Let's look tonight in Hebrews
chapter 11, beginning with verse 13 through verse 22. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13. These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off.
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 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. But now they desire a better
country, that is, and heavenly. Wherefore, God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. By faith, Abraham, when he was
tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son, 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. from whence also he received
him in a figure. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob
and Esau concerning things to come. By faith, Jacob, when he
was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshiped,
leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when he died,
made mention of the deporting of the children of Israel and
gave commandment concerning his bones. Tonight, in looking at these
verses, I'm going to divide the message into three parts, three
divisions. Other than faith, and that is
the most important thread that runs all through these verses,
we see also that death is mentioned in each one of them. In the first
division, it is that they all died in faith, verses 13 through
16. In the second division, it is
that Abraham offered up his son, Isaac. And this we see in verses
17 through 19. And then the third division,
the actions of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph when facing death,
verses 20 through 22. So first of all, these all died
in faith. These, these all died in faith. Now, that word these could refer
to everyone who has been mentioned up to this point except Enoch. because beginning with Abel and
Noah and everyone that's been mentioned up to this point died,
and they all died in faith. Death is the end of physical
life for both believers and unbelievers in this world. However, I believe
the word these, These all died in faith. These specifically
refer to those just mentioned, that is, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac,
and Jacob. Because these all had the promises,
those before had the promise, the promise of the seed of the
woman who would crush the head, who would destroy the works of
the devil, But these had the promises, plural. They had the promises which consisted
of these three things. They were promised the land of
Canaan. They were promised the land of Canaan, a land which
was flowing with milk and honey. Number two, they were promised
a posterity without number as the stars in the heavens. And
number three, they were promised a seed in which all the families
of the earth would be blessed. I want us to look at a few of
these. If you turn back with me to the book of Genesis, first
in chapter 12. In chapter 12, we will read the
first three verses. Now the Lord had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy
father's house unto a land that I will show thee. And I will
make of thee a great nation. And I will bless thee and make
thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless
them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee. And in
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Then in
the next chapter, chapter 13, beginning in verse 14. And the
Lord said unto Abram, after that lot was separated from him, lift
up now thine eyes and look toward the place where thou art northward
and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land which
thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the
dust of the earth. so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise,
walk through the land and the length of it and in the breadth
of it, for I will give it unto thee. And then, if you will,
in chapter 26 of Genesis, and this is to Isaac, Genesis chapter
26, verse three, Sojourn in this land, and I will
be with thee, and will bless thee, for unto thee and unto
thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform
the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father, and I will make thy
seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto
thy seed all these countries, and in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed, because that Abraham obeyed my
voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws. And then in chapter 28, and this
is to Jacob, chapter 28 and verse 13. And behold, the Lord stood
above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and
the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall
be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the
south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of
the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and
will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until
I have done that which I have spoken of to thee." All of these
promises, they were threefold. First, the land of Canaan. Second,
a posterity without number. And third, the seed in which
all the families of the earth should be blessed. Now all of
these promises, these three promises, they were all fulfilled years
after these three men and Sarah, after Abraham, Sarah, Isaac,
and Jacob, after they had all died. The nation of Israel came
out of Egypt, a mighty nation, and they did possess the land
of Canaan. Then, in the fullness of the
time, the seed in whom all the families of the earth should
be blessed, we know God sent forth His Son." As you read these
verses here in our text, here in Hebrews chapter 11, we see
that they These patriarchs, as they are
called, they knew and they believed that the promises would be fulfilled,
and yes, they had a spiritual fulfillment. Not just a physical,
but also a spiritual fulfillment. These, the writer tells us, by
faith they saw. They saw that there would be
a spiritual fulfillment of the promises, and by faith they embraced
them. The spiritual fulfillment of
them meant, number one, a better country. They were promised the
land of Canaan, but they could see there was a spiritual fulfillment
in that promise, and it was not the land of Canaan, but a better
country, that country that you and I refer to as heaven. Number two, the spiritual descendants. Yes, they had natural descendants,
which were many, but the spiritual descendants they could see also
was involved in this promise to be as many as the stars in
the heavens. In Galatians chapter 3 and verse
7, the apostle says, know you therefore that they which are
of faith, and remember every Every child of God is of faith. Everyone who is saved by the
grace of God believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the
apostle says, therefore, that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham. You are a child of Abraham. If
you know Christ and Ida is your Lord and Savior, you are a child
of Abraham. You are part of spiritual Israel. All of God's family are part
of spiritual Israel. And number three, knowing God. Knowing God through the promised
seed in whom all the families of the earth were blessed. They
could see there was a spiritual fulfillment in these promises. Yes, there was a physical fulfillment,
the land, the number of descendants, but there was a spiritual fulfillment,
a better country and many more children of faith, children of
Abraham and the seed who was promised in whom all the families
of the earth would be blessed. You remember the Lord Jesus Christ
told some unbelieving Jews one day, Abraham saw my day. When did Abraham see his day? You know, there's several events
in the life of Abraham. You have to think, well, that's
when he saw the Lord's day and rejoiced. But we don't know for
sure. But we'll come to one in just
a moment when he saw that ram caught in the bushes. Surely
that was one of the times when Abraham saw Christ's day and
rejoiced. The word here in the text, which
is translated embraced, if you look back in our text,
these all died in faith, not having received the promises.
