Hebrews 11:20-22

Summary retelling of Hebrews 11:20-22

Through His faith in God, Isaac invoked future blessing into both of his sons: Jacob and Esau.  By faith, Jacob continued the tradition of his father in blessing each of his twelve sons.  By faith Joseph – when he was almost dead and living in Egypt – made a mention about the exodus and the people’s need to take his remains with them when they leave.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In this passage we can get a sense of generational faith.  Abraham was faithful, which inspired faith in Isaac, which inspired faith in Jacob, which inspired faith in Joseph.  It doesn’t always work this way, but we know for certain that if faith isn’t taught in the home then it is far more difficult for the faith to pass from one generation to the next.  God’s natural plan – one of the main purposes for giving us family – is so that faith could be passed from parent to child wherever it is received.

What experience do you have with faith being passed through your own family?  What experiences do you have in seeing this process at work in other families?

Second Thought:

We also know that these people were not perfect.  The name Jacob means “deceiver,” and for much of his life Jacob lived up to that name.  Joseph had a tendency to be arrogant before his brothers and they were convinced his father liked him better.  Esau struggled to value the things of God and he made rash decisions based on the passion of the moment.  If we look at their lives moment-by-moment we don’t always have a perfect picture of faith.  But if we look at the whole of their life and their struggles, we can see God at work through their strengths and weaknesses. {That’s what I love about the Bible.  You get the good and the bad rather than some perfect hero in a story.}

Is it significant to you to hear these people lifted up as being faithful when they have some glaring character flaws?  Why is it often more meaningful to see people who are flawed than to see people who are perfect?  As God’s people, do you think the church in general is good at presenting ourselves to the world as “flawed imperfection” or do we present “perfect saints?”

Third Thought:

Joseph is commended for being able to look into the future because of his faith.  That doesn’t mean Joseph knew the future.  But his faithfulness to God knew where the natural conclusion of things would be.  God had taken 1 person (Abraham) and turned them into a family of 72 people by the time Joseph and his family came to Egypt.  If God had done that in 4 simple generations, Joseph knew what God would do in only a few more generations.  Joseph believed that God could make his family a force with which to be reckoned.  Joseph’s ability to be faithful to God and put God’s agenda first allowed him to see with a true perspective.

How does being faithful and putting God’s ways ahead of our own shape how we see the world?  How has your perspective changed as you’ve grown closer to God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 11:23-25