Heb 11:20-22 What key words in Heb 11:20 help us understand the great faith of Isaac which the author wishes to exemplify as necessary for the preserving of the soul? See also Gen 27:27-29, 39-40, 28:2-4, and consider Isaac’s acceptance of the sovereignty of God to accomplish His purposes after mistakenly blessing Jacob ahead of Esau. What was the great faith of Jacob that the author is pointing out in Heb 11:21? See Gen 47:29-48:4,15-16,20-21 for the context to which his statement refers. What evidence does the author provide that Joseph also possessed the great faith of Isaac and Jacob that looked beyond this life to a future inheritance in the land of promise? See Gen 50:24-25, Ex 13:19, Josh 24:32. On what basis were Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph so confident about that which they could not see and did not come to possess in their lifetime? See Heb 11:1,13, Gen 15:13-14.
Heb 11:23-31 Is it significant that the faith ascribed to Moses in Heb 11:23 was actually that of his parents? What does this teach us about the roots from which Moses’ great faith grew, and the means by which we as parents must cultivate faith within our own children? What great faith of Moses does the author describe in Heb 11:24-26? Consider the two choices which confronted Moses: to be reckoned as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter with its promise of the “treasures of Egypt” or to be reckoned among the despised people of God and share their ill-treatment; how were these choices similar to those which confronted the original recipients of this letter? How are they similar to those which confront Christians in America today? Would most American Christians today choose to “suffer affliction” (KJV), or would they rather justify the great ministry they could have in Pharaoh’s court? What would we choose? How does the author describe in Heb 11:25 the temporary worldly gain that competes with Christ for our devotion? What “passing pleasures of sin” compete with people’s devotion to Christ today? Do they compete with ours? What did Moses consider to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt? See Heb 11:26. Do we? What enabled Moses to choose the reproach of Christ over a life of luxury and ease, and to leave Egypt “not fearing the wrath of the king”? See Heb 11:26b, 27b. What key word does “looking to the reward” and “seeing Him who is unseen” describe? What four events are described in Heb 11:28-31, and what was the great faith involved in each? In what way was the experience and faith of Jeremiah the prophet similar to that of Rahab? See Josh 2:9-13, Jer 27:6-17, 39:11-14.