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Moses was fortunate to have believing parents. For them to hide their baby son from the authorities was certainly an act of faith. Exodus 2 describes the hiding of Moses by his parents. Hebrews 11 mentions two features of the parents’ actions (v. 23). First, they saw that Moses was no ordinary child, sensing something in him which destined him for future spiritual greatness. Second, although Pharaoh had commanded death for the male children (Exod. 1:22), Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king’s edict. They trusted God to save Moses, and God rewarded their faith (Exod. 2:8–9). Though godly parents cannot pass on their faith as they do family traits, they can certainly create an atmosphere of faith at home and be examples to their children. A home should be the first school of faith for a child.

These verses commend Moses’ faith. When Moses became an adult, he made a deliberate choice to leave the comforts of living as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses must have known that God had called him to a difficult task. Leaving the splendor of life in the Egyptian court, he chose to stick with God’s people in suffering. He refused the temporary pleasures which comfort and sin could have provided.

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A new movement, the author’s exposition of the life of faith, begins here. In a multiplicity of varied experiences, faith remains the constant factor by which these experiences are met and understood. Faith constitutes a Christian’s true “world view” (cf. v. 3). The tests of faith become more difficult as we walk with God, yet the rewards are more wonderful! And we must not ignore the obedient faith of Isaac.

In Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, we have four generations of faith. These men sometimes failed, but basically, they were men of faith. They were not perfect, but they were devoted to God and trusted His Word. Isaac passed the promises and the blessings along to Jacob (Gen. 27), and Jacob shared them with his twelve sons (Gen. 48–49). Jacob was a pilgrim, for even as he was dying he leaned on his pilgrim staff.

We have to admire the faith of the patriarchs. They did not have a complete Bible, and yet their faith was strong. They handed God’s promises down from one generation to another. In spite of their failures and testings, these men and women believed God and He bore witness to their faith. How much more faith should we have!

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The emphasis in this section is on the promise of God and His plans for the nation of Israel (Heb. 11:9, 11, 13, 17). The nation began with the call of Abraham. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but they had to wait twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise.

For me, waiting is one of the most difficult disciplines of life. I cannot stand it and do not like it at all. Yet true faith is able to wait for the fulfillment of God’s purposes in God’s time. But, while we are waiting, we must also be obeying. “By faith Abraham … obeyed” (11:8). He obeyed when he did not know where he was going (11:8–10). He lived in tents because he was a stranger and pilgrim in the world and had to be ready to move whenever God spoke. Christians today are also strangers and pilgrims (1 Pet 1:1; 2:11). Abraham had his eyes on the heavenly city and lived “in the future tense.”

He also obeyed when he did not know how God’s will would be accomplished (11:11–12). Both Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children. Yet they both believed that God would do the miracle (Rom. 4:13–25). Unbelief asks, “How can this be?” (Luke 1:18–20) Faith asks, “How shall this be?” (Luke 1:34–37). Abraham believed and obeyed God when he did not know when God would fulfill His promises (Heb. 11:13–16). None of the patriarchs saw the complete fulfillment of God’s promises, but they saw from “afar off” what God was doing.

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In a sense chapter 11 is a continuation of the encouragement of Hebrews 10:32-39. In concluding the previous warning section, the writer touched on the theme of living by faith (cf. 10:37–39). What this really means the writer then expounded in terms the readers could fully appreciate, because it is faith that underlies the experience of the heroes of Old Testament history. Since these people experienced faith, so could the readers. Chapter 11 is all about the life of faith. This famed "faith chapter" of the Bible describes Old Testament saints who endured in faith; they did not draw back to destruction. In Hebrews 11 all Christians are called to live by faith. In it, the writer discusses two important topics relating to faith: the description of faith (vv. 1-3) and the demonstration of faith (vv. 4-40; i.e. the life of faith).

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Christ’s sacrifice is permanent. It makes forgiveness possible, gives access to God, and produces people who can endure in righteous living and in love for one another. It develops followers who can face and overcome persecution. Receiving Christ’s sacrifice is so important that anyone rejecting it will find no other means of paying for sins.

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As was the writer’s custom after the most severe admonitions, the writer chose to conclude their warning with a distinct note of encouragement.

The writer starts this section of the warning to provide some historical context in verses 32-34. Why is this important? The author points out that in the past the readers were under persecution and they hung in there. Now the writer is asking them to endure and persevere through it again. As they showed sympathy and acceptance, the writer encourages them to do what they did before. The writer points out that what they lost was not worth as much as they have for themselves. The things that really matter cannot be taken away by any person or government. So they are willing to give up those things because they realize what they have in Christ is much more valuable than that. We start seeing more and more clues about the idea of persecution that is creeping in.

