Questions

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 11:20–22

The author of Hebrews continues to cite examples of “heroes” of faith in the Old Testament to encourage the people to hold unswervingly to their faith and hope (10:23) and not to shrink back (10:39):

(1) Hero of faith #5—Isaac (v. 20)—we seldom identify Isaac as a hero of faith.

a. Which incident does the author cite to highlight his faith? (see Gen. 27:27-29)

b. What were the contents of that blessing? (see also Gen. 27:37-40)

c. Did his blessing on Jacob come to pass?

d. Since Isaac made no attempt to revoke his blessing on Jacob, even though Jacob got his blessing out of trickery, how did this express the “faith” by which Isaac pronounced his blessing? (see God’s promise to Isaac which he now passed on to Jacob in Gen. 26:2ff)

e. Did his submission on Mount Moriah in Genesis 22 also show his faith? Why or why not?

(2) Hero of faith #6—Jacob (v. 21)

a. What did Jacob do with the promise from God through the blessing he received from Isaac? (see Gen. 48:14, 19)

b. How did this demonstrate Jacob’s faith?

(3) Hero of faith #7—Joseph (v. 22)

a. Which part of Joseph’s life, in your opinion, demonstrated his faith most notably? (see how Ps. 105:17-19 speaks of Joseph)

b. Which incident in Joseph’s life does the author cite to highlight his faith? (see Gen. 50:24-25)

c. What was the significance of his last words and how did this demonstrate his faith?

(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 11:23–29

(1) Hero of faith #8—Moses’ parents (v. 23)

a. How did the parents of Moses demonstrate their faith when they hid Moses for three months?

b. How significant was their action in terms of securing the continuation of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

c. What do you think is meant by “because he (Moses) was no ordinary child”? (see Note 1 below)

(2) Hero of faith #9—Moses—The following incidents of faith are highlighted by the author of Hebrews (It is helpful to use Stephen’s sermon on Moses in Acts 7:20ff to follow the arguments in Hebrews.)

a. By faith, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (vv. 24-26).

1. Who saved baby Moses? Should he not be grateful to his life-saver? (Acts 7:20-21)
2. What was he able to enjoy as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (v. 25; see Acts 7:22)
3. Why does the Bible say that those pleasures are “pleasures of sin”?
4. Why then did Moses refuse to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter?
5. What price did he pay for choosing to be mistreated along with his people?
6. Why is his identification with his people called a “disgrace for the sake of Christ”? (See Note 2 below)
7. What kind of faith did he demonstrate in the process? (v. 26)

b. He left Egypt by faith (v. 27)

1. What kind of risk did he take in leading his people out of Egypt?
2. How could he persevere?

c. He kept the Passover by faith (v. 28)

1. What was the purpose of sprinkling the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house? (Exod. 12:7)
2. What was the result of their act of obedience and faith?

d. The people too, by faith, passed through the Red Sea as on dry land (v. 29)

1. How were the people rewarded for their faith?

e. The faith of Moses:

1. How is the faith of Moses related to the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph?
2. What kind of reward was he looking ahead to? (v. 26)

(3) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note 1:

“Calvin…says that it was not the external beauty of the child that moved them, since faith, like God Himself, does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7), rather ‘there was some mark, as it were, of future excellency imprinted on the child, which gave promise of something out of the ordinary'.” (NICNT, Hebrews, 309)

Note 2:

“The identification of Christ with His people is noteworthy. The words that the God of Israel put in Moses’ mouth when he went to Pharaoh to demand his people release: ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn’ (Exod. 4:22), are as applicable to Jesus personally as they are to Israel corporately. The Messiah is one with the messianic people, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh. ‘In all their affliction, He was afflicted’ (Isa. 63:9) and in the fullness of time He too, like His people before Him, was called out of Egypt and had His exodus to accomplish (Lk. 9:31)."
(NICNT, Hebrews, 311)

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 11:30–40

(1) Hero of faith #10—Joshua (v. 30)—The battle of Jericho was the first battle under Joshua as he led God’s people into the Promised Land (Jos. 6).

a. How special was the strategy used in this battle?

b. What did God wish to demonstrate to His people?

c. What if this battle ended in defeat? What would it do to the promise of God through Abraham and the forefathers?

