The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXXV

Hebrews 11:32a
"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon,…"
You all know the story of Gideon -when the multitudes of Israelites that came out to be a part of his army, God said, send them home. You know how He went through the elimination process. How many did He keep? Three hundred to confront the thousands of the enemy. Seems ridiculous? But with God, remember that Abraham had only a handful of his own servants when he recovered Lot and what about the sons of Jacob they were mighty men of valor, they are famous for doing the ridiculous. It was by their trusting of Him that those three hundred men defeated the enemy.

Hebrews 11:32b
"…and of Barak, and of Samson,…"
You see Samson is the epitome of both sides of the coin. He was the man of great trust who could do the miraculous but his unbelief took him down to the depths of despair. But nevertheless, he is still a good Old Testament example.

Hebrews 11:32c
"…and of Jephthae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:"
I don’t have to spend any time on David. You all know his escapades and his conquests, as well as his failures. "And Samuel, the prophets." Now verse 33, all of them, all of them:

Hebrews 11:33
"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions."
Now of course, we’re jumping up to Daniel in that one aren’t we? Always remember, what was the percentage of even the Hebrews that were men of faith? Precious few. It’s always been that way. Only the small percentage were people that could trust, believe, receive and be counted as with faith in what God said. But He’s always had the few, and still does, and He will until the end. What in some places are called the remnant of God. All right, verse 34:

Hebrews 11:34
"Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens (Jacobs sons )."
The Old Testament’s full of those accounts, how that just a small number of Israelites would defeat vast numbers of the enemy. Simply because they did what God told them to do, which may have sounded foolish, but they believed what God said (by their actions and testimony they bear record of God). All right, verse 35 and again, the whole concept, remember, is that by faith…

Hebrews 11:35a
"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured,…"
Now these are not very pretty verses. You see, we have been living the last several hundred years in Western Civilization without really suffering the torture of martyrdom, have we? We don’t know what it’s like, but other areas of the world still do. In fact, I think you’ve probably read the same thing I have. There have been more Christians killed in the last century than almost the previous 18 or 19 before that and we’re not aware of it because we’ve got it so good. But that’s not to say that it can’t happen. The very fact that Christ in those who suffered execution or some other hardships was foretold by Jesus Himself. So we’re reminded that all the way up through human history, people of trust became people of faith and were victorious on the one hand, but they suffered martyrdom through their witnessing of Christ's activities within them. All right, verse 36:

Hebrews 11:36-37
"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXXIV

Hebrews 11:31
"By faith (by just simply trusting then believing what she heard) the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."
A woman of ill repute, and yet with what little bit she had heard, what did she do with it? She believed and trusted it. In fact, Rahab is one of my favorite subjects next to Esther for how little trust it takes for God to grab the person. How much did Rahab know? Very little. The only thing she knew was what she’d heard that this little nation of people coming out of Egypt had come through the Red Sea on dry ground. She had heard how they had defeated the more powerful enemies in the then-known world. And on the basis of what she had heard, she what? She believed it. Now she didn’t understand all of Scripture as to that time there was none. She didn’t understand the Sovereignty of God. Or did she? She didn’t understand the grace of God. There was no record of that, yet known. She didn’t understand all of the ramifications that we sometimes think people have to know. No, she knew precious little, but what little she knew, she believed it with all her heart, because she trusted the God that was behind it. And God did everything else.

Rahab is a perfect example of how God will save a person who doesn’t have an awful lot going for them. So Rahab, "perished not with those who believed not, when she had received the spies with peace." Well, why did she receive those Hebrew spies? Because – let’s go back and look in Joshua chapter 2, and see this is so simple. You know, mankind has made salvation so difficult. Religion and its theology has complicated what God intended to be so simple. My, we think we’ve got to put people through this and through that and then somehow or other, they’ll get there. No, that’s not God’s way. Joshua chapter 2 verse 9. Rahab hasn’t had any Bible School, she’s never been to Sunday School, she’s never been to church. All she has heard are things that had come through the grapevine in Jericho.

Joshua 2:9-11a
"And she said unto the men, (the spies) I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land (that is the land of which Jericho was the major city) faint because of you. (now here it comes in verse 10.) For we have (what?) heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things,…"
She didn’t even see the results of it. She wasn’t sitting on some high point watching down on the Red Sea to see it open up and Israel coming through - that would have been a little different wouldn’t it? She had merely heard that these things had happened. And what did she do with it? She believed it, see? All right, and so it says:

Joshua 2:11a
"And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt,…."
So, because of what she and those within the walls had heard knowing that behind it all was the God of Israel, God in turn responds to her trusting in what she had heard that He accounted as faith. Why? Because it pleased Him. All right, on your way back to Hebrews, let’s just stop at another portion of Scripture that speaks of hearing. It is in Romans chapter 10 and remember that this is within a parenthetical clause and speaks of the Israel nation as a whole. Even at the pen of the Apostle Paul this is the key word. And it’s all the same concept.

Romans 10:17a
"So then faith (faith, being able to take God at His Word) cometh by (what?) hearing,…"
Not seeing! But rather by hearing it. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Now does that mean with our ears, NO, for hearing through the renewed spirit. The spirit of man which has been re-birthed from Satan's spiritual influence to God's indwelling influence and this only comes about through a death of the spiritual evil influence. "IF" we based our salvation on John3:16 all we've done is to come into redemption. Because to enter salvation means there has to have been first a death, a spiritual death. That's why Paul tells us that we're to receive by faith, belief, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 in order to have put the evil spirit condition of our natural propensities to death by faith identification in Christ. Because when we've done so bring Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 2:12 into play within us. For even Jesus said, that we can NOT serve two masters. Now verse 18.

Romans 10:18-21
"But I say, (Paul says) Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias (Isaiah, see here we go back to the Old Testament again) is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."
What was their problem? They couldn’t believe they had a hardness (coldness) of heart. That is why it says that God only had to give them over to a partial blindness (chapter 11 verse 25), because the god of this worlds order through Religion had already blinded them. Just as he does those who are within Religions hold even now. But for those who could believe God, God does everything that needs to be done. All right, let’s come back again to Hebrews, chapter 11. Now he’s going to make just a quick review of some of the Old Testament characters. Now verse 32, and Paul says:

Hebrews 11:32
"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXXIII

Continuing our thought:

God said, "Go through on dry ground." So it was by trust that they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, not worrying about that water crashing in. You know, as soon as the last Hebrew went up on the other side, then what happened? Here it came and the Egyptians were caught in the middle of it. But you see, for the people in their trusting and because of the crisis that trust became to them faith, they walked in and they walked across on dry ground, because that’s what God said to do. For us when we've passed through the crisis of death (by Faith) and the cross's Salvation and heirship become ours by faith. But before this is true we've got to have come into redemption in order to acquire the at-onement (atonement: an exchange) which is Salvation. At-onement through Christ by a death to sin and Satan's influence or hold and the restoration of all things made new and spiritual which were lost at the fall. The crossing on dry ground can be said to be symbolic of the exchanging of one allegiance for another from under Egypt to under God.

All right, so "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as dry land." It wasn’t muddy. It wasn’t wet. It was like dry land. Then the Egyptians were drowned because the water came back. But, you see, that’s what it means to take God at His Word. It’s not always easy. It’s not always easy to just simply say, "Well God said it and I can depend on it." But this is what God expects. This is what He’s looking for and now demands of us. He is simply looking for our believing, then receiving and trusting in what He has said. The problem is, most don’t read far enough in their Bibles to get those instructions from the Apostle Paul. Many don't know that all Religion is a hindrance and blockage to God's activity. They don't hear with spiritual ears nor do they see with spiritual eyes because they are veiled and therefore are hidden and remain so. This is seen in Romans 11:25, 7-8 and 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 where it is speaking of Israel's condition because of Religion ie...unbelief. All right, let’s move on into verse 30.

Hebrews 11:30
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now that’s probably one of the things in Scripture that is scoffed at as much as anything. The world will not believe that all the Hebrews had to do was walk around it seven times. But, they believed God. Now again, they were just as human as we are. Don’t you suppose a lot of those Hebrews, as they were marching around that well-fortified city, must have had some scoffing ideas within their own mind? Satan must have had a hay day on their intuition, I can hear some of them saying, "Well, what in the world is this going to do? How in the world is this going to defeat Jericho?" But they did it. And it happened. Because God said it would. That is why they were told to be still and not say a word for seven days, all the while marching in total silence.