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them." That word embrace means to salute, to greet. That is, by faith, they welcomed
the promises. They embraced in their heart. They embraced with their heart,
I should say, these promises. In the Bible, the heart is more
than just the emotions. When the scriptures speak about
a new heart, we know the heart includes three things. It includes
the mind, it includes the emotions, and it includes the will. They
embrace these promises, not just with their minds. You know, many
people learn doctrine and they recite doctrine, and they believe
doctrine, and that's good, and that's where it begins, but they
don't embrace, they don't embrace, they don't salute the truth.
It doesn't mean that much to them. They can take it or leave
it. It's not that important. But
God's people, and these were God's people, they saluted the
promise. They embraced the promises. They
wrapped their arms of faith around the promises and their lives
were changed. Their lives were changed. They
were able to confess. The fact that they embraced the
promises was evidenced by their confession and by their conduct. Now we see two vivid pictures
of this as it is recorded about Abraham. It says they confessed
that they were pilgrims and strangers. How did he confess that he was
a stranger? Well, one way, when he came back
from the war in which he went to rescue his nephew Lot, you
remember they had the spoils of war. Those were his. That was just the way it was.
Those were his. And that King of Sodom said,
just give me the people, if you will, and you take the spoils
of war. And what did Abraham say? Oh,
no. Oh, no. He's confessing, I'm
a stranger in this world. It's not going to be said of
me that you made me rich. The things of this world he confessed
to be a stranger by giving that back to the king and saying it's
the Lord who will take care of me, who will meet my needs. And he confessed also to being
a pilgrim in this conduct When he and Lot, his nephew,
they had a lot of animals, large herds, and before long the pasture
wasn't enough to support them. And the herdsmen began to fight
among themselves. And so obviously there was going
to have to be a separation. And what does Abraham do? He
shows that he's a pilgrim here. He said, Lot, you just choose.
If you want to go the right hand, I'll go to the left. If you want
the left end, I'll go to the right. You choose. And we know
what Lott did. Lott looked at the property,
and he saw the land that was well watered. And out of a covetous
heart, he chose the best of the land. And we know how he ended
up, too. We know that was a terrible mistake
on Lott's part. when he pitched his tent toward
Sodom, and then we read he's in the gate at Sodom living there,
and we read that he calls the Sodomites his brothers, and before
long he's in a cave committing incest with his two daughters. A terrible choice. Abraham, he
confessed by his actions, by his conduct, that he was a stranger
and a pilgrim. Lord, you just choose. If you
go to the right, I'll go to the left. But these, these, Abraham,
his wife Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob, these all had what I want to
call this one all-encompassing promise. All-encompassing promise. What is it? I will be your God. I will be your God. Now, if God
gives you that promise, you don't need anything else. You can't
want anything else. You can't need anything else.
If God tells you, I will be your God, that means He's going to
take care of you. Whatever your needs may be, He's
going to supply those needs. Well, now the second part, these
verses which speak of Abraham offering up Isaac in death, beginning
in verse 17, by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac. Abraham offered up his son Isaac
to death. Notice when he was tried, that
means he was tested, doesn't it? The Lord tests his people,
tests our faith. In 1 Peter 1, in verse 7, the
apostle said that the trial of your faith being much more precious
than gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire. Abraham
was tried. He was tried in this threefold
way. Number one, he was commanded
to give up his well-beloved his only begotten son. That is, his
only son by Sarah, his wife. You know how it reads there in
Genesis chapter 22, verse 2, God spoke to Abraham and he said,
take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest. Take now thy son, this was the
trial, offer him up as a burnt offering. He was tried, first
of all. Second, he was tried in the sense
that he himself would be the one who offered him up. I mean,
can you imagine having to give up your only begotten son to
begin with and then you be the means by which he is offered
up? And yet that's what God told
him to do. You offer him up as a burnt offering, Abraham. And he was tried, number three,
in doing this, he would yield up the promises that were bound
in his son because God had promised him that it was in Isaac that
his seed should be called. When you think about those three
things and the way that Abraham was tried and then think about
them in relation to God, God, number one, God gave his only
begotten son. And number two, God is the one
who crucified his son. He's the one who said, awake,
O sword, against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow.
And God raised him from the dead, in whom all the promises are
yea and amen. They're all given in Christ.
