Hebrews 11:10 Komentář

The apostle having, in the close of the foregoing chapter, recommended the grace of faith and a life of faith as the best preservative against apostasy, he how enlarges upon the nature and fruits of this excellent grace. I. The nature of it, and the honour it reflects upon all who live in the exercise of it (Heb 11:1-3). II. The great examples we have in the Old Testament of those who lived by faith, and died and suffered extraordinary things by the strength of his grace (v. 4-38). And, III. The advantages that we have in the gospel for the exercise of this grace above what those had who lived in the times of the Old Testament (Heb 11:39, Heb 11:40).

INTRODUCTION TO HEBREWS 11 The apostle having, in the preceding chapter, spoken in commendation of the grace, and life of faith, and of its usefulness to preserve from apostasy, proceeds in this to give some account of the nature and actings of it; and which he illustrates by the examples of many of the Old Testament saints: he begins with a definition of it, which consists of two parts, Heb 11:1 and with an account of the usefulness of it to the elders in general, who by it obtained a good report, Heb 11:2 and of the service it is of in understanding the creation of the worlds, the author and original of them, Heb 11:3 and then goes on to give particular instances and examples of faith among the elders, or ancient believers, which are reduced into several classes; and the first is of the saints before the flood, Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Abel's faith lay in offering a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, in obtaining a testimony from God that he was righteous, and in yet speaking, though dead, Heb 11:4. Enoch's faith is evidenced by his translation of God, that he should not see death, and by the testimony he received from him before it, that he was acceptable to him; by which it is clear he had faith, since, without it, it is impossible to please God; nor can any come aright unto him, without believing that he is, and has a gracious respect to all that diligently seek him, Heb 11:5. Noah's faith was seen in preparing an ark, by the order of God, for the saving of his family, and in condemning the world by so doing, and by becoming an heir of righteousness through faith, Heb 11:7. The next class is that of the saints from the flood, to the times of Moses, in which are Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Abraham's faith is celebrated for his obedience to the divine call, quitting the country where he was, and going he knew not where; and for his sojourning in the promised land, as in a strange one, in which Isaac and Jacob dwelt with him in tents; and for looking by faith for the heavenly city built by the Lord; and for his offering up his son at the command of God, who was the son of promise, believing God was able to raise him from the dead, from whence he received him by faith, Heb 11:8. Sarah's faith lay in receiving strength through it to conceive, bear, and bring forth a child when past age, which was, founded upon the faithfulness of a promising God; hence from Abraham, by her, sprung a large posterity, like the stars of the sky, and the sand on the sea shore, Heb 11:11. Now all these patriarchs, both before and after the flood, as they lived by faith, they died in it; who, though they had not received the things promised, yet by faith saw them at a distance, were very well persuaded they would come to pass, and so, in some sense, enjoyed them; hence, while they lived, they lived like pilgrims and strangers, showing that they had no regard to the country they came from, and had no mind to return thither, but sought another, a better, and an heavenly one; so that God is not ashamed to be called their God, he having prepared a city for them, Heb 11:13. Isaac's faith is commended in blessing his two sons with respect to things future, Heb 11:20 and Jacob's faith is well spoken of for blessing both the sons of Joseph in his last moments, worshipping on the top of his staff, Heb 11:21 and Joseph's faith is instanced in two things; in making mention of the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, as a certain thing; and in giving them strict orders to carry his bones along with them, when they went from thence, Heb 11:22 the third class of men, famous for faith, is that of such from the times of Moses to the judges, in which are the parents of Moses, Moses himself, the Israelites in general, and the harlot Rahab. The parents of Moses showed their faith in hiding him three months, seeing him to be a lovely child, contrary to the king's edict, Heb 11:23. Moses's faith lay in refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; in preferring afflictions to the pleasures of sin, and the reproach of Christ to the riches of Egypt; he having, by faith, a respect to the heavenly glory, another instance of it; and by forsaking Egypt, without fear of the king's displeasure, by faith seeing a King who is invisible; and by keeping the passover, with the sprinkling of blood, that so the destroyer of the firstborn of Egypt might not touch the Israelites, Heb 11:24. The instances of the faith of the Israelites are their passage through the Red sea, as on dry land, when the Egyptians, who attempted it, were drowned; and their compassing the walls of Jericho seven days, believing they would fall, as accordingly they did, Heb 11:29. The faith of Rahab, the harlot, is commended for two things; for peaceably receiving the spies that came to her; and for the salvation she believed she should have, and had, when the unbelieving inhabitants of Jericho perished, Heb 11:31. And the last class of heroes for faith, includes the times of the judges, kings, prophets, and the Maccabees; the judges, kings, and prophets, are lumped together, and only a few of their names are observed as a specimen of the rest, the apostle not having time to mention particular one, Heb 11:32 and various instances of without reference to particular persons to whom they belong, are recorded; some which lay in doing things greatly heroic, and even miraculous, Heb 11:33 and others in suffering things the most cruel and torturing, and death itself in divers shapes, Heb 11:35. And thus, by an induction of particulars, the apostle proves both his definition of faith, Heb 11:1 and the usefulness of it to the elders, Heb 11:2 they by it obtaining a good report, though they did not receive the thing promised, Heb 11:39 wherefore New Testament saints have great encouragement, and much more reason, to exercise this grace; since God has provided for them the better thing he promised to others, that the one without the other might not be perfect, Heb 11:40.