You see, we’re up against the same thing. Why can’t people accept the concept of the departure? Because it takes a lot of trust in His faith, and God's Faithfulness and I know that. I can see that the unbelieving world thinks we’re crazy as loons to think that all of a sudden, someday, God’s going to give a shout, as or like a trumpet’s sound and we’re going to be gone from this earth. They can’t believe that! Well, I can understand that to a point. It does stretch the imagination. The natural mind does not get wrapped around that concept and because the word rapture is not there, and that means to them its not there. But listen the Lord Himself said, back there in Matthew, that "with God nothing is impossible."

Do you think it’s impossible for Him to suddenly take every true believer off the planet? No! It’s not impossible, and He’s going to do it because the Word says He will. But that’s where faith does comes in. We take it by faith. I can’t explain it, and you can’t explain it but, oh, we can believe it because it’s what the Word tells us.

All right, so they marched around Jericho, foolishness in the eyes of men, but God said that’s what it took. Now again, to this very day, archaeologists like to argue, "Did the walls fall down?" Some maintain that they went straight down. But regardless of which way they went – they went! Jericho was a sitting duck for the Hebrews. But it takes faith to believe it. All right, verse 31:

Hebrews 11:31
"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXXII

Picking back up with our thought and notes.

You see, we come right back to that same concept today. Over and over I have to ask, "Are you trusting nothing but that finished work of the cross for our redemption and then for salvation?" Or are you trusting your denomination? Are you trusting your local church? Are you trusting the word of some one else? Are you seeking God for God and not the things in His hands? There is everything wrong with all those things because in themselves they will never save anybody. Our trusting has to be in what God has said. And what has God said? "That when I see you place your trust in that finished work of the cross, you’re Mine!" When we with Mary, Jesus and even Paul can say, with our whole heart, 'never the less NOT my will Oh God! but Thine be done in me as You Will just as You did in and through Christ Jesus.' Then we come to a crisis which changes our trust to then take it by faith. We have to receive in order to believe it in our heart! But oh, it’s so hard for people to leave it alone after believing with their heart. For human nature (it's fallen state) says what? But I’ve got to do something! No we don’t! We have to learn to keep our hands off and then wait upon God all the while sitting under and learning of Him by listening for Him to speak to us through His Son in the person of the Holy Spirit who now indwells us.

We’re still dealing with Moses. And by trusting now, he has come through 80 years of his lifetime. He’s now leading the children of the Hebrews out of Egypt and the first thing they’re going to have to confront is the Red Sea and we make it a point that here come the children of the Hebrews – mountains impassible on both sides, the Egyptian army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. And what did God tell them? Did He say, "Well hurry up and build rafts. Do something, so that you can float the Red Sea?" No, that’s not what God said. He said what? Stand still! Don’t do anything.

The lesson for our salvation is the same way today. When the sinner as one who has entered redemption realizes he’s lost and he’s hopeless, bankrupt and destitute he doesn’t go out and try to work and work and work to enter God's salvation. He does nothing but stand still and believe and accept the finished work of the cross for himself. The unbelievable gift of the finished work of the cross. That it was so perfect. The exchange and of the nature of Satan was killed, destroyed in mans flesh and the restorative work of the resurrection Life so complete that all we need now is just to enter His salvation through the finished work of the cross and our being conjoined with Christ. That the ontological essence of Christ is restored to man. It was so complete that like creation back there in Genesis 1 - you remember, we tied the two together. That’s when God looked at the finished work of creation - He saw in the last verse of chapter 1 that it was what?

Genesis 1:31a
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.,…"
It was perfect. He said, it was very good! And so what did He do in chapter 2?

Genesis 2:2a
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day,…"
He rested. There wasn’t anything more He could do to make it any better. It was done. Well, the same thing with the work of the cross. After He’d finished it and ascended back to glory, what did He do? He sat down. Why? Because it was perfect. Ever since then what has mankind been trying to do? Smear it, by adding this and adding that to it with one thing or another. Because of what? Religion! Religion is unbelief in action as it nullifies the activity of God, by denying Him access to mans spirit. Why? Because the essence of evil there still remains. That is why Paul tells us, 'to mortify the deeds of the flesh'. But, just like the Hebrews standing on the shores of the Red Sea, God doesn’t say, "Well, hurry up and do something!" He says, "Stand still!" So here’s the verse now in verse 29:

Hebrews 11:29
"By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned."
By simply taking God at His Word, He opened up the Red Sea, piled up the water on both sides - and listen, do you think those Hebrews didn’t know that that water was stacked up? And at a moments notice the whole thing could come rushing back in. They had to walk through it water walls reaching toward heaven just piling up and up. They were just as human as we are. But how did they know that water wouldn’t come back? God’s Word. This is now our knowing by way of divine illumination or revelation that we're now sons of God wherein He has right to be God. As God intended within the soul and spirit of His restored humanity and yes, humanity as intended.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXXI

Hebrews 11:27a
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: (who of course, put a price on Moses’ head.) for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."
What does that tell you? What kept Moses going was his trust in the invisible God, and he never lost that. And the early Hebrews did not either but those of Moses' generation were another matter when they were faced with crisis, they failed miserably. They as a nation turned to idol worship which is Idolatry the very nature of all fallen man. Because when Adam killed the essence of God (spiritual good dependency) within him by eating of the fruit and the essence (spiritual evil dependency) came in and replaced God's essence or Christ that man had at his first creation as a spirit being Genesis 1:26-27, 2:6-7. For John tells us that Christ is Life and Light and that this Life and Light came into the darkness at Genesis 1:2-3, John 1:1-4, 5, 9-10. Which brought order and Life into the realm of the earth at its re-genesis, this was necessary for the then dead earth to produce as God spoke ie...animals, sea creatures, birds, and plant life into being. It also says that this Light cause a division between darkness and night to give us day and night. Which also brought about four seasons and what is called nature. Now verse 28:

Hebrews 11:28a
"Through faith he kept the Passover,…"
Now, as the Scripture does so often, we skip 40 years. Because 40 years have gone by from the time that Moses flees from Egypt; goes to the backside of the desert, remember? Where he herds sheep for 40 years. Then one day he saw the burning bush. The bush that though it was on fire was NOT consumed by that fire. Now that’s all been skipped here in the verses of Hebrews. Well, after he stopped to see the burning bush (it was God speaking), the Lord told him that now it was time to go back into Egypt and to lead the children of Israel, Jacobs seed out of Egypt. As the 430 years had reached it appoint climax or completion though the children had only been their for about 230 of them. Remember that they were but seed in the loins of Abram when he and Sarai first transversed the edge of Egypt.

If we know our Old Testament at all, I hope you realize that that in itself was not a shock to Moses, to lead Israel out of Egypt, because that’s what he wanted to do in the first place. But that was all in his sufficiency or strength and God would not have it. That’s why he went out to the Children of Israel when he killed the Egyptian and again, that’s in Acts. Let’s go back there again. Acts chapter 7 just fills in so many of the details that the Old Testament doesn’t give us. Acts 27 verse 23.

Acts 7:23-24
"And when he was (this is speaking of Moses now in Egypt) full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them (a Hebrew) suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote (or killed) the Egyptian:"
I don’t think he intended to murder him. He probably just hit him harder than he intended to and he killed him. All right, now verse 25 - this is what I want you to see. This is what Moses was thinking when he turned his back on Egypt and went out to the children of Israel. This is what was on his mind.

Acts 7:25
"For he supposed (he thought) his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not."
So what did Moses really have on his mind when he went out to visit the children of Jacob or Israel? That he was going to start the ball rolling to move the Nation of Israel out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. Because that was all handed down by faith, do you see it?

But the whole problem was, it wasn’t in God’s timing. Moses was hoping to do it under his own power, because of his own ability, his own political situation instead of waiting for God. Sound familiar? But forty years later, now, God can call him aside at the burning bush and say, "All right, Moses, now I’m ready to have you lead the children of Israel out of Egypt." So, all of this was still based on the man’s trusting, by knowing Him.

All right, so come back to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 28. After skipping those forty years on the back side of the desert, we skip that time of the plagues with the Pharaoh’s there in Egypt and we come down to the last event that the Hebrews experiences in Egypt. And what is it? The night of the Passover. The night of the Passover when the blood was applied to the doorpost and the death angel passed over.

