2017 Missions Month: “Send Me”

Part 3: “To My City” | Hebrews 11:8-12

In order to properly study Hebrews 11:8-12, we need to understand the “big picture” of the book of Hebrews. The
message of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ is superior: he is superior to the angels, the Law, the sacrifices, and the priests;
he ushers in a New Covenant that is also superior.
This was written not for a specific city church, but for the Jewish-background Christians who were being tempted to
renounce their faith due to the suffering and persecution that they faced. So because Jesus Christ is superior, the
author of Hebrews exhorted the church to not let their hearts get hardened along the way (because of the suffering and
persecution they faced), but rather to persevere in faith and obedience.
The author of Hebrews then gives models of persevering faith and obedience in Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham/Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses’ family, Moses, the nation of Israel, Rahab, the judges, and other victors
and victims. Hebrews 11:8-12 focuses on Abraham and Sarah.
It helps to know God’s covenant with Abraham from Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT): The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your
native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great
nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse
those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord
had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. The three parts of this
covenant are: 1) the blessing of a promised land to live in; 2) the blessing of becoming a great people group; and 3) the
blessing of having a personal relationship with God.

Hebrews 11:8-12 (ESV) [Observations]

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a
1.
place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went
out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to
From this passage, what did Abraham and Sarah
specifically do and why? What did God specifically do
and why? What did they experience from God
through their faith?

live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents

with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations,

whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself

received power to conceive, even when she was past the age,

since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12

Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born

descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as

the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

HMCC of Jakarta | Transforming Lives. Transforming the World.

2017 Missions Month: “Send Me”
Part 3: “To My City” | Hebrews 11:8-12

2. [Interpretation] Try summarizing this passage in your own words (in 2-3 sentences). How does Hebrews 11:8-
12 fit into God’s redemptive history (God’s salvation plan)?

3. [Interpretation] What are some timeless principles about God, people, and the world that you draw out of
Hebrews 11:8-12? How do these principles connect to you personally?

4. [Application] Abraham lived his whole life as a foreigner and sojourner in the Promised Land, but he had faith
that he was a citizen of the “city of God” that God promised to come. This is the same approach that disciples of
Jesus Christ should have as well, living as “exiles” or “resident aliens.”

This is how Timothy Keller puts it: “Their (exiles) primary allegiance was to another country, and that country’s
culture was formative for their beliefs and practices. Yet they lived in their country of residence as full
participants in its life. In other words, “resident aliens” lived neither as natives nor as tourists. Though they were
not permanently rooted, neither were they merely travelers who were just passing through”

What does this look like as disciples of Jesus Christ, waiting for the eternal city while living in our current city?

5. [Application] What other next steps of obedience and faith does this text challenge you to take? With whom and
what specifically can you share about this Scripture?

HMCC of Jakarta | Transforming Lives. Transforming the World.