Sabbath School Lesson for March 5-11, 2022
Looking mainly at Hebrews 11, called the “faith chapter”, we see some amazing examples of faith…
- By faith, God’s people in the end times shall endure. (Sunday)
- By faith, Abraham obeyed and followed God. (Monday)
- By faith, Moses was not afraid to lead God’s people. (Tuesday)
- By faith, Rahab and many others believed in God and trusted Him enough to obey. (Wednesday)
- By faith, Jesus, our best example of faithfulness, makes it possible for us to be faithful and obedient. (Thursday)
Hebrews 11, and the passages immediately before and after it, gives us the most comprehensive look at what faith can accomplish in our lives. This chapter is probably the most-loved of all in the Bible. It sums up what the gospel accomplishes in the life of a believer, and makes us all desire to have the faith it describes. If you want to know what the Bible is all about, Hebrews 11 is a good place to start.
Memory Text: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
Revelation 22:13 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last”. This reveals the everlasting quality of Jesus’ ministry. Being the “author and finisher of our faith” also points to the eternal element of God’s Son in relation to our faith. Our faith begins with what was accomplished at Calvary, whether you lived before or after the event. You either looked forward to it, or you look back on it. We start our faith journey by appreciating the Sacrifice that makes our salvation possible.
Being the “finisher of our faith” means more than being the end product, even though we do look forward to His Second Coming as the next event that will secure our reward. He is the “finisher” also in the sense of being the “perfecter” of our faith. He polishes us, refines us, and makes our faith perfect in God’s eyes. In other words, He’s with us all the way, from beginning to end, and everything in between.
Sunday: The Righteous Will Live by Faith
The hardest time to live by faith is understandably at the end of any time period God has shown us in a prophecy. This is often the most difficult period to endure, not only because it may take so long for the fulfillment of His promise, but also because persecution and hardship seem to be the most pressing right before deliverance comes.
Habakkuk, like us, lived at a time that was in between the time of a promise and the time of its fulfillment. He questioned why God wasn’t intervening to stop their oppression, why God allowed His people to suffer so much. God answered, telling the prophet that there was an appointed time and they just needed to wait for it (Habakkuk 2:2-4).
Paul quoted these verses of Habakkuk in Hebrews 10:37, 38, making it a fitting introduction to the faith chapter. He basically tells us that those who wait for Christ’s return must live by faith. Because God is faithful in keeping His promises (2 Timothy 2:13), we must also remain faithful to the end.
Bible Verses to Explore:
Hebrews 10:35-39
- Why is this passage a good introduction for what Paul presents in the faith chapter?
Habakkuk 2:2-4, Romans 1:17, and Galatians 3:11
- How were they to live in both the Old and the New Testament time periods?
Revelation 14:12
- Why are patience and faith needed so badly by God’s saints in the end times?
Monday: By Faith, Abraham…
Abel, Enoch, and Noah are mentioned at the beginning of Hebrews 11, but more time is spent on Abraham’s story than any others in this “hall of fame” for the faithful. The eye-opening account of Abraham’s call to offer up his son as a sacrifice at once grabs our attention. It was the first time God’s plan of salvation was so vividly presented.
The writer of Hebrews expresses the reason Abraham’s faith was so strong. Abraham saw Isaac born in a miraculous fashion from him, who was as good as dead, and Sarah, who was past her childbearing years (Hebrews 11:11, 12). From this experience, he concluded that God was able to raise up Isaac from the dead. He raised him to life, so, of course, God would be able to raise him to life again after the test was over (Hebrews 11:19).
Each of us can recall experiences in our own lives where God has undoubtedly been with us, guiding and protecting us in miraculous ways. This kind of reflection can be faith-building to us and to those with whom we share our story. We can always trust God with our lives and look forward to His promised reward, just like Abraham and all those in this chapter of the faithful.
Bible Verses to Explore:
Hebrews 11:8-10, 15, 16
- What did Abraham do that showed he was faithful?
Hebrews 11:11, 12
- Why was Sarah an important part of Abraham’s story, only one of two women mentioned by name in the chapter?
Hebrews 11:17, 18
- What made Abraham’s test so hard?
- How did the experience help Abraham understand what God was planning to do to save him and his family?