Hebrews 11:28a
"Through faith (taking God at His Word!) he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood,…"
Which we know from Exodus was simply taking a piece of hyssop, dipping it in the basin of blood and applying it to the two sides of the door posts and the lentil over head. And that here it’s just referred to as "the sprinkling." But, it’s the application of the blood of that Passover lamb and it is what caused the death angel then, to pass over the houses of the Hebrews. It made the sign of the cross, the sign of Christ, now reading on in verse 28:

Hebrews 11:28b
"…lest he that destroyed the firstborn (that is of Egypt. All the firstborn of Egypt remember, were stricken) should touch them."
The blood of the Passover lamb kept the death angel from touching the children of Israel. Now again, what did it take to take the lamb’s blood and apply it to a doorpost? Trust! They had nothing else to go by. But God had said, if you apply the blood in such and such a way, as the death angel is striking the firstborn all across Egypt, if I see the blood, I’ll pass over you. So what was the basis for putting the blood on the door? Trust and obedience. They had no other way of knowing. They had no way of knowing that that death angel would pass over, they could only take God at His Word.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXX

Hebrews 11:26a
"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt:.…"
We don’t want to lose sight of the fact that Egypt was the America of its day. They lived sumptuously. They knew how to live, as we say, ‘high on the hog.’ And they knew how to throw fancy banquets. They knew how to dress with beautiful clothes. They had all that going for them, and yet Moses turns his back on all that and aligns himself with the slaves out there in the brick kilns of the Hebrews in Goshen. Quite a choice, wasn’t it?

And yet, the lesson for us is is it any different today? And oh, if our young people could realize that Moses knew what he was doing when he "esteemed the riches of Christ as a greater treasure than the sins and the pleasures of Egypt." And why did he make the choice? How could he have known Christ and His riches, than by inspiration or revelation from the Holy Spirit of course. We find this answered in the last half of verse 26:

Hebrews 11:26b
"…for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."
He suddenly got, a spiritual understanding of "the recompense of the reward." Now we want to remember that for the pleasures of sin, even if they could enjoy it to the full, up until the end of a normal lifespan, we’ll even go on up into the 80’s and 90’s, what if? What if we could enjoy all those youthful pleasures all the way up until we die? What is compared to eternity? Nothing! Absolutely Nothing! It’s just a blink of the eye compared to eternity. Wherein we'll either be spiritually in torment and pain or with the Father of spirits.

I made the comment, that I had read the back of a T-shirt and that was a T-shirt I wish more people would wear. It said, "Eternity. Have you thought about it?" Well, someone turned right around and made a lapel button out of that and a friend of ours made a bumper sticker of the very same thing. We would to God that more people would consider eternity. That’s forever. For the true believer they're going to be enjoying all the rewards of our right choices, not just for a lifetime, but Forever!

On the other hand, for the lost and the lawless, wicked person who have chosen wrongly, he’s going to suffer the ramifications of that forever. Eternity is forever. Someone came up with the answer, How long is eternity? As long as God lives! Isn’t that what it is, Joy? As long as God lives! That’s eternity. And He’s from eternity past to eternity future. Now that’s beyond our human comprehension. But this is what Moses considered. Moses considered that these pleasures of Egypt for a little while were nothing compared to the rewards of eternity. And oh, if we could only just get this across to people - stop and think. It’s not just for a few years. As the book calls it a vapor of smoke, that is our life as a mere human. Not even for a few hundred years. But eternity, It’s for Forever. Verse 27:

Hebrews 11:27a
"By faith, he forsook Egypt,.…"
Moses didn’t just take off blindly. Moses just didn’t take out into the wilderness wondering what was going to be his lot. Moses knew that God was in control. Now I think I made the comment, that they didn’t have any written Bible in those days. He didn’t have the written Word to depend on like we do. So how did those people keep the trust generation after generation? By the word of mouth. They passed it on to their young children and they rehearsed it. They did not have a priest or system of study, they just rehearsed it with each family member telling of God's exploits in their lives. They told of His great faithfulness to His promises and His actions on they're behalf. That’s where we have failed. We haven’t passed it on to our younger generation and so now we’re living in a society where most kids don’t even know anything of the Scripture. Most people have NO testimony of God's activity among themselves because they're not part of His activity. Why? Because the Religion which God condemned has now over ruled and captivated mans heart by its poison humanism, physiology, philosophy, socialism and Idolatry. For it teaches and propagates the other gospel which is NOT the Gospel of God in Christ Jesus.

It’s just mind boggling of how ignorant most of our younger people are of Scripture. They can’t tell a Bible verse from a sentence from a poem. Now, that’s pitiful. But anyway, Moses left Egypt knowing, by trusting God, that he was under God’s control.

Now of course, the circumstances were less than perfect because you remember he had killed the Egyptian, and because of that he had to flee, the crisis. But, nevertheless, by faith he left Egypt:

Hebrews 11:27
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXIX

Hebrews 11:24-25a
"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, (when he was 40 years of age. Having been educated and enjoyed all of the good things of Egypt,) refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing.…"
Here we come to what people are confronted with today and what is it? Choices. You see, every human being, every one of us have been faced with choices. We are what we are by virtue of what we have chosen to do. God when He first created man created him as a receptive being with freedom of choice which set man apart from all other created beings, angles included (1 Thessalonians 5:23). All right, Moses was no different. These people were just as human as we are. They too, had to make choices and so Moses makes a choice now (in spite of all that’s going for him; the sumptuous living, his clout, his power politically, militarily and in business - he had it all). Second man in Egypt, just like Joseph was. But now he makes a choice. So "when he came to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter."

Hebrews 11:25
"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, (now I’ll add the word, ‘rather’) than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;"
You see why I made reference to our present day athletes? How all of the pleasures of the immoral world are at their disposal. It was no different for Moses. He had the same thing and he had all the opportunity for the pleasures of sin. That is where the church of our day is and those who choose to remain there, in the pleasures of sin not denying them or their self-will. And let’s face it, especially during the youthful years, sin can be pleasurable. Oh, it’s going to take its toll sooner or later, but while they’re in it, they think they’re having a good time. Moses was no different, but when he was 40 years old, right at the prime of life, what does Moses choose? The other direction. He turns his back on all the sumptuous living - all of the sinfulness that was at his disposal, and he chose rather to cast his lot with the people of God. Now sinfulness does mean that they were immoral or religious but the pleasures of the world are what, sinful.

Even for young people today, that’s not an easy choice, now is it? We sometimes wonder why our kids are so reluctant to choose the true Christian lifestyle. That is to be Christ-ones (one with the spirit-Life functioning as God intended in man) and it must be noted that this is not as our churches see it. As they for the most part are but Religious institutions of religious performance. Just as Judaism had became an institution of religious performances long before John the baptizer or Jesus came in the scene. Well, that’s not where the exciting pleasures lie. Not for the time. But that’s when many times they make wrong choices that will lead them deeper and deeper into these situations from which they can’t withdraw. But always remember, the Scripture is so adamant that we are faced with choices, and Moses here is the perfect example - that he chose of his own volition (free will, by of course God’s leading), to "suffer the affliction of the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin (in Pharaoh’s household) for a season."

Here again, I suppose I could go 10-15 minutes on just those three words. "For a season." What does that tell you? Sin can be ever so great for a little while. But how do most of them end up? Suicide. Alcoholics. Drug addicts. Sickly. Sleeping under the bridge. How many of our successful athletes, especially, end up poverty stricken. Why? They enjoyed the pleasure of sin for a little while, but it doesn’t last. Then they pay the wages of it. Moses was in the same place. He could enjoy the pleasures of sin for a little while. Now verse 26:

Hebrews 11:26a
"Esteeming the reproach of Christ.…"
We’ve got to remember that the word Christ, we do not have it back in the Old Testament. In other words, when you read about Moses in Exodus, you don’t see the name Jesus Christ. But He’s the same person. "Yehovah" is the same person, He was in His Old Testament economy, He was the same person of the Godhead that was dealing with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the Prophets and Patriarchs as deals with us today.

Today of course, we now have the benefit (Grace, and God's activity through His Grace, in the personal essence of Christ, to do as He had originally created man, those who have become receptive of His activities) of that finished work of the Cross (the pivotal point, the door for all), but nevertheless, so far as His operating out of the Godhead, the Person of the Godhead that dealt with Moses was the same one that we deal with today. And so that’s why the terminology is correct.

Hebrews 11:26
"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXVIII

Continuing with out thought.

Paul is the writer of this Epistle of Hebrews, Paul is going to appeal to his Jewish-Christian readers or listeners - that on the basis of all the Old Testament Patriarchs, it’s always been by trusting God's faithfulness. Always. Well what was the basis of salvation back in the Old Testament? It’s always been by trust. Not faith plus nothing, like we have today in this Age of Grace, but it was always based on their trusting, first and foremost. Many of them though the Bible does not in so many words say it knew God. It reveals that they talked with Him and they walked with Him and these are figurative expressions of a relationship with Him, they knew Him. And so this great chapter 11 is a review of the trusting relationship of these Old Testament people by which we learn. When we have a right relationship with someone we start by what? Trusting them and after time that trust becomes faith because the party we are trusting proves to be trustworthy, he is faithful and does what he promises, when they promise.