In verses 35-36, the author encourages them to keep going. The author recognizes persecution is not easy and they need to have endurance. But the author recognizes they need to keep moving forward, progressing on to maturity, and continue to maintain their confession of faith.

In 37-38, we have a quotation from Isaiah 26:21 and Habakkuk 2:4. The author has this expectation of the Lord’s second coming. The only way to go is to live by faith. They cannot shrink back. There is only one way for a believer to go on and that is forward in the faith. This sets up the author’s next section in chapter 11 and how the believer’s kept going (some resulted in martyrdom). Looking forward, the author will point to Jesus as the ultimate example of faithfulness.

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This is the fourth warning passage in Hebrews (cf. 2:1-4, drifting; 3:7--4:13, disobedience; 5:11--6:20, degeneration). The warning passage in chapter 10 is very similar in form and in content to chapter 6. This danger or warning is against despising (and seems based off of Numbers 15:30-36). Verse 26 makes it clear that this is willful sin, the same concept as was taught in Numbers 15:30-36 (cf. Lev. 6:1-7 which simply says you can offer sacrifices for intentional sins). The "sinning willfully" (or “sinning deliberately”; will be called the “willful sin” for the remainder) is to be distinguished from intentional sins; the willful sin is apostasy (cf. v. 28; Deut. 13:8; 17:2-6; however, not everyone agrees that this is talking about apostasy[1]). In this case it involved the deliberate rejection of the gospel as verses 28-29 explain. Before the writer explains what they call the willful sin, the author presents the consequences of such a sin in verse 27.

The quotation in verse 30 comes from Deuteronomy 32:35-36, from the song of Moses. Two contrasting ideas are found in this quotation. (1) Judgment is promised against those who do not know the Lord. (2) Yahweh will deliver His people.

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The shift into 10:19-39 is a big one and the remainder of Hebrews 10 is hortatory. Also, not only do we shift here in a major section but this is the breaking point in the book. Many recognize this because there is a move in some sense from doctrine to duty, from explanation to exhortation, from principle to practice. The author has established doctrines up to this point, and now they are going to come out with these exhortations. These include: Now what should you do? How should you live in light of the superiority of Christ and all His work and this covenant? How does this affect your decisions? From now to the end of Hebrews, we basically deal with these questions.

That does not mean that in the first section there is no application; we know that there is. Also, it is not to say that there is no doctrine in the second section; we know that there is. But the emphasis is shifting now. Some commentaries put it this way, it is a move from the indicative to the imperative. Indicative chapters 1:1-10:18 and the imperative 10:19 through 13:25.

The paragraph comprised of verses 19-25 revolves around three exhortative subjunctives (cf. vv. 22, 23, 24). These consecutively deal with faith (v. 22), hope (v. 23), and love (v. 24).

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Anyone who wants forgiveness of sin can find access by placing a repentant faith in the completed work of Christ. Christ’s sacrifice was God’s final answer to the universal problem of human sin. Those who have trusted Him need not fear, for they have been “perfected forever” (Heb. 10:14). Believers are “complete in Him” (Col. 2:10). We have a perfect standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

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It was God who provided the sacrifice and not man. The quotation used in this section of Hebrews 10 is from Psalm 40:6–8, and it is applied to Jesus Christ in His incarnation (“when Christ came into the world”). The quotation makes it clear that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant sacrifices.

The word “sacrifice” used here refers to any of the animal sacrifices. Offering covers the meal offerings and the drink offerings. The burnt offering and sin offering are mentioned (Heb. 10:5, 8). The guilt offering would be covered in the word sacrifice (Heb. 10:5). Each of these offerings typified the sacrifice of Christ and revealed some aspect of His work on the cross (see Lev. 1–7).

The failure of animal sacrifices to secure forgiveness led to the explanation of a better approach. The answer comes from Psalm 40:6–8 and applies to our situation. The words of the psalm express Christ’s mission after He entered the world in the incarnation. Christ’s sacrifice lasted because it showed a volitional commitment to do God’s will. Jesus showed a continuous awareness that He was to do the Father’s will, and He pursued it relentlessly. When Christ came, He willingly committed His life to the plan of God. Doing God’s will was His supreme goal. The only complete fulfillment of the will of God appeared in Christ’s perfect obedience.