What a test of Abraham's faith was this. And he showed his faith
by his works, as James declared. I believe, and I think you will
agree, that we see not only the faith of Abraham in offering
up Isaac, but we see the faith of Isaac. The faith of Abraham
was tested, as the scripture here says. But surely the faith
of Isaac was tested as well. Most writers believe that Isaac
was at least 30 years old. He was in his 30s. Abraham is
over 100 years old, 120 years old maybe, 130. If Isaac was
30 years of age, he could have resisted, there's no question.
He could have resisted. And yet he was a type of Christ
And I believe he willingly lay upon that altar. His father Abraham
bound him, but Isaac, I believe, willingly laid himself upon that
altar by faith. And what a type, what a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went willingly to the cross. No one forced him or coerced
him in giving himself. He willingly volunteered to give
himself for his spouse, for his wife whom he loved, his church. Abraham's faith allowed him to
conclude that God's promise. Now, it was three days journey.
God gives him the command. The next day he's up early in
the morning. Saddling the asses and off they
go. Got the wood for the burn offering
and off they go. And three days journey till they
come to that mountain where God led him. What do you think was
going through his mind over those three days? Did God change? Has God made
null his promise? Certainly, one of the things
that must have come into his mind, and he concluded, if God
allows me to do this, he's going to raise him up. He cannot lie,
and he told me that the blessing would come through Isaac. Isaac
must be raised. I believe he had faith to believe
that. And when the Lord stayed Abraham's
hand, you know, you read about it there in chapter 22 of Genesis
up on Mount Moriah. Now the servants couldn't go
up there with him. And what a picture we see of
Isaac carrying the wood. Is that a picture of Christ carrying
our sins up to the cross, carrying them away? Abraham had fire and
a knife and when Isaac was upon the altar, he raises up his hand,
and God called him and stayed his hand. And he saw a ram caught
in the thicket. And in that way, God taught both
Abraham and Isaac this most important lesson about God's grace, and
that is we are saved through another. through a substitute,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Well, the third group of people,
verses 20 through 22, one writer commented on these three verses
like this. The three verses that follow
may seem like something of an anti-climax after the drama on
Mount Moriah. But life's inevitabilities outnumber
life's dramas. One of those inevitable events
is the onset of old age and approach to death. How does faith react
to these things? How does faith react to these
things? And we see all three of these
men, no regrets as far as we are told, They're not sitting
around reminiscing about pastimes and all of that, but they are
looking past death at things that were sure to come, things
that they knew were real to them. They had been promised these
things and they were ordained of God, and yes, they were going
to experience them. First, we are told that Isaac
blessed Jacob concerning things to come. There's Jacob. He had tricked his father, Isaac,
the first time when Isaac blessed him. But now Isaac realizes that
even this, even this deceit on Jacob's part lay in the providence
of God. And Jacob's name would be changed. He would no longer be called
Jacob, Kanaver. He would be called Israel, a
prince with God. Number two, Jacob blessed the
sons of Joseph, laying his right hand, remember, upon the head
of the younger and his left hand upon the head of the older son
of Joseph. And Joseph said, not so, not
so. He thought his dad, and his dad
was almost blind, he thought he didn't know what he was doing.
Jacob knew exactly what he was doing. He was blessing Ephraim
above his other son, leaving. And notice what it says here.
When he did this faith by faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed
both the sons of Joseph Manasseh and Ephraim, both of his sons.
He blessed both of them, but he gave the greater blessing,
the right hand blessing to the younger. And when you read the
tribes later in the book, as you go through numbers and see
how they are numbered, the population, you will see that always the
younger is a larger population among the tribe. Both tribes
count. Joseph had a double portion,
we realize that. But the minor, the younger son
had the double blessing and that tribe was always the largest.
Ephraim, Ephraim. But notice it says here that
when he blessed them, he was leaning upon the top of his staff. Much has been made about that.
Jacob finally, finally is brought to the place where he has no
more power and no more ability to deceive and to change and
make his plans. But no, now he is leaning upon
his staff. And as he does, he blesses, he
worships, he worships God. And then Joseph, Joseph by faith
gave commandment concerning his bones. He was a prime minister
in Egypt, wasn't he? And all of his brothers had come
down there and all the family was there. But he knew that they
would be there for a certain amount of time. And in God's
providence, they would be delivered out of Egypt. They would be taken
to that land of promise, that land that had been promised.
and he gave commandment concerning his bones. When they left Egypt,
Moses and those who left out of Egypt, they carried the bones
of Joseph with them. Some people have defined faith
as a leap in the dark, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
Faith is believing Believing God whose word cannot be broken,
who has shown to us all his trustworthiness in the fact that he has already
given his only begotten son. Faith is not a leap in the dark.
Faith is leaning upon God who cannot lie, believing him. who has already showed his love
in giving his only begotten son. Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless these words and these thoughts to us here this evening. God
would increase our faith. And faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the word of God. We're gonna sing a couple of
verses of a hymn and then we will be dismissed.