I think before we go any further, that we’ll flip back to Romans chapter 15 - and I like to use a verse like this just to show that we cannot come into some of these Old Testament portions, or into an Epistle like Hebrews for example, and find the plan of salvation and lead someone to the Lord. Looking at the Epistles of James, Peter, and John, they too were all predominately to Jewish-Christians ei..believers. You can’t go into one of those letters and find the plan of salvation and lead someone to the Lord - it’s next to impossible because it’s not in them.

As I’ve said from day one, the plan of salvation isn’t in the Epistle of Hebrews; and it’s not in the Old Testament. You have to go to Paul to find that. But, look what Paul says in Romans chapter 15 verse 4, and this is the whole crux of the idea. This is the heart of why we study all of the Scriptures even though we pick up our basic tenets of doctrines from Paul. We're to ‘learn.’ Remember also that true Christianity is Christ and that Christ is Christianity or God expressing of Himself through the person and ontological essence of Christ. Who is restored to the receiving believer by faith. Guess that I should say this much of what we've been sharing comes from such teachers as Major W. Ian Thomas, Andrew Murry, William Law and from our present day, Les Feldick (from whom much of this study outline came), and James A. Fowler of Christ In You Ministries.

Romans 15:4a
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime (in the Old Testament, they) were written for our learning,…"
Because even though we are saved by trusting plus nothing, yet our trust has to rest on all that’s gone before and so in order to have a good understanding of what you believe, you have to go back to the beginning and see how all of this has progressed up through human history and so this is why Paul says, "all these things were written for our learning." So that you’ll know why you believe what you believe. As it is all foundational in that it reveals Christ throughout and if we don't see Christ in it then we've fallen short in some way and we're to examine ourselves to find out why and where. So repeating the verse again:

Romans 15:4
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
That’s the whole purpose then, of studying all these Hebrew portions of our Bible. When our eyes are opened we begin to see how God throughout has revealed both His nature and character as He does what only He has right to do. And how that He never steps outside His character to do what He does. For even Jesus as the expressed image of God never violated God's character in word or action. All right, come back to Hebrews chapter 11 and we’ll move on. And now it’s by faith then in verse 24:

Hebrews 11:24a
"By faith Moses, when he was come to years,…"
Now we in the English-speaking world, with our Western mindset, we immediately think of what age? Twenty-one years old. But it wasn’t 21 in the case of Moses - it was 40. When Moses was 40 years old, after having spent those first 40 years in the house of Pharaoh (as Pharaoh’s daughter, remember, picked him up out of the river Nile and named him). Forty years he had been living as a son of Pharaoh. Now again, we’ve got to go back to Acts chapter 7, that great dissertation by Stephen who was filled of the Holy Spirit to do what, bear witness ei...testimony of Christ.

Stephen picks up with things that were left out in the Old Testament account, he like Paul and others quotes from the LXX of the Septuagint, and that’s why we have to look at some of these other portions. Acts chapter 7 verse 20. And remember Stephen is rehearsing all this to the Nation of Israel, which of course, they’re going to reject and they’re going to stone him by the time we get to the end of the chapter. There second time of rejecting Christ Jesus and the kingdom (spiritual) offered them. NOT a physical kingdom restored but rather a spiritual or supernatural kingdom restored. But here’s what he says:

Acts 7:20-21
"In which time (that is after the Pharaohs and after Joseph had died) Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, (we covered that in a previous verse) and nourished up in his father’s house three months: (his legitimate parents) And when he was cast out, (that is in the little ark or basket in the river Nile) Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son."
Now look at verse 22, as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, living in the palace:

Acts 7:22
"And Moses was learned (educated) in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds."
You’ve heard me say this over and over - in antiquity, Egypt was the United States of that period of time. Egypt was the consumer nation of antiquity. Egypt was the high point of civilization. Even in its Idolatress worship of its many gods. You see Moses isn’t stuck in some antiquated, pagan, uncivilized society - it’s a thriving economy and a very Religious pagan society. They’re building, they’ve got tremendous military; and for their day and time, they were the innovators and the scientists - you see the Scripture tells us that Moses was educated in all of that. He had everything going for him. On top of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he's got all of the perks that went with it. The lifestyle, the sumptuous living, the banqueting, the beautiful women, just like our pro athlete’s today - you know, there’s nothing withheld from them nor was anything with held from him.

It was no different back there, probably even more so. And so Moses had all of this at his disposal. Non-Scripture information tells us that he was probably even a civil engineer - they think Moses was probably one of the ‘movers and shakers’ of building some of the cities of Egypt as the Hebrews were the labor force and it was forced labor. He was a tremendous individual. All right, now come back to Hebrews and I’m doing all this to show that Moses turned his back on it all. Even as we're to do the same, that is the meaning of the cross and our death to the world and the spirit of the world that drives it. Even though God over sees all things. In other words He allows it as it serves His ultimate end and purpose. All right, chapter 11 verse 24:

Hebrews 11:24-25
"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;"

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXVII

Continuing on with our thought.

Hebrews 11:23a
"By faith Moses, when he was born,…"
The minute the little fellow hit fresh air, what did they know. Hey, he’s something special. He’s not just another little Hebrew. He’s not just another Israelite. This little fellow is something special. Just as with Abram he also had something special about him as well. This is known through the book of Jasher which was not made part of our Bible because they could not verify the author, not realizing that the name simple means to draw a straight line or a plumb line between two points, as we've shared else where. Jasher helps to fill in the missing parts of Moses narrative of the first five books.

Hebrews 11:23
"By faith Moses, when he was born, (because of their faith) was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper (or a special) child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment."
Here's a tough one, he parents did not name him as of that time, he was named by Pharaohs daughter with and Egyptians name meaning salvation through water or raised from the water, Mo-shes. Now I don’t think he was born with a halo around his head. I don’t think he was born with some kind of an intrinsic baby doll face. But there was something about that little infant that those parents knew right away; this isn’t an ordinary child. We can’t throw him into the Nile River. No he like Abram stood out from among the other children just as the babe Jesus did. And like the child Jesus, he was saved from execution through a divine process of events just as Abram had been.

So they secretly built that little crib that would float on the river because they had to keep this little child alive. All right, and so he was, "…hid three months because they saw he was proper, and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment."
Now stop and think a minute. We are now about 350 years after the call of Abraham, and the children of the Hebrews have never had a printed book. Think about it. What held them together? Trusting God, for they all knew him. But oh, how do you pass trust from one generation to the next? By word of mouth. And so the Patriarchs were faithful in passing on their trust in God's faithfulness. In the same way that Israel though scattered to the four winds and among the nations has retained its solidarity for almost 4000 years. Now how is this carried about? Through a spirit of Religion and the Idolatry that accompanies that faith by the worship of the things idolized ei...the scroll of the Law, the Torah, customs and rituals, and the utensils used both within and without the temple, even the Temple itself. This spirit of Religion causes a block and hindrance to God's activities and our receptivity of that activity.

That’s what’s happened to America. That’s what’s happened to the Western world. "Christendom." Parents have been guilty of not passing on their trust in His faithfulness. And I blame my grandparents generation the most of all. They were raised up in the Depression and they said, "My kids are not going to be deprived of everything like we are. And what have they done? They’ve ruined everything." They kept quiet and did not share what they may have known, if any thing of the Lord. Especially what we're sharing here. For the spirit of Religion causes silents and pride to swell up within us and a fear of sharing and caring for God through our activities as we train, teach, and tutor others because of our faith, trusting God's faithfulness through the ontological essence of Christ who is to be our all in all.

We're in Hebrews chapter 11 and we left off with verse 23 with the review of the faith of Moses. Remember that Hebrews chapter 11 is a chapter that just simply reminds us of the faith or the trust that the Old Testament Patriarchs held in God. I’ve been constantly reminding all of us, myself included, that this Epistle of Hebrews is written to Jewish-Christians who were primarily being plagued with the dilemma of keeping out of and not going back into Judaism and all of its Levitical Law-keeping and stepping into Paul’s doctrine of Grace. The promised New Covenant is a Covenant based on an Endless Life, spoken of by two OT prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah primarily. Within this Covenant God's pledges to do all necessary to bring us through His Grace activity as long as we remain receptive of His activity through the ontological essence of Christ restored to us.