(2) Hero of faith #11—Rahab (v. 31)

a. Why did Rahab choose to welcome and hide the spies from Israel? (see Jos. 2: 8-14)

b. How different was Rahab from all the heroes of faith mentioned before? (v. 31)

c. What significant role was played by Rahab in the ultimate realization of the Abrahamic covenant in the person of Jesus Christ? (see Matt. 1:1, 5)

(3) The heroes of faith (vv. 32-39)—the author goes on to highlight many heroes of faith from the OT, some well-known and others lesser-known or unknown.

a. The well-known characters include the following: Reflect on the life of say, three of them and see what can you learn from their faith:

1. Gideon (Jdg. 7)
2. Barak (Jdg. 4:1-10)
3. Samson (Jdg. 15:14-20)
4. Jephthah (Jdg. 11:29-33)
5. David—like his faith in the killing of Goliath (1 Sam. 17:41-49)
6. Samuel and the prophets—like Elijah in 1 Kings 19

b. Whether well-known or unknown, the author lists their acts of faith. See if you can recall, say five biblical characters that the author might be describing and see how they are examples of faith ( I have suggested some references below; you may recall others):

1. Conquered kingdoms
2. Administered justice (1 Ki. 3:16ff)
3. Gained what was promised
4. Shut the mouths of lions (Dan. 6)
5. Quenched the fury of flames (Dan. 3)
6. Escaped the edge of the swords (Jer. 36:19, 26)
7. Weakness turned into strength (Est. 4:13-17)
8. Became powerful in battle, routed foreign armies (2 Chr. 20:15ff)
9. Women received back their dead who were raised to life again (1 Ki. 17:17-24)
10. Tortured and refused to be released to gain a better resurrection (see Note below)
11. Faced jeers and flogging (2 Ki. 2:23)
12. Chained and put in prison (Jer. 20:2)
13. Stoned (1 Ki. 21:13)
14. Sawed into two (Jewish tradition believed that the prophet Isaiah was sawed into two during Manasseh’s reign)
15. Put to death by sword (Jer. 26:20-23)
16. Went about in sheepskins
17. Destitute, persecuted and mistreated
18. Wandered in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the ground.

c. Have you ever experienced any of the above due to your faith in Christ?

d. Which of these heroes of faith might you admire most? Why?

e. What is the comment on them by the author of Hebrews? (v. 38)

f. Why had they not received what had been promised to them? (vv. 39-40)

g. How does this serve as an encouragement to you?

(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note:

“This was precisely the punishment meted out to Eleazar, one of the noble confessors of Maccabean days (who) goes willingly and unhesitatingly to the rack…rather than taste unlawful food. In 4 Maccabees it is on the wheels…that Eleazar and the seven young men are tortured in a manner reminiscent of the medieval penalty of breaking on the wheels.”
(NICNT, Hebrew, 325)

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 12:1–15

Exhortation to persevere:

(1) Cloud of witnesses (v. 1)

a. How meaningful is it to use “cloud of witnesses” to refer to those heroes of faith in the OT?

b. The author urges us to run our race marked out for us:

1. What race is he talking about given the examples of chapter 11?
2. What does it mean to you that your race has been “marked out” for you?

c. How we should run our race:

1. With perseverance — What might be the thing(s) that could make you lose heart?
2. That we need to throw off?

d. Everything that hinders —What might be the things that hinder your race? How can you throw them off?

e. Sin that so easily entangles —What might be the sins that could easily entangle you? How can you throw them off?

(2) Christ is the supreme example (vv. 2-3)

a. Jesus is the perfector of our faith: What does it mean?

b. What did He have to endure? (vv. 2-3)

c. How was He able to endure His hardship?

d. What was the result of His endurance?

e. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus:

1. What does it mean?
2. What if we do? (v. 3)
3. What if we don’t?

(3) Hardship and Discipline (vv. 4-15)

a. What proof is there that their struggles against sin have not reached the level of bloodshed? (v. 4)

b. The preceding examples are about struggles against other sinners. Given the following exhortation about discipline (quoting from Proverbs 3:11-12), whose sins do you think the author is now talking about? (vv. 5-6) Why?

c. What does the receiving of discipline prove about our relationship with God? (vv. 7-8)

d. According to most customs, including those of the OT, what do legitimate children have that illegitimate children do not?

e. What might be the difference(s) between the discipline of earthly fathers from that of our Heavenly Father? (vv. 9-10)

f. Reflect on a recent “discipline” you have received from Father God (v. 11).

1. How did you feel at the time?
2. Did it produce “a harvest of righteousness and peace” and “holiness”?
3. Why or why not?

g. The admonition to be strong (vv. 12-15)

1. What then should we do since we have become weak in the face of hardship? (v. 12)
2. What will our strengthening do to those who are also weak around us? (v. 13)
3. What are the two important things about community life that the author urges us live out? (v. 14)
4. Since God’s grace is available to all believers:

a. What does it mean by missing the grace of God?

b. What is one of the things that would cause someone to “miss the grace of God”? (v. 15)

c. How destructive is it?

(4) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 12:16–29

After cautioning his readers that enduring hardship is a discipline and encouraging them with the fatherly heart of God, the author now appears to resume his warning against the sin of apostasy:

(1) The example of Esau (vv. 16-17)

a. Why does the author cite Esau’s selling of his birthright (Gen. 25:29ff) as a prime example of godlessness? (v. 16)

b. What was the dire result of his decision? (v. 17; Gen. 27:38)

c. What kind of a warning does this serve to his readers?

