BRETHREN, by faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundation, whose builder and maker is God.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill- treated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
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The Epistle to the Hebrews is the prescribed reading for the two most important times in the Orthodox liturgical year – the period prior to the Nativity of Christ and the period of the great fast of Lent itself. To be sure there is some dispute as to the authorship of this Epistle due to the variation in writing style from the other works of Paul. Whether the great Paul wrote this Epistle is not the issue. The issue is whether or not it forms part of Scripture and our church has declared it to be so. Therefore it forms part of the depository of our faith and is for the edification of the faithful. Also, in relation to dating the Epistle there are no internal markers within it to indicate a date. It is believed however that the Epistle first made an appearance towards the end of the first century.
Around that time doubt was increasing as to whether Jesus was in fact the Messiah. After all, Hebrew Scripture declared the Messiah to be a militant king who would free his people from oppression. Yet Christ came in peace, was crucified, resurrected and ascended to heaven and left his people on earth to face persecution. To counter this doubt the Epistle to the Hebrews avers to the Lord’s priesthood prior to his Kingship and that his true Kingship will manifest itself in the second coming – so patience and endurance are the requisite virtues for the believing Christian.
So, what is the overall message of the Epistle to the Hebrews? The Epistle declares that Christ is the fulfilment of the old covenant between God and ancient Israel. The old covenant is dead. Now there is a new covenant between Christ and his believing people, which new covenant is superior to the old in every way. There are two main themes running through this Epistle. The first relates to the priesthood and the second, more importantly, relates to faith which is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is faith that saves us. With faith comes hope, and faith and hope attend things that cannot be seen. Faith is hope not only in the promise of God but also in those to whom God has spoken.
Chapter 11 of the Epistle from which Sunday’s reading is taken is all about faith and how men in faith responded to the word of God. Abraham travelled to a land of promise made by God to him, a promise which was shared with Isaac and Jacob. As we know Abraham was the father of Isaac who in turn was the father of Jacob who in turn was the father of the 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. All this started with faith in things unseen – a promise from God that he would make Abraham a father of many nations and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Acting on the promise Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to the land of Canaan to receive the promise. But there is something more profound between the covenant of God and his chosen ones. Note that the three patriarchs did not seem to have much of an interest in material benefits. They were going to a new land to start afresh in their relationship of faith with God. They were going to a new city – a heavenly Jerusalem. Their citizenship was not to a country but to the heavenly Jerusalem which all are called to.
The Epistle then goes through the historical figures in the Old Testament who were moved by faith in God to do his will. However, by verse 32 there is a change of pace because Paul now says time would fail him to tell of Gideon and of Barrack and of Samson and of Jephthah and David and Samuel and the prophets. Each of the named men overcame loss, adversity and bitter doubt. As an example, Jephthah: born to Gilead and a prostitute. He was cast away by his half-brothers and exiled where he rose to become a mighty warrior and robber amongst the outcasts. The Ammonites attacked the land and the elders approached Jephthah to lead them which he did on the basis that he would remain their King, if successful. He made a covenant with God that he would sacrifice to the Lord, if successful in battle, whatever came forth from the doors of his house to meet him when he returned victorious.
Upon his successful return his daughter came to greet him, an only child and he sacrificed her according to his promise to the Lord. Even though child sacrifice was abhorrent he kept his covenant with the Lord and is remembered for that. He kept his faith in the Lord. It was through faith and having hope in things unseen that these figures in the Old Testament subdued kingdoms, brought righteousness, obtained promises and stopped the mouths of lions. More importantly, out of weakness they were all made strong and mighty in battle putting armies of aliens to flight.
And through faith, Paul talks of women who received their dead raised to life again. This was in the case of Elijah who raised the son of the widow of Serepta from the dead and Elisha who did the same for the Shunammite woman’s son. Others such as Eliezer and the seven brothers and their mother mentioned in the book of Maccabees refused to deny God and were tortured to death so that they may obtain a better resurrection. Others yet again suffered various forms of torture and martyrdom for the sake of faith. Those who reject God are not worthy of the martyrs and most certainly not of God.
Here is the thing: the author of Hebrews in tracking all these people through time, points to the common denominator uniting them all, namely their faith. The promise of that faith was Christ and they all died in the hope of its fulfilment. God’s plan involved the salvation of the whole human race and the Hebrew faithful had to wait for Christ’s coming to call men to himself. In effect all these Old Testament faithful were forerunners chosen to prepare the way for the Son of God. The Old Testament saints could not have had their hope completed unless they had put their faith in the incarnate Word – the one who is promised, prophesied and prefigured in the old Testament – and that someone is Jesus Christ.