And we have compared it with cult people today. It is hard for someone who has had these things drummed into them for years and years to finally just make the break and pull away from it and not be drawn back. Well, the Jewish people were under the same kind of a dilemma. Judaism was just pulling them back. We want to remember that when Hebrews was written, Jerusalem hadn’t been destroyed, the Temple is still operating with all the sacrifices. That’s why he said back in chapter 6, that if they were to go back into Temple worship and sacrifices (which had no validity whatsoever, any more and even though the Jews were still doing it every day in Jerusalem), by the continued practice they would be canceling out Grace. Paul used five stern warnings within the Epistle which we also need to know and listen to. Paul knew that God had made the practice of Judaism of NO value by the resurrection of Christ. And that He was about to end all of its customs, rituals, priesthood and even the Temple itself was about to come down as Paul knew the meaning of Daniels vision. For both he and the disciples were expecting the eminent return of Christ and the onset of the tribulation period.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXVI

Picking up with our last thought.

Genesis 33:18-20
"And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. (That is of Shechem.) And he bought (now watch this all carefully) a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-el-o-he - Israel."
In other words, a recognition of Yehovah the “el” signifies this. All right now, let’s jump over to the last verses of Joshua chapter 24. Now you can see why I left Hebrews when it spoke of Joseph’s bones because here it is.

Joshua 24:29
"And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old."
Now remember the history here. When Israel came into the land of Canaan, Moses had died and Joshua picked up the leadership. And Joshua, I think, ruled the Nation of Israel something like 26 years, if I’m not mistaken. Not a long, long time. But anyhow, at the end of Joshua’s life, then, he dies being 110 years old.

Joshua 24:30-32
"And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.(now here it comes) And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph."
Do you see why I stopped in Genesis 33. Same piece of ground. It’s still recognized as belonging to the children of Joseph the Hebrew and in that piece of ground they buried the bones of Joseph, see? It became the inheritance, then, of the children of Joseph. And there’s nothing, nothing to abrogate that. It’s still valid. It’s still their deeded property. They bought it, they paid money for it. All right, so that’s the present day city in Israel of Nablus. Watch for Nablus in the News. Every once in a while there’s another bombing. There’s another shooting. Whatever. Because it’s a point of controversy. Now, who is the progenitor of every point of controversy? The Devil. That’s Satan’s work. He works through the Canaanites, Ishmael, Esau and all those of mixed ethnicity who are descendents of those who were not destroyed as directed by God. All right so we’ve got two of them covered. Hebron, Abraham bought it. Nablus, Jacob bought it.

Now for Jerusalem. Let’s now jump all the way up to II Samuel chapter 24, and let’s start at verse 18. Now David is king. And of course, early in David’s reign, Hebron was his capital. Then he moved the capital from Hebron up to Jerusalem and this is the beginning of that.

II Samuel 24:18
"And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite."
Remember the Jebusites lived in the area of what is now Jerusalem.

II Samuel 24:19-21
"And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, 'Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant?' And David said, 'To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.'"
Now of course, at this time there was a plague on Israel for its rebellious act. Now verse 22.

II Samuel 24:22-25
"And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king, (David). And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel."
First did you hear what David told Araunah? That he could not offer to his God nothing that he did not own or have possession of, he could not make use of the land because it to did not belong to him. All right, what spot is this threshingfloor? Well, it’s the Temple Mount, today. It’s where the Temple was built years later under Solomon. So here again, we’ve got a piece of property that was bought and paid for (by David in this case), which today is one of the disputed places in our everyday news – Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, the Mt Moriah of Abraham's day. And all these things just simply scream at us that if people would just simply know and believe the Word of God, we wouldn’t have any problems. But the world won’t do it. The Arabs won’t. The UN won’t. Western Europe won’t. Even the Religious of our society called "Christians" don't believe just as the many of Judaism don't. And so, it’ll just continue to deteriorate of course, until the King of Kings comes and you know, when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, what are you praying for? For the Lord the Prince of Peace, come. Jerusalem will know no peace until Christ returns. It’s going to be a point of controversy and the releasing of God's wrath right up until the Second Coming itself.

Well, come back to where we left off in Hebrews chapter 11. Now we’ll pick up another one of our faith people in Moses. What a place of instruction again. Now, I’ve got to remind you. Why do we study these Old Testament things? They’re for our learning. I can’t take you back here in Genesis and show you the plan of salvation, no more than I can do it in Hebrews. But oh, you can sure learn a lot. How that all of the workings of God have been coming down human history bringing us to the time of Christ and His finished work of the cross. Where God judged humanity and found it and all Religion wanting and bankrupt because of idolatry. Then the appearance of the Apostle Paul and the revelations that give us the kingdom made manifest, through the Gospel of the Grace of God. The New Covenant though not labeled Grace is Grace's activity within the hearts of those who answer the call, in God's proper fashion. Those clothed in Christ made ready to receive God, as God. The gospel based on the work of the cross, the “it is finished!” with its hidden purposes and meanings for both us and the Hebrews.

You know, that reminds me - I’ve said, I won’t attack people. I don’t attack names, or groups or anything like that. But once in a while I read things that just curl my hair. And one of them was early this morning - I was reading from a gentleman that is no longer alive, a well-known highly respected Bible scholar and he was pointing out that Jesus and the Twelve preached the same Gospel of salvation that Paul did. And oh, my toes just doubled up in my boots! How can they say something like that when Paul’s Gospel says, "Christ died for you and rose from the dead." Could they preach that before it ever happened? NO! See that’s my question. How could they preach death, burial and resurrection back here in His earthly ministry? They couldn’t, and they didn’t! Even after His resurrection and ascension they had no idea of what the “It is finished” meant. Or how they were related to it, even after Pentecost they had no idea. Just as the worlds Religion and its related theologians don't to this very day!

Some people like to tell me, well, they must have known. No! They didn’t know. Luke 18 and others, are just as plain as day that they didn’t know. The Lord says in those verses, "We go up to Jerusalem. Everything written by the prophets will be accomplished. He will be scourged. He will be beaten. He’ll be put to death and the third day He will rise again from the dead." So far so good. But what does the next verse say? Most of you know. "And they knew none of these things, because it was hid from them." So the Twelve didn’t know, and if they didn’t know what He was talking about in those verses, how could they have preached it?

See what I’m saying? How could they preach death, burial and resurrection when they had no idea that it was going to happen. And then they tell me that they preached the same salvation message that Paul preached. NO, they did not! You see why I get a little up tight? Common sense tells me they couldn’t preach Paul’s Gospel of salvation, because all of Paul’s Gospel was resting on that death, burial and resurrection. Now the “it is finished” of the cross. How can you preach something that hasn’t happened? Well you can’t. And they didn’t! They had NO knowledge of the things God was about to bring about by His judging of Israel's then defunct Religion and Israel Idolatries and indeed all Religious Idolatry! Now back to Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:23
"By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXV

Picking up where we left off in the last post.

Genesis 23:3-7
"And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, (now remember it’s in the land of Canaan) I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 'Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury the dead'. And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth."
I’m making mention of the fact that he must have had his eye on this place for quite a while, that if, and when, somebody was going to die, that’s where he wanted them buried, or even himself. Now verse 8.

Genesis 23:8-9
"And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, That he may give me (not a cave, but) the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, (Abraham had his eye on this one in particular) which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you."
Well now in the intervening verses, they haggle over the price and so on and so forth, but now come on down to verse 16.

Genesis 23:16-18
"And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham (now watch this, underline it, pass it on to anybody that will listen) and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure. Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city."
In other words, they deeded it to him and it was agreed in the presence of those Canaanites that it was a done deal. He wrote it down and recorded all that was said and agreed to and who agreed to what, then he stored it in a jar and probably sealed it and marked the jar so it wouldn't get lost. This jar they then carried with them as a family heirloom of a great treasure.

Genesis 23:19
"And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: The same is Hebron in the land of Canaan."
All right, now Mamre, the cave of Machpelah is today’s Hebron. It’s in the news constantly because it is a controversial place now between the Palestinians and the Hebrews. Now when I say Palestinians, that brings another thought. How many people are confused by the term Palestine? Now it’s a Scriptural word, you’ll find it way back in Exodus. But I’m going to make a point. You want to remember that the word Palestine is merely a term of geographical area. Much like we refer to the Mid-West, here in the United States. But, does the Mid-West have a definitive border? No. Does the Mid-West have a capital? No. Does the Mid-West have a flag? No. Does the Mid-West have a government? No. It’s merely a geographical area.