(2) Approaching God under the Old Covenant—The giving of the Law in Mount Sinai (vv. 18-21; retold by Moses in Deut. 4:11ff)

a. What does the author seek to convey by saying that it was a mountain “that can be touched”? (v. 18)

b. What was God’s appearance accompanied by? (v. 19)

c. What was the restriction imposed by God as they sought to approach Him? (v. 20) Why?

d. What did that terrifying scene do to the people and Moses? (vv. 19, 20, 21)

(3) Approaching God under the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus (vv. 22-24)

a. Under the New Covenant, what does the author call the place where God can be approached? (v. 22)

b. How different is the atmosphere of this place from Mount Sinai? (v. 23)

c. When we come to this heavenly Jerusalem, the author says we have also come to

1. The church of the firstborn

a. Who are they? (see Rev. 21:27)

b. Are you part of it?

2. God the Judge of all men

a. Should we not come in fear, just as those who came to Mount Sinai?

b. Why or why not?

3. The spirits of righteous men (likely referring to “believers of pre-Christian days”—Bruce, 360)

a. What happens to them under this New Covenant?

b. How are they made perfect?

4. Jesus

a. Who is Jesus in the New Covenant?

b. Why does the author say Jesus’ blood speaks a better word than Abel’s blood? (see Gen. 4:10)

(4) The warning (vv. 25-29)

a. When God spoke to His people on Mount Sinai, what happened? (v. 26; Exod. 19:18)

b. Did the people obey the law He gave at Mount Sinai?

c. What happened to that generation and those that followed? (v. 25)

d. Because of the disobedience of God’s people, how has God promised to speak in the end time? (v. 26; Hag. 2:6)

e. What is the author’s interpretation of this prophecy? (v. 27; see Rev. 20:11; 21:1)

f. In view of the grace of receiving an unshakable kingdom, what shall we do? (v. 28)

g. In view of the fact that God is a consuming fire, how shall we worship God? (v. 28)

(5) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 13:1–14

Having systematically exhausted his warning, he now ends his letter with ethical exhortations.

(1) On love (v. 1):

a. How shall we express our love for one another in the faith community?

b. What does it mean?

(2) On hospitality (v. 2):

a. What encouragement does the author give in this respect? (see Gen. 18:1-33)

b. Should this be the only reason for us to be hospitable to strangers? Why or why not?

(3) Concerning prisoners (v. 3):

a. Why does the author tie prisoners to mistreatment in his time?

b. How should we remember them? (Matt. 25:36)

(4) On marriage (v. 4):

a. Should co-habitation be considered a “marriage”? Why or why not?

b. What is the warning given by the author?

(5) On love of money (vv. 5-6):

a. What is the best way of living free from the love of money? (v. 5)

b. What has God promised His people even from days of old? (see Deut. 31:6, 8)

c. What example does the psalmist set for us? (see Ps. 118:6,7)

d. Can you say the same as the psalmist does? Why or why not?

(6) Concerning (former) leaders: (vv. 7-8)

a. How should we remember those (former) spiritual leaders of ours?

b. How is v. 8 related to v. 7?

(7) Against strange teachings of sacrifice (vv. 9-14)

a. What appears to be the strange teaching? (v. 9)

b. The heavenly altar versus the earthly altar:

1. Why do the priests under the Old Covenant “have no right to eat” from the heavenly altar?
2. Since Christ has been sacrificed (like the sacrificial animals at the old altar) outside of the earthly city of Jerusalem,

a. What does it mean to go outside of the camp? (“the camp” signifies the old order under the law)

b. Why would going outside the camp (leaving the old order) necessarily bring disgrace? (v. 14 points to the ineffectiveness of the old altar in the earthly city of Jerusalem)

c. How does this comparison show the folly of the strange teaching?

(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Hebrews 13:15–25

Practical exhortation of life together in Christ (Cont.):

(1) Since the sacrifice in the old altar has no value (vv. 15-16),

a. What are the sacrifices with which God is pleased?

b. Are these the sacrifices that you offer continually?

(2) Obey your leaders (v. 17)

a. Why should the author make it a command?

b. What reasons does the author give in commanding us to obey the leaders in the church?

(3) Asking for intercession (vv. 18-19)

a. Why does the author have to assert how they live?

b. What does v. 19 indicate concerning their relationship?

(4) Benediction (vv. 20-21)

a. How does the author address God and what He has done through Christ?

b. Who is Christ to us? (v. 20)

c. Two wishes are expressed in this benediction:

1. To equip them with everything good for doing God’s will

a. What does it mean?

b. Why is it his prayer for the church?

2. That God may work in them what is pleasing to Him

a. What does it mean?

b. What does it mean to you?

(5) Final words (vv. 22-25)

a. What does the author mean by a “short letter”?

b. What additional information does the author give us concerning Timothy?

c. Where was the author at the time of his writing?

(6) Let’s pause and reflect on the main messages of the book to you. Go through your notes and jot them down and see how you may apply it to your life.