The Faith of the Ancients

The Faith of the Ancients

The first theme is therefore about chapter 11, in which the example of the believers from the Old Testament is presented to us. People often referred to as the 'heroes of faith'.

What is the secret of the faith of these people? They did not have a Bible, and most likely they knew less of God's truths than we can read in the Bible. Yet their faith is presented to us to imitate and "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). So what is it about this faith that is so important to us?

What we can immediately understand is that the belief in this eleventh chapter refers to two things that we find in the first verse, namely:

• That which in the future is; “faith is the substance of things hoped for”. So a person who believes in a biblical sense has certainty about what will happen after this life. This 'faith in the future' (to call it that) determines how the believer stands in life here and now.
• What for us invisible is; the faith is “the evidence of things not seen”. We cannot perceive the Lord God and the heavenly things with our senses. And yet faith produces firm convictions about these invisible things.

These above elements – the firm beliefs regarding 'the Invisible' and the heavenly things and the certainty of the life to come – are the core of a believing life. Not only for us as Christians, but also for the believers of the Old Testament. Also for them:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

What did they believe?

Now the question is what exactly did they believe? For that, I'll just mention what the opening verses of this chapter mention:

• God is the Creator of all things (verse 3); that also means that one day you have to answer to Him; He is the great, holy God. But He also asks every person to honor and thank Him (Romans 1:19-21). This is the foundation and without it you can't even get to the rest of the faith.
• A bloody innocent sacrifice is needed for your sin(s) and God then lets you know that you are righteous before Him and that He is pleased with you (Abel and Enoch, verses 4 and 5);
• Obedience in what God makes clear to you, giving you a witness to the world around you. You bear witness to God's judgment to come and His plan of salvation (Noah, verse 7). Obedience was also what characterized Abraham's faith.
• Faith gives the assurance that the judgment of God will not come upon you; God keeps you from it or He carries you through it (Enoch and Noah).
• You know that you are not at home in this world and look forward to life after this life:the city that has foundations, of which God is the Builder and Designer” (Abraham, verses 8-10)

It seems to me that this is, as it were, 'the basic faith package' that characterized 'the ancients' and it pleased God so much that He bore them witness to it in their inwards – in their spirits.
In doing so, they had not become saints, but they knew what and above all Who they believed, and thus they knew that God was favorably disposed towards them. As it says of Noah, who “found favor in the eyes of the Lorde” (Genesis 6:8). That is God's reward for those who come to Him in faith.

Consider also Job, who probably lived at the same time as Abraham. He knew God and testified, among other things:

“I know, however, that my Redeemer lives, and He will at last rise over the dust. . . . I myself will behold him, and mine eyes shall see him, not a stranger; my kidneys fail with desire within me” (Job 19:25,27).

He knew God as his Redeemer, who would make amends with him and whom he would see. He longed to be with Him in eternity.

Peter calls David a prophet and says he knew that of his race the Christ would be born, that He would die and rise again, and that He would become King (see Acts 2:25-32). Just think: how special is that!

It is equally remarkable that Peter says that “(...) of Him, [that is Christ] all the prophets testify that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His Name” (Acts 10:43). Peter is saying here that all the prophets of Christ – that is the One Who was to be sent by God, the Messiah – have testified about faith in Him and receiving forgiveness of sins! How special do we want it to be!? If it weren't in the Scriptures, you'd hardly believe it.

All these believers had assurance of faith; they knew God, the Invisible One, whom you cannot see and had certainty about their future, certainty about the things they hoped for.

How did they know these things?

You may well ask how "the ancients" were so sure of the things they believed. That they had certainty about life after this life? That they knew that God favored them and that God Himself would provide a sacrifice for sin? You don't know those things by yourself; you don't make that up. They are things”which have not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). And God Himself has to make those things clear to you.

And that is what God indeed does: He rewards those who approach Him in faith and seek Him.

“But without faith it is impossible to please God.
For whoever comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:6

"Approaching God in faith" can only be done by man who a) wants to honor and thank God as the Creator, b) recognize his own sinful and lost condition, c) God's solution to the sin problem: accept His sacrifice, with gratitude and d ) lives his life with faith in and obedience to God.

Then God will give the believing man”witness”; an expression with which the chapter begins and ends, which does indicate that the entire chapter 11 may be seen in this light.

• “because of this, the ancients a [good] testimony got(11:2)
• “(…) though they by faith a [good] testimony [from God] have been given(11:39)

In verse 32 the writer of the letter to Hebrews refers to other believers, including David and the prophets, but he has no more time to tell about them. Fortunately, we still have some time and we will check what David and the prophets have to say about their lives of faith.
But before we do this, let's talk about Pedro.