Another area is the Sahara. Same thing. Does the Sahara have definitive borders? No. Is the Sahara a nation? No. Does the Sahara have a flag or a constitution? No. Does it have an intrinsic language? No. But again, there isn’t a person, that if I speak of the Sahara you don't know what I’m talking about - that huge area of the northern part of Africa.

I can give you another one. The South Pacific. The South Pacific is a huge geographic area. Everybody knows what you’re talking about. Does it have a government? No. Does it have a flag? No. See? All right, that’s Palestine. Palestine is just a generalized geographical area there in the Middle East from the Mediterranean out east. It has never, never been a definitive area. It has never had a government. It has never had a definitive language. It’s just simply like the Mid-West. The Sahara. The South Pacific. Palestine. It’s an area in which various people have lived and are now living.

Now when you go back into Biblical history then, who were the true Palestinians. Well, early on it was the Canaanites and they were made up of many tribes and city states. They were living in the area of Palestine. Then it became the deeded land of Israel so the Hebrews were the true Palestinians. Then the Arabs started coming in for whatever reason. The region had been a nomadic region ie...a free zone, with lord's of city states who occupied as territorial land mass but had no claim ei...deed to it. All right, now what it all really boils down to is that we should define the people as the Palestinian Hebrews, and Palestinian Arabs. But everybody’s got it all wrong. They have gotten to the place now because of the propaganda machine that the Palestinians are the occupiers of the land of Palestine. Well they’re not. They don’t occupy all of Palestine. In fact a good portion of Palestine is the present day Jordan. A good part of Palestine as the term implies is maybe even parts of Syria. So, it’s just become a complete mix-mash of definitions but Palestine is not a nation. It is not a definitive government; it’s merely people living in a generalized geographical area. Now maybe that will help.

So the Hebrews then, are inhabitants of Palestine ever since they became a nation, especially under Moses. It’s been their homeland all right, but go back further than Moses, go to Abraham. He already bought a tract of land and paid silver for it in what is today the city of Hebron. From which we got the name or title Hebrew, though it could have also come from a descendant before Abraham named Eber as well, as he settled in Salem and was a lord over that city state at the time of Abraham's conquest of the kings.

All right, let’s look at the second one. Jump up ten chapters and go to Genesis chapter 33. Jacob has just come back from his twenty years with his uncle Laban and you all know that account. As he’s coming back he has just met with his brother Esau in the early part of this chapter but now drop in at verse 18. Now this is what I call Bible study. This just simply compares Scripture with Scripture. What does the Book say?

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXIV

Hebrews 11:20
"By faith (again) Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." Many people don’t realize that. Why do you suppose the Arab world is so high in numbers ie...population? Because God promised Ishmael and Esau that He would bless them. They’re not there by accident. They’ve been blessed. Ishmael had twelve sons (the prince's of Saudi Arabia) and Esau had seven (they are truly the scattered people as they're among us) if memory serves me.

You know, I have to think, not only do they have 50 times more people than Israel (they’ve got almost that much more land area than Israel), but on top of that what’s under all their sand? Most of the world’s oil! Though the region of Israel's occupancy has its share as well. They can’t complain, my they’ve got blessings that they don’t even want to admit. So God hasn’t turned His back on them. And so even Isaac when he blessed the sons, he blessed Esau just as well as he did Jacob. But, Jacob of course, is the man of trusting faith. Now verse 21.

Hebrews 11:21a
"By faith Jacob, when he was a dying,…"
This takes us back to Genesis 48:5-22 and you can pick up all the blessings that he placed upon those sons there.

Hebrews 11:21b
"…blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff."
As he was dying, passing off the scene. All right now we jump up into the next generation. In verse 22 - of Joseph, the favored son of Jacob. You all should know the story of Joseph; I don’t have to rehearse that. Joseph ends up down in Egypt. And as the Hebrews have done from the onset of the nation, even though they’re hated, they’re despised, they’re persecuted - invariably some of them will end up where? At the top. You just stop and think about it. What percentage of the Nobel Prize winners are Hebrews? If I’m not mistaken, it’s about 50%. Yet the Hebrews are only less than one percent of the world’s population. They’re blessed.

Look at the talented people in the entertainment industry. What are most of them? Hebrews. Look at successful writers. What are most of them? I won’t say all, but what are most of them? Hebrews. Medical science. My goodness. Beginning with the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk, what was he? Hebrew or Gentile? He was a Hebrew. All the master scientists of the atomic energy program, what were they? Most of them were Hebrews. Oh, they’ve been blessed beyond human comprehension in spite of the world’s hating them, in spite of the satanic pressures to get rid of them. In spite of their being bond by a Religion which turned its back toward God and which caused the bring forth of Jesus as their redeemer. As the end of God's tolerance of their sin ie..idolatry.

And so never lose sight of that (even Joseph). Here he’s sold as a common slave, taken down into Egypt, becomes nothing more than a house servant but where does he end up? Second man in Egypt and I imagine if he had wanted to usurp Pharaoh’s seat, he could have. Daniel goes out into Babylon, nothing more than a manacled slave. Where does he end up? Second man in Babylon. Almost that far in the next empire, the Medes and the Persians. And so all the way up through human history, we’ve seen that these Hebrews with their talent, their intelligence, their energy, they just come to the top.

As long as they remained the loyal subjects of Yehovah He continues the watch over them but when He changed the program as recorded in Acts the dimension of all this also changed. Its' this change that most people just don't seem to get their heads around as they mix all these things as a salad and then try to make sense of it. If we don't rightly divide or delineated the word we'll never come to the knowledge of God and His workings.

All right, now here’s Joseph. Went through the life of a slave, imprisoned (as far as I can tell) about 12 years. Then he comes out and rises up to the second man in Egypt - but when he dies, they all die remember. When he died he made mention of the departing out of Egypt of the Children of Israel and gave a command concerning his bones. Well, you all know what that was, don’t you? Joseph told the Children of Israel of his day, "That one day, God is going to take you out of here and you’re going to go back to the land promised to our forefathers. And when you go, you take my bones with you."
Now what prompted him to request that? Well, I think it carries through to the Hebrews of the present day. If a Hebrew has got the money and the wherewithal, and he’s got any connection with his Old Testament Scriptures, where would he like to be buried? As close to the Temple as they can get. If they have the money, they would be buried right next to the Temple itself. Well, Joseph already had a comprehension of that, that when the Lord came to set up this kingdom, he wanted to be in the land of promise at resurrection day. That’s what he’s looking at. He’s looking at resurrection day. And so, by faith, knowing the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that a Redeemer, Messiah, King is coming. He wanted to have his bones in the Promised Land, when that day comes, so he gave commandment that they were to take his bones with them. Now the early morning just before day break when the ground shook and the graves were opened and the ancient dead were raised with Him, these people were also raise with Him. Just as the Psalms tells us in Psalm 68:18 and then by Paul as recorded in Ephesians He says the same thing in 4:8.

Psalm 68:18-19
"Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." and now Paul's take on this by the same Spirit;

Ephesians 4:7-10
"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"

When Joseph said, "take my bones with you," when they got back in the Promised Land, did they just bury him at the first place that they came across? No. He was buried in a particular place and the amazing thing is, there are three pieces of ground in the homeland of Israel that were bought and paid for with current money, of silver. Three of them. And those three same identical places are the points of greatest controversy and bloodshed today.

But see, all of this ties in with Ancient Israel, and what’s going on today is tied together. You can’t separate them. Now I want to mention three crucial areas of the Middle East that were intrinsic to the book of Genesis. So before we go back and pick up in Hebrews chapter 11, we’re going to look at those three a moment. The first one of course is in Genesis 23, where we have the death of Sarah, Abraham’s beloved wife, the one who was part and parcel of that Abrahamic Covenant and the birth of Isaac. But now she dies and I think starting right here we find that part and parcel of the whole Hebrew mental makeup is a reverence for their burial sites. Even today if bulldozers are working in Israel and they turn up human bones, they have to stop. Now in America all it takes is a Snail Darter or some endangered species like that, but in Israel if they turn up human bones, then everything stops because they have such a respect for the human dead. And I think it began right back here with Abraham making such a big deal over a burial place for his beloved wife Sarah. Not to mention that which Jacob and Esau did over their father and the Jacob's sons over him when he died.

All right, Genesis chapter 23 and let’s start at verse 3. Now we’re not going to read all these, we’re just going to hit a couple of the highlights. But in Genesis 23, Abraham has been mourning over his wife Sarah.

