God Had Provided Something Better
Hebrews 11:29–40 – Jesus Is Better
Trinity Sunday – May 31st, 2026 (am)
I was reminded in my study this past week of a compelling scene from an older movie, Dead Poets Society (1989), a beautifully directed tragedy that tells the story of an affluent, New England, boys boarding school in which Robin Williams played the role of John Keating, himself an honored alumnus of this school who’d now joined the faculty as a literature teacher.
I’m sure many of you have seen it. Not every scene is commendable. But my mind was drawn to the opening day of classes when Mr. Keating gave his first lecture. He called the boys out of the classroom and into the school lobby where there were glass cases filled with awards and trophies, portraits and pictures of individual students, classes, and athletic teams accumulated over the previous 100 years. Mr. Keating told his class to look at the boys in those pictures, to listen to them—listen to their call. Each, when photographed, was roughly the same age as these boys now were, but most had since passed on and were buried somewhere. As the boys gazed into the eyes of their forbears, increasingly captivated by ones who looked much like themselves, Mr. Keating began to whisper their message: Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary!
It was a powerful scene as each young man moved past the strangeness of it all and began to consider that this is precisely what these pictures were telling him. They were surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that was urging them not to waste their time and opportunities in this privileged place, but to give themselves fully to it all, to press themselves, to spend themselves in pursuit of all they were capable of becoming. At the same time, though, Mr. Keating was blazing a new trail toward this end, one that departed from a century of tradition.
We can easily hear the similarities to our scene here in Hebrews 11. But there are also at least two notable differences. There, the transition from the old educational traditions supposedly to something better in a new approach didn’t end up working for everyone’s good at all; it just set the context for tragedy. And here, the day we’re seizing is not some prize for our self-willed effort. It’s not our reward for working harder than the next guy. It’s infinitely greater than that! It’s the reward we’re granted freely by God’s grace in Christ just for standing firm in our faith in Him, for enduring in our trust, for holding our original confidence firm to the end (3:14).
Today we finish our tour through the faith hall of fame, our survey of the great cloud of witnesses (12:1) in Israel’s history whom our author presented to his people not just as examples to follow but as family-in-the-faith from whom we don’t want to be separated by shrinking back in the face of trials. We also see some helpful insights presented here in our closing section. Let’s identify just four of those.
By faith we receive blessings for things only God can do.
You can see that here in our opening verses. It’s really quite amazing. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. Jumping ahead forty years: 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. Question: Who divided the Red Sea so that Israel could walk across on dry land? God did. And Who released the waters such that they covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh? (Exo.14:28) God did. Who flattened the walls of Jericho so that Israel could go up, everyone straight before him (Jos.6:5) to conquer and plunder that city? God did.
How is it, then, that this author can speak as though it was Israel’s faith that enabled [them] to cross the Red Sea as on dry land, and thus the lack of faith that resulted in the Egyptians being drowned when they attempted to do the same? How can this be when just before God opened up the Sea before Israel, Exo.14:11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” And that’s what they did. They listened to Moses and they obeyed God. They shut up and He stood between them and the Egyptian army as a pillar of cloud and fire all night long without one group coming near the other. Meanwhile, He was using a strong east wind to divide the waters and dry the land. Then 22 … Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And they were saved, by faith, passing through the waters of God’s judgment and being delivered by His sovereign grace and power.
Paul called this baptism in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, and it’s interesting to see the parallels there. But we want to stay with the instruction here and just reemphasize that, simply by obeying God in that moment, Israel is commended here for their faith in crossing the Red Sea on dry land!
We could give similar attention to the details at Jericho. But it’s the same lesson. Israel expressed faith in God as their army marched around the city six times over six days, followed by seven priests blowing trumpets continually, then the ark of the covenant with its rear guard. Then this whole group circled the city seven times on the seventh day, the trumpets blowing the whole time, and on the seventh round they all shouted, and the wall fell down flat (Jos.6:1-22). That’s quite a battle strategy, isn’t it? But Israel was victorious. They were commended for their faith because they obeyed God. And they received the blessing of God as though this victory had been won by their own strength.
So it is with God when He people express the obedience of faith (cf. Rom.1:5; 16:26). He commends them. He rewards them. He pours out His blessing on them as though they are the ones to be credited with the victories He wins for them.
We need to recognize that we’ll never experience greater blessing from God, right here and now, than when we turn from our sinful doubt, seek to honor Him by just obeying His Word, and leave all the God-work to Him.
By faith we live in victory even over our sinful shortcomings.
We’ve already begun to see this one in the experience of Israel at the Red Sea and Jericho. But next it shows up in the life of Rahab (31), then of those whose stories are told in the book of Judges, that progressively darkening period in Israel’s history after they had settled into the land.
Rahab was a prostitute. But when the two spies were sent into the land and came to her house, she hid them on the roof and turned away the king’s men (Jos.2:1-7). 8 Before the men lay down, however, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” Wow, her family was intact? 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” And that’s just what they did. Rahab’s station in life didn’t render her unworthy of the grace of God when she placed her faith in Him. She put her whole life on the line to identify with His covenant people, by faith. And her story just gets richer as we see her listed by the Apostle Matthew in his genealogy of Jesus (Mat.1:5).