Tuesday: Moses: Believing in the Unseen
Abraham had kept his eyes on the reward–that heavenly city that God was preparing for them. But another major character in Hebrews 11 was Moses, who we find was also looking for a heavenly reward. In the faith of Moses we saw a defiant, bold attitude. His parents hid him after he was born, because they were not afraid of the king. And Moses later fled Egypt because he was not afraid of the king either. See Hebrews 11:23, 27.
Moses allowed his belief in unseen forces to guide his actions. Like Abraham, he was willing to dwell in tents and suffer hardship with God’s people because he considered the end reward, a future life with His heavenly Father, as more valuable than all the treasures in Egypt (Hebrews 11:25, 26).
Moses, like Abraham and all the faithful, was able to endure persecution and trials because he saw the hand of an invisible, worthy God, who would guide him to the final reward (Hebrews 11:27).
Bible Verses to Explore:
Hebrews 11:23-29
- What enabled Moses and his parents not to be afraid of the king?
- What is the reward that is so valued by the faithful?
Hebrews 11:3, 27 and Ephesians 6:12
- What part does belief in invisible powers have on our faith?
- Why is faith needed in our world?
Wednesday: By Faith, Rahab and the Rest…
After reading about passing through the Red Sea and the walls of Jericho falling down in Hebrews 11, we would expect to hear how Joshua led His people into Canaan, the promised land. But instead, Rahab, a Gentile prostitute, is mentioned as a champion of faith.
A sense of kindness and justice, coupled with a belief in what God had done for His people, drove Rahab to hide the spies, sent to the city to discover what they could about their enemy. Her brave deed convinced the spies that she was worthy to be spared when the city was later destroyed. Faith in God was not overlooked, causing Rahab to be only one of two women who are mentioned by name in Paul’s list of the faithful.
Other faithful worthies are also mentioned by name: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel. Many deeds of faithfulness are then described in Hebrews 11, making other devout followers of God know that they are not forgotten.
God recognizes all the brave, kind acts of devotion that His people undertake. Some leading to miraculous deliverance, but all of them leading to the prize of salvation and eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
Bible Verses to Explore:
Hebrews 11:30-32
- What motivated Rahab to hide the spies?
- What was different about Sarah and Rahab? How were they the same?
- Why do you think that the only women mentioned in this chapter are Sarah and Rahab?
Hebrews 11:33-38
- Why were some delivered and others were not?
Thursday: Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of Our Faith
Paul explains quite plainly why the faith chapter was included in the book of Hebrews. The stories of the faithful, called a “cloud of witnesses”, are there to remind us of the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-3 is a great conclusion for the chapter of faith. Thinking of Jesus, and all those who have suffered, keeps us from becoming weary and discouraged when we are faced with similar challenges.
Jesus shines as the founder, or pioneer, of our faith. Here are some ways His example of faith stands out:
- He is the only one who has finished the race of faith by already entering into God’s heavenly Kingdom to sit at the right hand of His Father. We look forward to reigning with Him there (Revelation 20:4).
- He is the only one who lived a perfect life here on earth, the kind of life we will have with our new, perfect, heavenly bodies someday.
- He is the one who makes our faithful living possible. We do it through His strength and sacrificial love that comes through the Holy Spirit.
Bible Verses to Explore:
Hebrews 12:1
- Who were the cloud of witnesses, and what do they encourage us to do?
Hebrews 12:2
- In what way was Jesus the author and finisher of our faith?
Hebrews 12:3
- Why should we not be discouraged and weary in our faith journey?
Friday: Conclusion
In Hebrews 11 and 12, faith is given a definition, an explanation, and many examples. The purpose of covering the topic of faith so fully is to fortify our faith and make us know how valuable it is to our journey in life.
Patient endurance during our most challenging times can only be achieved when faith is our primary source of sustenance. Just as all the faith heroes of Hebrews 11, we too must rely on our faith in the unseen hand of our benevolent Father. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:3
By “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), we are given a glimpse into the divine nature God wants to bestow on all of us. His inspiring life, along with that provided by other heroes of faith, can get us to the finish line. Jesus is already there, cheering us on, enabling us to patiently endure the most bitter trials that we may have to go through.
A reward awaits all who, through faith, endure to the end. This song, “Faith of Our Fathers”, reminds us to bravely hold on to our faith in God, as we bravely holding on to each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSHzrlGoelQ
Next Week: Receiving an Unshakable Kingdom
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