Genesis 23:3-7 "And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXIII

Continuing where we left off in Genesis 22:

Genesis 22:13
"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."
In both these instances, was there any opposition? From Isaac or from the ram? No. Scripture would have told us. But Abraham could just simply walk to the thicket, take that ram, probably with Isaac’s help and they put it on the altar without a struggle, without opposition and again it was a beautiful picture of the Lamb that finally did take away the sin of the world. He didn’t fight the cross. He did not raise His voice to the Sanhedrin or the high priests whom He stood before. He didn’t oppose any of the beatings and the misuse of the Romans. He went meekly as a lamb. So all this is just a preview of that which would be fulfilled there at the cross. All right, and so now verse 14.

Genesis 22:14
"Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: (which means that Yehovah-yireh will provide, also a symbolic name for mount Moriah) as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."
And so what a glorious statement of trust and at the same time a preview of the cross - in fact as you go back to Hebrews, stop at Philippians chapter 2. And this is just simply the fulfilling of all that we’ve seen back in Genesis. Lets begin with verse 5:

Philippians 2:5-8
"Let this mind be in you, (now remember, Paul is writing to Gentile believers like you and I) which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, (image is what it states but He was God, totally, He was and is El) thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (because He was God, I can’t emphasize that enough but was also in mans flesh) But (as God, as the Creator God of the universe) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, (or a bond slave under commandment and Levitical Law) and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
Remember that for anyone to be hung in a tree meant that he was a disgrace to his parents and cursed of all men and God (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). So the picture is, in the Old Testament even as Isaac was obedient unto death, Christ was obedient to death, even the death of the cross for our sins. Now remember that the cross and the empty thumb are our source of redemption and salvation.

That’s another tremendous lesson that we glean from these patriarchs and their walk of trust, trust being the point of beginnings for us. Until we can believe, then receive, then the trials ie...crisises, which develop His faith in us as He proves His faithfulness through our trails then we have faith. Just as we saw with Abraham, Isaac and even Jesus as the son of man. All right, come back to Hebrews chapter 11, and let’s read verses 18 and 19 again just to confirm everything that we’ve said as we looked at Genesis 22.

Hebrews 11:18-19a
"Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead;…"
You see that? Scripture tells us that if Abraham would have carried out the killing of Isaac, God would have raised him from the dead - but of course, He did the alternative. He provided the sacrifice. Now what's our sacrifice? Praise, even in the thick of the trial. A thought just came to me so before we move on lets look at what Peter records about trials.

1Peter 1:7-9
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."And then another....

1Peter 4:12-14
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified."
Do you hear or see the centrality, of Christ, in what Peter here says?

Hebrews 11:19b
"…from whence also he received him in a figure." (or a type)
So I was scripturally A-OKay by taking you back to Genesis 22 and showing how that the offering of Isaac was the beautiful picture of the obedience of the One that was to be put to death, and Christ fulfilled it. All of Scripture, we are taking all of Scripture and allowing them or showing just how they fit from cover to cover.

And it does, it just thrills me when people are beginning to see that this isn’t a bunch of jumbled up legends and stories and so forth. It’s a composite that fits from cover to cover. And you don’t see it until you study it. The casual reader will never get it and that is what most people are, just casual readers. They're not hearing because they're not listening and therefore they don't see. Just as the Hebrews didn't and still don't. Neither does the average Religious "Christian" because with Religious Israel a partial blindness covers their eyes, ears and heart. Why? Because of idolatry and an evil heart because idolatry is in mans heart. Its a heart condition.

All right, let’s go on to verse 20.

Hebrews 11:20
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXII

Genesis 22:1-2
"And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt (to prove, a trial or test) Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. (now look at verse 2. Watch this carefully.) And he said, Take now thy son, thine (what’s the next word?) only son Isaac whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; (present day Jerusalem) and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
Goodness sakes, Ishmael is fourteen to seventeen years older. But see, God never recognized Ishmael as a son. He was not the promised son, but rather the promised son was Isaac. Man has been guilty of playing the part of god ever since Adam bite the fruit and by so doing has unwittingly created his own religion or religious practices. These are but Idolatry because man is in effect replacing God with moralization ie...a code of accepted behavior, and regulation ie...man made rules or laws of his actions by them. And this is what Paul is saying when he shows that Ishmael and Agar or Hagar symbolize Mt. Sinai which answers to Jerusalem in bondage because of sin, Idolatry Because of Judaism.

Genesis 22:3-4
"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him (Eliezer and Ishmael), and Isaac his son, and clave (or held) the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off."
So often in Scripture we have "Three days." It’s just amazing if you make a study of it, and here’s another one. They left Beersheba down in the South and three days later they see Mount Moriah, which is present day Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount.

Genesis 22:5
"And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, (now underline the next part of that verse.) and come again to you."
By himself? No. Both of them. Would he be carrying Isaac over his shoulder? A corpse? No. They would both be coming back alive. But hadn’t God told him you’re going to have to give Isaac as a sacrifice? Yes. All right again, by trusting, and oh, I can’t emphasize this enough, what did Abraham know? That if he would have to kill Isaac, God would raise him up so he could go back home with him. He knew that! Now that’s faith! Now Abraham asked Isaac and the two that were with him if they could see the smoke that was coming from the mount ahead, Isaac answered, yes. But the other two said (Ishmael and Eliezer), no, they did not see it. So they had two remain behind with the animals? Their eyes were not open to the things of God. All right, let’s read on. Now verse 6.

Genesis 22:6-7
"And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. (no servants, just the two of them.) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 'My father': and he said, 'here am I, my son'. And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'"
This is an inquisitive youth asking a logical question, 'where's the sacrifice dad?'
I think here in verse 8, Abraham said a mouthful that he didn’t realize was going to be fulfilled to the last jot and tittle.

Genesis 22:8
"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together."
But what had God told Abraham? "To sacrifice Isaac." It would be Isaac, but somehow or other, Abraham knew one of two things. If he would have to offer Isaac, God would raise him from the dead. And if he didn’t offer Isaac, God would provide the lamb. And of course, we know that’s what happened. It should be said, that the word does not fill in all areas for our full understanding and we have to be willing to accept them unanswered. Though the Holy Spirit will provide the missing pieces at His will and by His means.

Genesis 22:9
"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood."
Now, did you hear that? “to the place which God had told him of” the place where he saw the smoke rising from, that almost seems beyond human comprehension, it seems beyond the God that we know of Scripture. But its keeping with His character. How could God expect a man to lay his own son, when we know that one of the horrors of Israel’s history was child sacrifice and yet here God commanded Abraham to lay Isaac on that altar bound, hand and foot, although there is no indication that Isaac resisted. He was totally obedient to the father as he’s laid on the altar because he too knew what laid ahead.

I’m not going to make you go back to Romans, but another verse that I use is in Romans 15 and verse 4 and that verse says: "Now all these things were written aforetime (like we’re reading right here) for our learning that we through the Scriptures might have comfort and hope." All right so what are we to glean from this? We’re to learn. This isn’t just some legend. This isn’t just some story to fill the page. The book of Jasher (this is not a proper name, was written by many writers over a period of time and means a cord that is made up of two or more cords twisted together for strength, it also means straight (to make straight, take the straight way, be upright), most upright (-ly, -ness), meet (-est), + pleased well right (-eous).) has a lot more to tell us about this event and it fills in to missing information about the rest of the story. But this is even for you and I in this Age of Grace, to look back at and see how the God Whom we serve is telling us something. And what’s He telling us? That God did bring about a Human sacrifice, the greatest one of all. The Lamb that took away the sin of the world was nailed to that Roman Cross. Just as surely as Isaac was laid on that altar on Mount Moriah. There are so many parallels. Number one, as I’ve already pointed out, Isaac was the only begotten son. Isaac fulfilled everything pertaining to Christ’s sacrifice by being totally obedient to be that sacrifice. And all through the eyes of faith. God said it and they could rest on it.

Genesis 22:10
"And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."
And I don’t think Abraham was being a Hollywood actor. He was ready to carry it out, heartbroken as he must have been. But on the other hand knowing that God would bring him back to life. Through this action he demonstrated his total trust of God. All right verse 11.

Genesis 22:11a
"And the angel of the LORD…"
I’ve stressed, Who’s that? Well, that’s God the Son ie...Yehovah of the Old Testament/Covenant times.

Genesis 22:11b-12
…called unto him out of heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham': and he said, 'Here am I'. And he said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.'"
Now there’s the emphasis - that as Isaac was the only son of Abraham in God’s eyes, so Christ was referred to as the only begotten Son of God. Here’s the beautiful part, that, whether it was by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the mind of Abraham, or not, here it’s immediately fulfilled when he said, "God would provide the lamb," in the earlier verses.

