 |  |
. . . . Through God we shall do valiantly". God had spoken; that was the basis of David's
triumphant faith.
Gideon supplies us with a wonderful example of weakness being made strong, and of
turning to flight the armies of the aliens. When we read of the stopping of the mouths of
lions and the quenching of the violence of fire, it is difficult to deny a reference to
Daniel and his three companions. The women who received their dead raised to life
must include the widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17: 22-24), and the Shunammite
(II Kings 4: 36).
The better resurrection.
We now come to the crux of the passage. By consulting the arrangement of the
subject-matter set out above, it will be seen that "the better resurrection" and "some
better thing" are focal points.
What is the better resurrection, and how does it harmonize with the balancing clause,
"some better thing", the teaching of Heb. 11: in particular, and of the epistle in general?
It is sometimes said of the articles in The Berean Expositor, that they are somewhat
condensed in character, but lest any should fail to realize what has been suggested as our
line of study, we will repeat ourselves in more formal fashion.
This "better" resurrection evidently has something to do with the "better" thing
provided by God. We must endeavour first to see what this connection may be, then
what the relation of this passage is to the teaching of the eleventh chapter as a whole and
finally how far the teaching concerning "the better resurrection" is supported by the
general drift of the whole epistle.
The first thing we propose is to visualize the whole context with these "better" things
in view.
Hebrews 10: 19 - 12: 25.
A | 10: 19-24. Exhortation. "Let us." Priest.
B | 10: 25, 26. Warning "No more sacrifice".
C | 10: 27-31. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy,
how much more . . . . .
D | 10: 32 - 11: 40. Faith, and the better thing.
A | 12: 1-4. Exhortation. "Let us." Perfected.
B | 12: 5-24. Warning "He found no place of repentance".
C | 12: 25. They escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth,
much more . . . . .
Such is the broad outline, making 10: 19 - 12: 25 one large section. This will be
useful as we proceed, but for the time being we are more concerned about the relation of
the subject-matter with Heb. 11:, viz., "faith" and the "better thing".