Through faith also Sarah herself,.... Some copies add "being barren"; and so read the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions; which is a circumstance which makes her faith appear the greater: but it is a question whether the apostle speaks of the faith of Sarah, or of Abraham; some think he speaks of Abraham's faith; and that it was through his faith that Sarah conceived; and observe, that the last clause may be rendered, "because he judged him faithful", &c. and the rather, because the apostle, both before and after, is speaking of Abraham's faith, Heb 11:8. And in Heb 11:12 mention is made only of one, even of Abraham; and in Rom 4:17 only notice is taken of Abraham's faith, respecting this matter; nor is Sarah's faith observed in the history of it, but her diffidence: but why may not Sarah be joined with Abraham, in this commendation, as well as Isaac and Jacob? and though, at first, she distrusted, yet she afterwards feared, and believed: other women are mentioned in this catalogue of believers; and they share in the same grace and privileges as men: and Sarah, being a believer, as well as Abraham, received strength to conceive seed: sometimes "strength" itself signifies seed, as in Pro 31:3 and so to receive strength is to receive seed; which the female does from the male; hence that saying of the Jews (t), the male does not receive strength from another, but the female "receiveth strength" from another; but here it is to be understood of receiving power from God to retain seed, received from men, and conceive by it; which Sarah, in her circumstances, without the interposition of the almighty power, could never have done. The nymph Anobret is so called, in imitation of this conception of Sarah's; or as she is called in the Phoenician language, , which signifies "conceiving by grace": as this conception must be entirely ascribed to the power and grace of God: and was delivered of a child when she was past age; of bearing and bringing forth children, being ninety years of age, Gen 17:17. Now though the conception, bearing, and bringing forth of children are things natural, ordinary, and common, yet here was a particular promise respecting this matter; and there were great difficulties in nature attending it, and such as to reason were insuperable; but these were got over, through the power and grace of God, and which is ascribed to faith in the faithfulness of a promising God: because she judged him faithful who had promised; that she should have a son at the time of life; See Gill on Heb 10:23. (t) Caphtor, fol. 21. 2.

Through the promised inheritance, which they did not receive, it became evident that “they looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

And the Jews declared that the shadow of the image (of the heavenly things which was afforded to them), was the third from the reality; but we clearly behold the image of the heavenly order; for the truth will be accurately made manifest after the resurrection, when we shall see the heavenly tabernacle (the city in heaven "whose builder and maker is God"

For even though one saying may refer to the Father Himself, yet it would now be more aptly spoken of the Word, because when He became man, He changed not; but, as says the apostle, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever." Who hath induced them to say, that for our sakes He was made; although Paul says, "for whom are all things, and by whom are all things?"

"For they looked" (he says) "for the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Seest thou that they received them in this sense, in their already accepting them and being confident respecting them. If then to be confident is to receive, it is in your power also to receive. For these, although they enjoyed not those blessings, yet still saw them by their longing desire. Why now do these things happen? That we might be put to shame, in that they indeed, when things on earth were promised them, regarded them not, but sought the future "city": whereas God again and again speaks to us of the city which is above, and yet we seek that which is here. He said to them, I will give you the things of the present world. But when He saw, or rather, when they showed themselves worthy of greater things, then He no longer suffers them to receive these, but those greater ones; wishing to show us that they are worthy of greater things, being unwilling to be bound to these. As if one should promise playthings to an intelligent child, not that he might receive them, but by way of exhibiting his philosophy, when he asks for things more important. For this is to show, that they held off from the land with so great earnestness, that they did not even accept what was given. Wherefore their posterity receive it on this account, for themselves were worthy of the land. What is, "the city which hath foundations"? For are not these which are visible "foundations"? In comparison of the other, they are not. "Whose Builder and Maker is God." O What an encomium on that city!