The story about Pedro

It has been years since we were on Bonaire for the first time and heard Pedro's story. Pedro (= Petrus) was a fisherman, but addicted to drugs. That is why he was admitted to Krusada, the Christian drug rehabilitation center on Bonaire. He got rid of his addiction there, he also heard the gospel there and came to faith in the Lord Jesus. His speech and actions showed that he had really changed and had received a new life.

Now this is already a great miracle, but it gets even more beautiful. Because Pedro was illiterate and could not read or write. That in itself is not very nice, of course, but he grew very fast in faith. You could tell from him that he knew more and more biblical truths that no one had told him and that had not been discussed in the talks or Bible studies.

Do you know what his secret was? Every time after hearing things from God's Word in a talk or Bible study, he withdrew to "discuss" what he had heard with God. In that association with the Lord He taught him by His Spirit things that no man has told him.

A living faith

This faith of 'the ancients' is a living faith, a faith that is supported by spiritual association with the Lord God. It is a faith that gives man certainty about Who God is, about His holiness and His gracious faithfulness, about justification and good pleasure, as well as about the future and the things of the 'hereafter'. It is not a static 'knowing', but a living association with the Lord.

This same living faith was also present in the time of the prophets. The prophets also pondered the things of the Lord God and gained insight into the things they had to pass on:thus saith the Lord”. Just read in the Old Testament about the prophets and see how they knew the Lord God and how they could speak with Him.
They didn't understand everything they knew about the Lord. Peter testifies:

“According to this salvation the prophets, who prophesied of the grace shown to you, searched and searched. She investigated to what and what time the Spirit of Christ which was in them referred, when He before testified of the sufferings to come upon Christ, and also of the glory afterward. To them was revealed that they ministered not to themselves, but to us in the things which have now been proclaimed to you . . .(1 Peter 1:10-12)

David – he is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 for a reason – writes the following about his dealings with the Lord:

“O God, You are my God! I seek you early in the morning; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a land barren and thirsty, without water.
Thus have I beheld Thee in the sanctuary, Thy might and Thy glory.
For Thy loving-kindness is better than life; therefore my lips shall praise thee.
So will I praise You in my life, in Your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with fat and plenty; my mouth shall boast with joyful singing lips.
When I think of You on my bed, muse on You in night-watches — verily, You have been a Helper to me; under the shadow of Thy wings I will sing joyfully. My soul clings to You.” (Psalm 63:2-9)

We know some see mystical views in this, but I think this is the same living "faith of the ancients" speaking here. David loved his God, trusted in Him, knew Him, knew what He had told him and promised and clung to Him in life.
Consider also Psalm 51, which shows that he knows himself and his sin:

“Hide Your face from my sins; blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew within me a steadfast spirit.
Do not cast me from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, sustain me with a spirit of boldness.” (Psalm 51:11-14)

Yet the Lord God calls him 'a man after my own heart' (Acts 13:22).

Hidden dealings

As I've been working on this topic over the past few weeks, the phrase "God's hidden action" came to mind. It turns out that it comes from a rhymed version of the 25th Psalm, where David himself used it in the 14th Psalm:

"The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord"

The Hebrew word translated "secret" denotes a small company of friends, people who trust one another—intimates, so to speak, who share the things of their hearts. They can be together for a bad purpose or for a good cause. In the latter sense, the Old Testament contains the following speaking texts.

• “(…) but He goes with the upright confidential to.” (Proverbs 3:32)
• “Verily, the Lord GOD does nothing except He mystery revealed to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
• “Because who has in the counsel of the Lord stood and seen and heard his word, who has heeded his word and [ernaar] listened?” (Jeremiah 23:18,22)
• Eliphaz the Temanite asks Job in a reproachful and accusing tone:Did you listen in the hidden council from God? And have you drawn the wisdom to you? What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we lack?” (Job 15:8-9)

This intimate association with the Lord God is the key to understanding the faith of 'the ancients'. All the believers in Hebrews 11—whether their name is mentioned or not—knew this intimate association. Not only has it brought them insight into Who the Lord God is, but it has also nurtured confidence in Him. In addition, it determined their actions in the practice of (faith) life.

The sanctuary

David knew about the secret association with the Lord and he probably wrote most of it. It does not seem a bad idea to me to read his psalms and those of the other poets, but once with special attention to 'the hidden intercourse'.

David and other psalmists often present their intimacy with the Lord as “the sanctuary” (e.g. 28:2; 29:2; 60:8; 63:3.4; 96:6,9; 108:8; 150: 1; Asaph in 73:17 and 77:14). A few examples:

• “(…) bow down to the LORD in his glory shrine”. (Psalm 29:2)
• “God has spoken in His shrine, therefore I will leap for joy . . .” (Psalm 60:8)
• “That's how I got you in it shrine beheld, seen thy might and thy glory. For Thy loving-kindness is better than life; therefore my lips will praise you”. (Psalm 63:3-4)
• “Bow down to the LORD in His glory shrine; tremble before him, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:9)

The Psalmists can speak of 'the sanctuary' as a place where they had a personal relationship with the Lord, learned more about Him and 'conferred' things with Him. This is special because at that time there was no physical access to the 'inner sanctum' of the tabernacle or the temple. But in the spiritual world that access was there, as we have already seen.