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXXI

Hebrews 11:16a
"But now (because of faith) they desire a better country,…" Remember how we’ve been stressing this all through Hebrews that everything in the past was okay, it was good. But this is so much Better - the spiritual eternal view. This is so much Better, because now they were looking for not just the earthly things, the external and the material but now the divine and heavenly things. Notice that the word "country" is a lighter shade then the rest of our passage, this is because it has been added by the translators, to clarify the better. But if we remove it and this we can do without changing the intent we get "But now they desire a better, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."

Hebrews 11:16b
"…that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."
I was going to take you back to Revelation, but I don’t have to, because you all know what it is. The streets paved with pure gold. The gates made of pure pearl. And all the gemstones that you can imagine are the stones of the foundation. Oh, that city is coming wonderful or full of wonder. God hasn’t forgotten. God is never going to go back on His Word. For His Word reveals His character just as Jesus is the expressed image of God Jesus is the character of God in Truth and Grace. And so this beautiful city that they were looking for by faith, will one day become a reality! Just as it will be for those who have chosen God above all others.

So, I guess maybe I’m about the only one at least that I’m aware of, where we are teaching verse-by-verse. It’s the way I know how to teach. I don’t know what I would do if I would have to put together a separate little message for every thirty minutes. Even when I've been asked to preach the Lord would change my plains and I'd have to do something different than I had planed. Boy, that is hard. But all I have to do is just pick up where we left off and we just go from there. It has gotten to the point where I no longer have to depend on my own sufficiency as He by His Spirit gives what to say and when to say it. For the greater One Lives His ontological Life within me and I can say with Paul, "It is no longer I who lives but Christ Live His Life through me!" As God restored to man.

All of our promises are heavenly. Now granted, we’re blessed in earthly things, I don’t deny that. But, by and large, our blessings, our rewards, are waiting for us in Glory. And it’s there that we’re going to one day come to cash in, if I can call it that. But for the Old Testament patriarchs, their blessings were earthly. Flocks and herds and children and what have you. But they, too, have entered into a heavenly existence, which is NOT Heaven on earth. Remember that God first dealt with the earthy (natural man) then comes the spiritual (born again man, man quickened by the Spirit of God). How? By the finished work of the cross and Christ Jesus' resurrection and ascension by the power of Eternal Life and the Spirit of Holiness. All right, let’s go on into the next verse now, verse 17.

Hebrews 11:17
"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, (a trial, or tested) offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,"
Now let’s go back and look at it. That’s in Genesis chapter 22, because a lot of these little things I think the average reader or even student, overlook, and they’re pertinent, they’re important. Now we’ve already stressed that Abraham was fifty years waiting for the promised son. During that time God was working on him perfecting His revelation within Abraham and Sarah developing His character within them. His character is Life to our flesh and so it was to both of them, even thou they were beyond or stricken in years of child bearing. God is Faithful.

Of course, he and Sarah took things into their own hands, you remember, back when he was about 86 and they had Ishmael by way of the slave girl, Hagar. This was in the flesh so to speak as God had NOT told them to do this thing. But see, God never recognized Ishmael as the promised son, because he wasn’t. God had nothing to do with the birth of Ishmael. Ishmael was conceived by an operation of the flesh or Abram's and Sarai's own sufficiency. That was strictly in the flesh between Abraham and Sarah and the girl Hagar. But, the promised son wouldn’t come for another fourteen years, which made a total then, as I said earlier, of about 50 years that Abraham was waiting for the son of promise, Isaac.

All right, but now Isaac is a young lad himself. And now after waiting 50 years for the lad to be born, enjoying his companionship for 14-22 years, now God tells him what? "Give him up to Me, as a sacrifice." That must have been horrendous. But remember, God was doing it for only one purpose. And what was it? To test Abraham’s Faith and Obedience. My, you wouldn’t think God would have had to test Abraham anymore - he’d already been tested for 70-some years. But, nevertheless, God is going to test the trust of this man of faith, Abraham, once again. Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again bot Abraham and Isaac saw the day of Christ as a shadow of future events, looking forward. Now knowing the day or the time of those thing seen, but they both trusted God and His word. Why? Because Isaac was the produce of their bearing Him.

Genesis 22:1-2
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, 'Behold, here I am'. And He said, 'Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of'."

The Epistle to the Hebrews part CCLXX

Matthew 24:9
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, (that is the powers that be part of this has taken place back in 66-70 AD) and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake."
Now, the following is but a Western Religious (Judaistic-Christian) mindset. Which says, 'never forget, why are the Hebrews such a hated people? Because Satan knows, from the day that God told Abraham, that that nation of people would be the nation through whom all the blessings of the world would come. And Satan knows that if he could destroy the Hebrew people, then everything that God said falls through the cracks. So this is why they’ve been under such intense pressure. Satan is doing everything he can to thwart the will of God and if God does not have the Nation of Israel on which He can fulfill His promises, then He’s lost His Sovereignty and Satan knows that. This is why we have to pray for the Hebrew people - they are under a Satanic attack, because Satan wants to destroy them.' But is this so? This is also a misnomer because the true Israel of God's design is not found in the physical nation but is in the House or Family ie...Church and Body of Christ! The spiritual House restored by God to God in the person of Christ Jesus.

Come back to Luke chapter 1, We didn’t quite finish there. Luke chapter 1 again, and just another verse or two, then we’ll go back to Hebrews. We did verse 73. "The oath which he swore to our father Abraham." Now here comes the promise again. Now remember this Zacharias, as high priest of Israel, is under the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit as he speaks.

Luke 1:74-75
"That he would grant unto us, (the Nation of Israel) that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him (the Messiah, their King, their Savior, their Redeemer. How?) without fear, (it’ll be Heaven on earth. See?) In holiness and righteousness before him (Christ Jesus), all the days of our life."
Now that’s what the Hebrew is waiting for. When they can live in total peace and in fellowship with their God and they can see fulfilled these covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by way of an oath. All right, let’s come back to Hebrews chapter 11 once again and make a little headway. What is here said did not take into account God's character because as Jesus said "only God is good" and God can't operate outside of His character nor can He allow man to assume for himself the character of God apart from the essence of Christ restored to us. This is what Paul was saying throughout his Epistles but mere humans ie...Israel and natural man does not understand God in Christ. And now verse 13.

Hebrews 11:13
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, (they never did have that king. They never did have that glorious kingdom on earth. They died looking forward to it.) but (they) having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, (by faith puls nothing, remember) and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
They alone were in that place of promised blessings. Its all acquired by all of those who have chosen to receive the blessing of Christ's essence by faith+plus+nothing=Salvation in Christ. Religion wants to add, works of some sort and dimension to faith ie..moralism, works of mans sufficiency, doctrines of man, attendance, tithes, confessionalism...ect. These were all things that Paul was in opposition to. All right, verse 14.

Hebrews 11:14-15
"For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned."
That’s kind of a tough verse because it’s a lot of "doubles" in there. But, had they been mindful of the Ur of Chaldees or maybe even Egypt, then they would have been from the human side, drawn back, and they would have never had the faith to accept the glorious thing that was still in the future. Because you remember, when they came out of Egypt and they were under all the trials and tribulations of that desert existence, what was their murmuring statement? "Oh, would to God that we’d stayed in Egypt." See? At least we didn’t have to swallow dust every day. But, the whole idea was that out of their adversity would come the blessings. Out of their materialism would come their spiritualism which for the most part had not taken place, yet. This is the premise of Paul's argument, they had not suffered to the point of shedding their blood though that would come about after Paul and Peter were executed.

I know this lesson is for us as well isn’t it? You know I’ve said - God never, through Paul’s writings or anybody else, promises the believer a life of a rose-petaled pathway. A lot of people try to tell us that but it’s not true. God does not promise us a rose-petaled pathway, nor does He promise healing in the way most people want it. On the other hand we are promised that we are going to have trials and tribulation. We’re going to suffer. We’re going to have obstacles ahead of us. And in spite of it all our trust keeps looking past all of that. We're looking forward in receptive of hope, in trusting faith's activity for the day of Christ, the day that the day star arises within us a new. We wait under God listening and reception of His faith activity in His Grace activity restored to us.

This is the whole concept of Christian living that we don’t have to have all these good things every day of our lives. That’s not what we’re here for. We are going to suffer adversity as well as enjoy the blessings. Okay, now verse 16. Here we come to that word that we’ve seen all through the Epistle of Hebrews. What is it? Better. B-E-T-T-E-R. Verse 16.

Hebrews 11:16
"But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."