abraham is the subject of 11:11 then 11:12 makes more sense.

This same thought is found in Romans 4:19-20

“as good as dead” refers to Abraham’s ability to produce a child.

The focus here is that with God’s promise a nothing like Abraham can become the multitude like the stars and the sand.

 

 

11:13

“All these people” refer to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac.

They all died before they received the land and before they became a great nation.

Remember Hebrews 6:15 refers to the promise of the birth of Isaac and not to the promise of the land and the nation.

 

When did they admit they were aliens and strangers? 

  • In Genesis 23:4 when Abraham bought the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite to bury Sarah

 

 

11:14

“Homeland” is “patrida” and means literally “fatherland” and refers to the land you originated from and where you belong.

 

If Abraham had understood the full meaning of the promised land as being the land of Canaan then why when he bought his very first possession of that land did he identify himself as an alien and stranger?  Because Abraham was not looking for the promised land but something more.

 

11:15

If Abraham considered the land of the Chaldeans as his “patrida” (homeland) he could have turned around and went back to Ur.

 

11:16

The point of all these verse is to establish the fact that Abraham lived and died in faith without receiving the promise.  It was not Ur.  It was not Canaan.  It was a city that is yet to be manifest.

 

 

11:17

Abraham’s faith was more than a simple statement or passive tenet of belief.

Abraham’s faith affected the way he lived and acted in his life here in time.

For example, Abraham offered his son on an altar.

But more, it was the son through which God said the promises would come.

 

“Tested” is the word “peirazomenos” means to try, to examine, to test.

 

“as a sacrifice” is “prosphero” in the perfect tense meaning “has offered up” and refers to the completed action that has lingering effects or leaves an ongoing result of condition.  This speaks of:

    1. The act being done in Abraham’s fully committed mind
    2. The complete results of Abraham’s actions
    3. The continued record of Abraham’s faith and actions.

 

“about to sacrifice” is the same word “prosphero” but in the aorist tense conveys the point of action meaning the action is viewed as one-time action in the time it occurred.  It could be translated “was offering”.

 

“one and only” is the translation of the word “monogenes”.  It means unique, only one of the kind”.  It can also mean generally “only” but in this case Isaac is clearly not Abraham’s “only” son when you consider Ishmael and Keturah’s sons.  “Monogenes” is the same word used in John 3:16.

 

11:18

 

11:19

“Abraham reasoned”

  • “reasoned” is aorist of “logidzomai” and means to consider, to reckon.  The verb means to calculate on the basis of solid evidence.  This is more than a strong inner opinion but an inward conviction.
  • Abraham’s conviction led him to calculate that the promises and plans of God were more sure than Abraham’s own actions.
  • Conclusion:  If I offer him, God will raise him.