"For he waited." And by what word, he says, did these not weaken in faith, as if dwelling in a foreign land concerning the promised land? For, he says, they were not concerned with the earth, but indeed having received the land of promise, they sought the greater things and were expecting the heavenly city. For if they had been attached to the earth, they would have been shaken by not receiving it. Thus, he says, we also ought to seek the things above, and not have a word about those here. "the city which has foundations." This is said because of its permanence and certainty, meaning it has foundations, or that it alone has foundations. For those on earth, in comparison to it, do not have foundations. "whose builder and maker is God." The greatest praise of the one in heaven.

Therefore, he says, they settled in that land in tents having no foundation, because they were awaiting the heavenly city with true foundations, always firm and never perishing. This is also why God, seeing that they despised the promises of earthly goods, set those aside and prepared better things for them, as for those worthy of such things rather than earthly ones. Furthermore, they, having received the earthly promise, disregarded it and strove for the heavenly. But you, believers, having received the promise of the heavenly, desire the earthly — and are you not ashamed? God is the architect of this city — what a praise that is!

585. – Then when he says, he looked forward to the city which has foundations, he shows why he lingered there as a stranger, namely, because he did not consider himself as having anything on earth, but was seeking a heavenly city as his inheritance: 'Our feet were standing on your courts, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, which is built as a city' (Ps. 121:2); 'your eyes which see Jerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed' (Is. 33:20). It is called a city, first of all, because of the unity of the citizens, which unity is true peace: 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise your God, O Sion' (Ps. 147:12) and in v. 14: 'Who puts peace in your borders.' Your people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacle of confidence, and in wealthy rest' (Is. 23:18); That they may be one, as we also are one' (Jn. 17:22). Secondly, it is ordered, because it exists for justice and not for doing evil. But perpetual justice is there: 'And the name of the city from that day is, the Lord is here' (Ez. 48:35). Thirdly, it was sufficient unto itself in all things that are necessary, for whatever is necessary will be there most perfectly, because it is a state made perfect by the assemblage of all good things: 'Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together' (Ps. 121:3). 586. – This city has foundations, in which stability is signified: 'A tabernacle that cannot be removed' (Is. 33:20). But the foundations are the first part of a building; hence, the angels are the foundations of a city: 'The foundations therefore are in the holy mountains' (Ps. 86:20); for men will be raised to the orders of angels. 587. – The founder of this city is God, not the wisdom of human art: 'We know, if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven' (2 Cor. 5:1). Now two things are required for the erection of a city: the first is the authority of the prince, by means of whom it is made firm and who is called its founder, and from whom it takes its name, as Rome from Romulus. And so God is called the founder of that city: 'In the city of our God: God has founded it forever' (Ps. 47:9). The second is the way it is put together, which commends the wisdom of the artisan. And so God is called its artisan, because it was put together according to the disposition and wisdom of God: 'Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised in the city of God, in his holy mountain' (Ps. 47:2). For the proper arrangement of a work commends the workman. But divine wisdom will never be so resplendent as there; and, therefore, it is exceedingly to be praised.

A definition of faith, Heb 11:1, Heb 11:2. What are its immediate objects, Heb 11:3. What are its effects, instanced in Abel, Heb 11:4. In Enoch, Heb 11:5, Heb 11:6. In Noah, Heb 11:7. In Abraham, Heb 11:8-10. In Sara, Heb 11:11. In their righteous posterity, Heb 11:12-16 In Abraham's offering of his son Isaac, Heb 11:17-19. In Isaac, Heb 11:20. In Jacob, Heb 11:21. In Joseph, Heb 11:22. In Moses, Heb 11:23-28. In the Israelites in the wilderness, Heb 11:29. In the fall of Jericho, Heb 11:30. In Rahab, Heb 11:31. In several of the judges, and in David, Samuel, and the prophets, Heb 11:32-34. The glorious effects produced by it in the primitive martyrs, Heb 11:35-40.