In the days of the Judges, God raised up certain men and women to lead the way as Israel threw off the yoke of one oppressor after another in a cycle of sin and suffering that’s just painful to read. The next four names listed here were among those Judges, Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah (32). Each of these, in differing ways, was little better than Rahab. Gideon (Jud.6-8) went from living a cowardly life, hiding from the Midianites in simple daily duties (Jud.6:11), to living like a priest (Jud.8:22-27) and a king (Jud.8:30-31) based solely on the victory God enabled (and alone could’ve enabled) using his tiny army that wasn’t even carrying weapons (Jud.7:19-23). And he only accepted his role after going several rounds with God asking for confirmation that he was indeed the man for the job. Remember how he laid out a fleece on the ground two different times (Jud.6:36-40) even after Jud.6:16 … the Lord had already said to him, “… I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” But Gideon finally stepped into his role and led this revolt. And for that he’s listed here as a model of enduring faith.
Barak was called into action (Jud.4:6) by Deborah, a prophetess (Jud.4:4). But he wouldn’t go unless she went with him (Jud.4:8).
Samson (Jud.13-16) is famous for his great strength, and for several other events in his life usually tied to his great strength. And four times in his story we hear of the Spirit of the Lord stirring him (Jud.13:25) or rushing upon him (Jud.14:6, 19; 15:14). Even so, he was engaged in self-gratifying pursuits throughout his life, and right up to his death he was still seeking to be avenged on the Philistines (Jud.16:28) personally.
Jephthah answered the call of the elders of Gilead (Jud.11:4-11) and led Israel to victory over the Ammonites. But among other oddities in his story, he made a rash vow that, if the Lord granted victory, he would offer up for a burnt offering whatever [came] out from the doors of [his] house to meet [him] afterward (Jud.11:30-31), surely thinking it would be an animal. But it was his daughter. And evidently he had insufficient knowledge of God, His Word, and His ways to understand that this was not a vow to keep (Jud.11:39). Even so, he’s included here.
We know David’s life wasn’t unstained by sin (2Sa.11-12). Samuel and the prophets may’ve been a better lot, but surely not perfect. So, one key element to grasp from this chapter is that, when our faith is fixed on God and His promises, now on Christ, such that it shows itself in our obedience—our willingness to be used by Him, to battle with sin, to battle to endure in faith—we’re counted worthy in Him to stand with those who are commended through their faith here (39). We can stand in victory even while our struggles and stumbling remain clear.
By faith we endure hardships that are beyond our imagining.
We can’t take much time with this one, but that won’t compromise its clarity. We recognized certain stories from the Bible in some of these descriptions—God stopped the mouths of lions (33) for Daniel (Dan.6:22) and quenched the power of fire (34) for his three friends (Dan.3:24-25)—and many stories from the Bible in others—conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises (33). But some of these descriptions seem to speak most clearly about the experiences of Israel between the OT and the NT times, specifically during the Maccabean revolt in the mid-second century bc.
Regardless of their referents, though, what we can know about these people is that none of them entered into these horrific experiences knowing, or perhaps even believing, they could remain faithful through them. They wouldn’t have known that until they were actually seeing God enable them. We need to feel the comfort of that fact, especially if we’re ever called to suffer in such ways. God enables His people to endure hardships beyond their imagining.
By faith we are united in Christ as the complete people of God.
We stand together with this band of brothers and sisters as one family of faith. That’s what we learn in these last two summary verses. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. They received some promises (33); twice Joshua recorded that Jos.21:45 Not one word of the all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass in his day (cf. Jos.23:14). Even so, none of these people saw His central promise fulfilled since God purposed to do that at the fullness of time (Gal.4:4), or, as he put it here, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Surely this something better is Jesus, his Son (1:2), along with His great salvation (2:3)—a better high priest (7:7), a better covenant (7:22), a better sacrifice (9:23), a better country (11:16). They received none of these. God purposed to provide them at a later time, which has now come. Still, let’s be clear, perfection hasn’t yet come; we still awaiting that day. But when it comes, as it surely will, we’ll all receive it together as the complete people of God.
Conclusion
And therein is our encouragement today. We, all who have trusted in Christ as Savior, are part of this Hebrews 11 scene; we’re all numbered together.
We all receive blessings, together, for things only God could do for us. So, we must recognize that we’ll never experience greater blessing from God, here and now, than when we seek to honor Him by obeying His Word, leaving all the God-work to Him.
We all know victory, by God’s grace, over our stubborn and sinful shortcomings even while we continue in them. We don’t ever want to stop fighting them, but we must recognize that our sin will be with us until the day we’re perfected, until the day we step into heaven. We can’t let it stop us from pressing on to obey God in faith.
We all, together, know the burden of persecution in some form, the rebellion of this world against their Creator expressed toward His people, but we all shoulder that burden together (13:3). So, we must recognize that persecution is part of our story as Christians in this world—Jesus told us it would be so (Joh.16:1-4)—but keeping us secure in our faith is His job (Jud.24-25).
And we all know the complete, perfect fulfillment of all the promises of God in Christ have been promised to us. So, we must recognize that one day we’ll all be free, together, not only from the opposition which comes from outside us in this world, but from that which comes from inside us—our own hearts, minds, wills. Together we’ll be perfected in just the way God has purposed for us, in His perfect time.
This is our inheritance, brothers and sisters. What could possibly impede us from wanting to press on toward this outcome, from wanting to concentrate all our energies on pursuing and entering into such assured blessing?
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Resources
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Hubbard, David A., & Glenn W. Barker, gen. eds. Ralph P. Martin, NT ed. 1991. Word Biblical Commentary. Vols. 47a, Hebrews 1-8; Vol.47b, Hebrews 9-13, by William L. Lane. Dallas: Word.
Hughes, Philip Edgcumbe. 1979. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Longman III, Tremper, & David E. Garland, eds. 2006. Revised Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 13, Hebrews-Revelation. Hebrews, by R. T. France, 17-195. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
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NEXT SUNDAY: Looking to Jesus, Hebrews 12:1–3