Final Fulfillment Awaits
Throughout Hebrews 11, the author uses the phrase “by faith” in reference to the particular individuals singled out for mention in this well-known chapter of the Bible. Those mentioned here–who are found throughout the whole of the Old Testament, prior to the dawn of the messianic age–believed that God would keep his covenant promise.
But for everyone on the list, the fulfillment of that promise was still far off in the distant future. As the author of Hebrews has been pointing out, it was not until the coming of Jesus Christ that the exact nature of God’s covenant promise and the wonderful benefits our Lord secures for us become clear. That for which these Old Testament saints longed, is for us, a glorious and present reality. What God had promised to the Old Testament saints is now fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Last time we took up the closing verses of Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith.” As we have seen throughout our time in this chapter, the author of Hebrews is making the point that there has always been one covenant promise–“I will be your God and you will be my people”–and that this same covenant promise unfolds throughout the pages of the Old Testament.
One Covenant Promise Which All Those Listed Embraced
In Hebrews 11, the author appeals to a litany of well-known people who believed this promise. Although the people mentioned here serve as an example to us of sorts, the author’s primary purpose in this chapter is not to present these Old Testament saints as examples for us to emulate. Rather, his purpose is to remind his Jewish readers that the same promise which these Old Testament saints believed, pointed ahead to the coming of Jesus Christ, in whom the promise has been fulfilled. Therefore, the author’s emphasis falls on the continuity of the covenant promise (God’s promise does not change across time), not so much on the example these saints set for us–some of whom, as we will see, were not very saintly.
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