Today, we are going to take a look at Hebrews 11, the chapter of Faith. It is a well quoted, taught chapter on faith but have you ever wondered about the historical background of this chapter and the deep spiritual meanings it brings to our relationship with our Creator?
The 11th chapter of Hebrews explains the faith of the Patriarchs. The Patriarchs all embraced the Promise without ever having seen it in the physical form. The very root of the 11 chapter of Hebrews finds itself in the Book of Genesis; it’s theme being total faith in G-D. Total reliance without a single doubt is what Abraham as well as the others spoken of in this chapter lived. “Now Faith is the Assurance of the things that are in Hope as if they were in actual reality. Faith is also the manifesting of the things that are still invisible”. Heb. 11:1
How strong is our Faith ? The Messiah tells us Faith as small as a mustard seed will move mountains. How does one get to that level of Faith? The answer is not simple but its application is life-changing. Let’s start by looking at the Hebrew word Emunah, the word used by the Messiah and understood by those who followed Him. This word has dual meaning, translated with the emphasis on Trust but can be translated as Faith as well. Trust and Faith are partners in how we serve our Creator. The focus of all those in Hebrews 11 was their relationship with Him, in total Emunah/Trust. Through this Trust, they ruled kingdoms with righteousness and received His mercies in times of battle. They were not part-time Believers, but were in total commitment to our Creator. In times of transgressions, they sought T’shuva (return/forgivenes) with sincerity and became stronger in Faith, increasing their Trust. And in the end they died in faith, having not received the Promise but trusting that in our Creator’s time, the Promise would be delivered. There are many examples of Emunah found in Scripture, a good one can be read 2 in Samuel 24:14. In this verse, King David places all his Trust in Adonai. He tells us “Let us fall into the hands of Adonai , because His Mercies are great ,rather than have me fall into the hands of man”. David Trusted G-D totally, no doubts.
Many problems of today stem from our own weakness/lack of Emunah. Far too many live in a negative style, not having full, complete Trust and dependence on our Creator. So how do we fix this? Begin with the commandment of tithing, not just monetarily but also of your time in open communication with Him. Trusting fully in the only One who can offer you true security, true love. We have the promise, so let us be like what we read at the end of each book of Torah (OT first five books), Be Strong ,Be Strong and Let us be Strengthened!