For he looked for a city which hath foundations - He knew that earth could afford no permanent residence for an immortal mind, and he looked for that heavenly building of which God is the architect and owner; in a word, he lost sight of earth, that he might keep heaven in view. And all who are partakers of his faith possess the same spirit, walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing. Whose builder and maker is God - The word τεχνιτης signifies an architect, one who plans, calculates, and constructs a building. The word δημιουργος signifies the governor of a people; one who forms them by institutions and laws; the framer of a political constitution. God is here represented the Maker or Father of all the heavenly inhabitants, and the planner of their citizenship in that heavenly country. See Macknight.

DEFINITION OF THE FAITH JUST SPOKEN OF (Heb 10:39): EXAMPLES FROM THE OLD COVENANT FOR OUR PERSEVERANCE IN FAITH. (Heb. 11:1-40) Description of the great things which faith (in its widest sense: not here restricted to faith in the Gospel sense) does for us. Not a full definition of faith in its whole nature, but a description of its great characteristics in relation to the subject of Paul's exhortation here, namely, to perseverance. substance, &c.--It substantiates promises of God which we hope for, as future in fulfilment, making them present realities to us. However, the Greek is translated in Heb 3:14, "confidence"; and it also here may mean "sure confidence." So ALFORD translates. THOMAS MAGISTER supports English Version, "The whole thing that follows is virtually contained in the first principle; now the first commencement of the things hoped for is in us through the assent of faith, which virtually contains all the things hoped for." Compare Note, see on Heb 6:5, "tasted . . . powers of the world to come." Through faith, the future object of Christian hope, in its beginning, is already present. True faith infers the reality of the objects believed in and honed for (Heb 11:6). HUGO DE ST. VICTOR distinguished faith from hope. By faith alone we are sure of eternal things that they ARE: but by hope we are confident that WE SHALL HAVE them. All hope presupposes faith (Rom 8:25). evidence--"demonstration": convincing proof to the believer: the soul thereby seeing what the eye cannot see. things not seen--the whole invisible and spiritual world: not things future and things pleasant, as the "things hoped for," but also the past and present, and those the reverse of pleasant. "Eternal life is promised to us, but it is when we are dead: we are told of a blessed resurrection, but meanwhile we moulder in the dust; we are declared to be justified, and sin dwells in us; we hear that we are blessed, meantime we are overwhelmed in endless miseries: we are promised abundance of all goods, but we still endure hunger and thirst; God declares He will immediately come to our help, but He seems deaf to our cries. What should we do if we had not faith and hope to lean on, and if our mind did not emerge amidst the darkness above the world by the shining of the Word and Spirit of God?" [CALVIN]. Faith is an assent unto truths credible upon the testimony of God (not on the reasonableness of the thing revealed, though by this we may judge as to whether it be what it professes, a genuine revelation), delivered unto us in the writings of the apostles and prophets. Thus Christ's ascension is the cause, and His absence the crown, of our faith: because He ascended, we the more believe, and because we believe in Him who hath ascended, our faith is the more accepted [BISHOP PEARSON]. Faith believes what it sees not; for if thou seest there is no faith; the Lord has gone away so as not to be seen: He is hidden that He may be believed; the yearning desire by faith after Him who is unseen is the preparation of a heavenly mansion for us; when He shall be seen it shall be given to us as the reward of faith [AUGUSTINE]. As Revelation deals with spiritual and invisible things exclusively, faith is the faculty needed by us, since it is the evidence of things not seen. By faith we venture our eternal interests on the bare word of God, and this is altogether reasonable.

looked for--Greek, "he was expecting"; waiting for with eager expectation (Rom 8:19). a city--Greek, "the city," already alluded to. Worldly Enoch, son of the murderer Cain, was the first to build his city here: the godly patriarchs waited for their city hereafter (Heb 11:16; Heb 12:22; Heb 13:14). foundations--Greek, "the foundations" which the tents had not, nor even men's present cities have. whose builder and maker--Greek, "designer [Eph 1:4, Eph 1:11] and master-builder," or executor of the design. The city is worthy of its Framer and Builder (compare Heb 11:16; Heb 8:2). Compare Note, see on Heb 9:12, on "found."