“The Holy Spirit made clear that the way to the sanctuary is not yet revealed was made while the first tabernacle was still in use. This one was a symbol for the present tense. Accordingly, gifts and sacrifices were offered that were incapable of perfecting the one performing the service in conscience.” (Hebrews 9:8,9)

The way to the sanctuary—to the intimacy of the Lord—was there; read about all those believers in Hebrews 11. But this access could not yet be made public to all.

Sin undone

Because of sin, man could no longer have communion with God after the fall. The ancients, including David, knew their own sin(s) and acknowledged their lost condition before Him. They knew they could rely on the bloody, innocent sacrifice that God Himself would provide and with which He would "solve" the problem of sin. That was the basis for their intimacy with the Lord.
You could say they believed 'on credit'. They trusted the Lord ("credit" means "trust") that the price for sin would later be paid by Him Himself. That's what He promised to do, and then He would do it.

Only when - "at the end of the ages– Christ has finished His work and has sat down in heaven at God's right hand, everything changes. He came to earth to become man and He, the guiltless one, was made sin on the cross by God Himself. As if He were the cause of all sin.

“For Him who knew no sin, He hath for us made sin (…)” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christ has been made sin and has undergone the judgment of the holy God for it. In this way Christ's sacrificesin undone':

“But now at the end of the ages He has once been revealed to nullify sin to do by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Hebrews 9:26)

So for every believer, who thus trusts in Christ's finished work, sin no longer exists between him and the holy God! That is precisely the reason that…

“(…) we now have the boldness to to enter into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, and because we have a great Priest over the house of God...”

Hebrews 10:19-21

Boldness to enter

So every believer has 'boldness':

• to “to draw near to the throne of grace” (4:16).
• one about "to enter into the sanctuary(10:19).

The word "boldness" occurs more often in the New Testament and has to do with speaking candidly and uncoveringly; but also with free and fearless confidence. That means that we may fearlessly approach the Lord God to speak freely to Him what is in our hearts. This immediately reminds us of theconfidential relation' as we have already seen in David.

We are exhorted to hold fast to this boldness (Hebrews 3:6) and not lose it (Hebrews 10:35).

Bold is different from brash or brash. For our relationship with the Lord God is one that is also accompanied by awe and reverence:

“Let us therefore . . . cling to grace, and thereby serve God pleasing to Him, with awe and reverence.” (Hebrews 12:28)

We are aware of Whom we are dealing with: the eternal and holy God, whom we may call Father, and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who entered into the sanctuary with His own blood and accomplished eternal redemption (cf. Hebrews 9:12). Therefore we have awe and reverence, even though we have boldness to approach.

This also has to do with the other aspect mentioned in the text, which is grace. In our relationship with the Lord, we should always be aware that it is mere grace from God and that we have not been able to add anything of our own to the situation of 'having boldness to enter'. It's only grace.

The Essentials: Knowing Christ

I have a hunch that there is much more to explore and say on this subject, but to quote the writer of the letter to Hebrews: "I don't have the time...”. That is why we will close for the moment with the question of what is most important in our dealings with the Lord.
The answer to that, without a doubt, must be to get to know the Lord Jesus Christ more[1]. It is not without reason that he is presented so grandly and gloriously in this letter - from beginning to end. Through Him the new covenant was made possible, and the purpose of that new and better covenant is that we “all shall know Him, from small to great” (8:11).

The Lord Jesus Himself said:And this is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3). When we ask in our dealings with the Lord God that we would like to learn more of Him and know Him better, that is a desire that He answers, as John also describes it:

“And this is the boldness that we have in approaching God, that He hears us whenever we pray according to His will..” (1 John 5:14)

Dear Jesus, to know you
is worth more to me than anything;
to get used to your ways
only gives me peace on earth'.
Everything has lost its shine:
wealth, power and fame and honour.
You chose me first
I want nothing more besides you.

If I may behold Your beauty,
You are brought near to me,
You fill me with firm confidence
by Thy great power of love,
then everything must disappear
compared to that treasure,
then everything must seem vain
what is beautiful in the world.

Yes, it is most desirable
everything I find in you!
Faithful Jesus, it is so wonderful,
To know you as my friend.
Everything to say to you
– for You listen, know my struggle –
to present my concerns to you,
that gives peace and security.

(Spiritual Songs No. 132)

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Footnote

[1] We have already written a few things about 'knowing the Lord' (see here).