HOW FAITH COMES
So faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by way of the Word of God. We all know that intellectually, and most of us can quote you chapter and verse.
The writer did not say that faith comes by hearing the Word only. Rather, faith comes by hearing, AND hearing by the Word of God.
Now, why would he say it like that? After all, the word and is a conjunction, ie., a part of speech that ties two different things together. (For example: mashed potatoes and gravy; shoes and socks; pen and paper. One would not say: potatoes and potatoes; or, paper and paper. And if one did, no one would understand what they were talking about!)
Paul wrote it this way because there are two different kinds of hearing.
There is a kind of hearing where one can hear the Word of God being spoken, and intellectually process what is being said, but not receive it and/or believe it. Or, as my father said to me when I was a child, (on more than one occasion I assure you), “It goes in one ear and out the other”.
Then there is another kind of hearing, where one can hear the Word of God, understand it, and then receive it and believe it. This is called revelation, and it always comes with faith to receive the promise being preached.
As Jesus said:
So one can hear, yet not understand, and one can see, and yet not perceive. That is why it takes the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes, to lighten the eyes of our understanding, as Paul prays in Ephesians:
This is what the story of the Israelites wandering the wilderness for 40 years illustrates. It is an example of what happens when we do not believe the promises preached, and an example of what happens when we do.
The writer uses the story of those who could not enter into the promised land as an example for this lesson.
He says that the promise was preached to all of them, but most of them did not believe it. They all heard with their physical ears, but they did not all hear with their spiritual ears, that is, they did not have a revelation that Gods promise was true and believe it.
If you remember the story, you will recall that only Joshua and Caleb entered into the promised land. They were the only ones that mixed faith with the promise, the only ones that believed it.
Now, they certainly believed that God could give them the land, after all, they had seen him part the Red Sea. They just weren’t certain that He would. In other words, they didn’t believe the promise. And the writer of Hebrews called this a sin. The writer goes on to say that they were destroyed in the wilderness because of this sin, the sin of not believing that God would do what He promised.
So God gave them the fruit of their unbelief. They didn't believe they could take the land, so God didn't let them have it. But the two who believed, Joshua and Caleb, God let them have it, although the unbelief of the rest of the nation delayed their receiving by 40 long years.
According to your faith, be it unto you.
Peace…
