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Hebrews 11:12
by Don Costello Hebrews 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 1. "Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead" a. I don't believe this is exclusively referring to Abraham, but rather Abraham and Sarah. For at least three reasons: 1). A married couple is regarded as one flesh. a). Genesis 2:23, 24 "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." 2). Both Abraham and Sarah are referred to in deadness. a). Romans 4:19 "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:" 3). The use of "Therefore" immediately after the verse referring to Sarah's faith, joins Sarah with Abraham in believing God for this miracle birth. b. Exposition of Hebrews, Arthur W. Pink, p. 715: "Wherefore also from one were born, and that too of (one), having become dead, even as the stars of the heaven in multitude, and as the sand which (is) by the shore of the sea the countless" We have quoted the rendering given in the Bagster Interlinear because it is mor literal and accurate than our A.V. The "him" in the English translation is misleading, for in this verse there is no masculine pronoun: at the most the "one" must refer to one couple" 2. "so many as the stars of the sky in multitude" a. God had previously promised this very thing. 1). Genesis 15:5 "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be." b. A wonderful addition to this is found in Jeremiah. 1). Jeremiah 31:35, 36 "Thus saith the LORD which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever." 2). Not only are the number of stars comparable to the number of Abraham's seed, if the stars cease their orbits cease, Israel will cease from being a nation. 3. "and as the sand which is be the seashore. a. Genesis 22:17 "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of thine enemies." My name is Don Costello. Ever since I received Christ in November of 1976 I have had a passion to study and know God's word.My wife Melissa and I have 5 children. My e-mail address is [email protected] I have a blog located at: www.theophilus-loverofgodsword.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |