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Victory, Peace, Assurance, Endurance: Through Faith in God
What it says:Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
What it means:
We are looking at “faith in God.” Our author has been sharing examples of people whose faith was so real to them that their world view was entirely based on God as: The Creator, The Providor, The Protector, The Reason for their lives. They listened and obeyed when God spoke to them. God was their guide and counselor, their King and Savior.
Exo_15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
2Sa_22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
Psa_28:8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
The Summarized Bible: Faith is the firm persuasion that God will perform all that He has promised to us in Christ, and brings the soul a present fruition and foretaste of eternal things, which sets a seal that God is true. The way of faith is the way of victory, peace, assurance, and endurance.
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
The WHAT: "Esteeming the reproach of Christ"
The WHY: "for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."
Define: Recompense – to compensate, repay, pay, payment, remunerate, reimburse, make up for, return
Define: Reward – prize, incentive, gift, bonus, repay (Antonym: penalty, penalize)
Define: Respect – admiration, high opinion, esteem, reverence, to value, revere, think a lot of, show consideration for
Popular Commentary on The New Testament: The reproach which typical Israel suffered is called the reproach of Christ; as Paul calls the sufferings of Christians the sufferings of Christ (Col_1:24; 2Co_1:5), i.e of Christ dwelling and suffering in His Church as in His body. In the true Church of every age the eternal Christ ever lives and reigns, though when Moses suffered He was still to come, appearing chiefly in the types and prophecies, while really dwelling among them. And the reason is that he looked away from the suffering to the Divine reward, his life and acts being moulded and guided by his hopes.
Moses' hope of reward was firmly based in his knowledge of God, including God's promise to deliver His people.
Expositions of Holy Scripture by Alexander McLaren: The eye that is focused to look at the things on the earth cannot see the stars. When the look-out man at the bow wants to make sure whether that white flash on the horizon is a sun-smitten sail or a breaker, he knits his brows and shades his eyes with his hand, and concentrates his steady gaze till he sees. And you and I have to do that, or the most real things in the universe, away yonder in the extreme distance, will be problematical and questionable to us. Oh, brother! Our Christian lives would be altogether different if we made the resolve and kept it, to fix our gaze on ‘the recompense of the reward.’
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt,
Define: Forsook – abandon, desert, leave, disown, renounce, relinquish, give up, turn your back on
By faith, what did Moses forsake? Egypt and the life he had grown up in.
The Biblical Illustrator, Electronic Database. (J. M. Gibson, D. D.) …. Egypt stands out before us as a fuller and more adequate type of the world, with her glory as well as her shame. And from Israel's relation to Egypt we may learn two great lessons: one of counsel how to use the world, the other of warning against abusing it. From God's purpose in regard to Israel let us learn that just as Egypt was necessary as a school for His chosen people, so the world ought to be a school for us. We are not to despise its greatness. No word of contempt for Egypt's greatness is found in the sacred records. The nation was intended to learn, and did acquire, many useful arts which were of much service to them afterwards in the Land of Promise. Moses, the chosen of God, was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was thereby qualified for the great work for which he was called. In these examples we may see how to use this world, making it a school to prepare us for our inheritance and the work the Lord may have for us there to do. On the other hand, let us beware of so yielding to the seductions of this evil world as to lose our hold of God, and His covenant, and so incur the certainty of forfeiting our eternal birthright and becoming the world's slaves, helping perhaps to rear its mighty monuments, with the prospect possibly of having our names engraved in stone among the ruins of some buried city, but without the prospect of having them written "among the living in Jerusalem," the eternal city of God. Earth's great ones belong to the dead past; but heaven's great ones have their portion in a glorious future.
not fearing the wrath of the king:
Define: Wrath – anger, rage, fury, ferocity, vehemence, passion (Antonym: serenity)
The king that is spoken of, is Pharaoh… or king of Egypt. What did Moses not fear? He did not fear the most powerful man on Earth at the time. He kept his eyes on God's promises.
for he endured,
Define: Endured – bear, tolerated, suffered, undergo, last, continue, go on, carry on, keep on, persisted
as seeing him who is invisible.
The word “as” shows us this is a metaphor. Moses endured as seeing the invisible God before him.
Sermon Bible Commentary: Enduring as Seeing the Invisible One.
I. What is this virtual seeing of Him who is invisible? There must be wrought in me, between Him (God) and me, some sympathy, some good understanding and fellow feeling about the matter spoken of. There must be established between Him and me some personal relation of mutual confidence and unity. There must, in a word, be formed a certain close unity of faith working by love. Then will that quasi vision "as seeing" be realised; that vivid sense and keen grasp of "my Lord and my God," as personally present to my eager gaze, my touch, my embrace, which compensates, and far more than compensates, for my never having set on Him my bodily eyes.
II. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Not only at the Communion Table do you rest, but in the field of toil or of battle you endure, as seeing Him who is invisible. So Christ Himself, the man Christ Jesus, endured. The secret of His endurance was that with the eye of faith He always saw the Father. The Holy Ghost strengthens us to endure as seeing the unseen Saviour, even as He strengthened Him to endure as seeing the unseen Father. It is in the felt and realised presence of a Divine person, unseen in one sense, but in another virtually and vividly seen, that your strength to endure lies. And He is to be seen by you, not merely as an object of contemplation in a leisure hour, but as in the time of danger, standing beside you, conversing with you, calling you by name, and bidding you be strong and of a good courage.
The Summarized Bible: As seeing him who is invisible... This is the secret of his choice and of his loyalty to God and to God’s people. This is the secret of loyalty in any minister today who is the interpreter of God to man
Moses was able to endure because he fully believed in God. He could see Him before his face, just like David did:
Act 2:25-26 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Notice the word: “foresaw” – “fore” meaning “before,” and “saw” meaning to see in the mind’s eye. He always saw the Lord “before” anything else. Foresaw = to behold in advance, that is, (active voice) to notice (another) previously, or (middle voice) to keep in (one’s own) view: - foresee, see before.
Before he saw anything else, he saw the Lord! What an amazing statement. He knew God was on his right hand to fight for him, to accompany him, and to guide him. What did seeing Him do for David? “That I should not be moved.” The NKJV says “That I may not be shaken.” This “always seeing God beforehand” had an amazing affect on how David personally felt and reacted: his heart rejoiced, his tongue was glad, and his flesh rested in hope for his own future and outcome. He saw eternal life, the recompense of the reward, in front of himself. Heaven was his destination and God was his home!
Heb 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood,
What did Moses keep by faith? The passover and the sprinkling of blood. God gave him instructions and he followed them completely -- leading the people in prudence.
lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Exo 12:12-14 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land:
God parted the sea, and the land was dry beneath their feet, so they did not slip or get stuck as they walked upon the place where the water usually stood.
which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
The Egyptians attempted to follow after the Israelites, but they were not doing it by faith in God.
Define: Assaying – examination, assessment, analyze, evaluate, attempt, try, take a stab at
The Egyptians took stock of what they saw and decided they could do anything these people did. Alas, they all drowned when God let the waters engulf them. They were intelligent, but their lack of faith in God was their downfall.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
By what did the walls of Jericho fall down? By faith.
Define: Compassed – H5437, סבב, sâbab, saw-bab', … to revolve, surround or border; used in various applications, literally and figuratively: - …, X round about, be about on every side, …, X circuit, (fetch a) compass (about, round…, X on every side, … round about, -- to cover all the points on the compass, i.e.: north, south, east, west – walk or navigate completely around something
(I often hear people trying to pronounce this word as if the root word were "compassion" -- but that is not the root word here. The root word is "compass" as in north, south, east, and west. To be "compassed about" means to be surrounded on all sides.)
How many days did they walk around Jericho? Seven days. And the walls came tumbling down.
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not
Because of her faith, what happened to Rahab? She did not perish -- she lived!!
Jos 2:9 And she (Rahab) said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Rahab had made an assessment, just as Pharaoh had, but she saw that the LORD had given the Israelites the land. She saw that all the people around feared them and fainted at the thought of them and their Great and Mighty God! She saw God working! That is what faith does: it sees God at work!! So she helped the people of God.
The difference between Pharaoh and Rahab was that Pharaoh, when he assayed the situation, said to himself, “If these people can do this, then I can do the same thing, and destroy these people at their own game.” He was looking at his own power. But Rahab looked and saw the power of God at work. She confessed that she saw what the Lord was doing for the people of God. She took God’s side and helped His people -- and was saved because of it.
Jos_6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Rahab perished not with them that believed not,
What happened to everyone else in Jericho? They all died. Rahab did not perish with the unbelievers in Jericho.
when she had received the spies with peace.
With what did she receive the spies? Peace! She welcomed them into her home with peace. She was rescued because she hid the spies and made a deal with them. If she saved them, they would save her. They agreed to the arrangement and it was honored by Joshua. When she made her deal with God's people, she had really made her deal with God who is eternally trustworthy!!
Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Believer’s Bible Commentary: At this point the writer asks a rhetorical question: And what more shall I say? He has given an imposing list of men and women who demonstrated faith and endurance in OT times. How many more must he give in order to make his point?
He has not run out of examples, but only out of time. It would take too long to go into details so he will satisfy himself to name a few and catalog some triumphs and testings of faith.
There was Gideon whose army was reduced from 32,000 to 300. First the timid were sent home, then those who thought too much of their own comfort. With a hard core of true disciples, Gideon routed the Midianites.
Then there was Barak. When called to lead Israel to battle against the Canaanites, he agreed only on the condition that Deborah would go with him. … God saw real trust and lists him among the men of faith.
Samson was another man of obvious weakness. Yet, in spite of that, God detected the faith that enabled him to kill a young lion with his hands, to destroy thirty Philistines in Ashkelon, to slay one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, to carry away the gates of Gaza, and finally to pull down the temple of Dagon and slay more Philistines in his death than he had in his life.
Though an illegitimate child, Jephthah rose to be the deliverer of his people from the Ammonites. He illustrates the truth that faith enables a man to rise above his birth and environment and make history for God.
The faith of David shines out in his contest with Goliath, in his noble behavior toward Saul, in his capture of Zion, and in countless other episodes. In his psalms, we find his faith crystallized in penitence, praise, and prophecy.
Samuel was the last of Israel's judges and her first prophet. He was God's man for the nation at a time when the priesthood was marked by spiritual bankruptcy. He was one of the greatest leaders in Israel's history.
Add to this list the prophets, a noble band of God's spokesmen, men who were embodied consciences, who would rather die than lie, who would rather go to heaven with a good conscience than stay on earth with a bad one.
Heb 11:33 Who through faith
Who – being all of the above – through faith in what? Faith in God.
BBC: The writer now turns from naming people of faith to citing their exploits.
By faith in God, they:
subdued kingdoms,
Define: Subdued – subjugate, conquer, vanquish, defeat, overpower, overcame
What are “kingdoms?” Kingdom – realm, empire, monarchy, sovereignty, territory. These are the kingdoms that refused to believe in God so God used His people to subdue them.
By faith in God, they:
wrought righteousness,
Define: Wrought – shaped, bent, fashioned, twisted, formed, created, produced
Define: Righteousness – virtue, morality, justice, decency, uprightness, goodness, integrity, honesty (Antonym: wickedness)
By faith in God, they:
obtained promises,
What did they obtain? Promises. Promises from whom? From God. This does not refer to the promise of the Messiah, but, to the daily living things that God spoke to them about, such as going out in battle with the promise of victory – if they were obedient. Or the promise of food, and water in the desert. God also promises that we shall have His peace if we, in thanksgiving, take our concerns to Him.
By faith in God, they:
stopped the mouths of lions,
BBC: They stopped the mouths of lions. Daniel is an outstanding example here (Dan_6:22), but we should also remember Samson (Jdg_14:5-6) and David (1Sa_17:34-35).
By faith in God, they:
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire,
Define: Quenched – put out, extinguished, doused, smothered, stifled
Define: Violence – aggression, hostility, cruelty, ferocity, force, fierceness, passion
BBC: They quenched the violence of fire. The fiery furnace succeeded only in burning the fetters of the three young Hebrews and setting them free (Dan_3:25). Thus it proved to be a blessing in disguise.
By faith in God, they:
escaped the edge of the sword,
BBC: They escaped the edge of the sword. David escaped Saul's malicious attacks (1Sa_19:9-10), Elijah escaped the murderous hatred of Jezebel (1Ki_19:1-3), and Elisha escaped from the king of Syria (2Ki_6:15-19).
By faith in God, they:
out of weakness were made strong,
BBC: They won strength out of weakness. Many symbols of weakness are found in the annals of faith. Ehud, for instance, was left-handed; yet he slew the king of Moab (Jdg_3:12-22). Jael, a member of “the weaker sex,” killed Sisera with a tent peg (Jdg_4:21). Gideon used fragile earthen pitchers in the defeat of the Midianites (Jdg_7:20). Samson used the jawbone of a donkey to slay one thousand Philistines (Jdg_15:15). They all illustrate the truth that God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1Co_1:27).
By faith in God, they:
waxed valiant in fight,
Define: Waxed – expanded, increased, enlarged, got bigger, grew, swelled, (Antonym: wane)
Define: Valiant – brave, courageous, heroic, fearless, noble, gallant, intrepid, bold (Antonym: cowardly)
BBC: They became valiant in battle. Faith endowed men with strength beyond what was natural and enabled them to overcome in the face of insurmountable odds.
By faith in God, they:
turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Define: Flight – escape, departure, running away, getaway
Define: Aliens – unfamiliar, unknown, strange, foreign
BBC: They put to flight the armies of the aliens. Though often under-equipped and greatly outnumbered, the armies of Israel walked off with the victory to the confusion of the foe and the amazement of everyone else.
By faith in God, their:
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and
BBC: Women received their dead by resurrection. The widow of Zarephath (1Ki_17:22) and the woman of Shunem (2Ki_4:34) are cases in point.
By their faith in God:
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
BBC: But faith has another face. In addition to those who performed dazzling feats, there were those who endured intense suffering. God values the latter as much as the former.
BBC: Morrison comments: So this is also a result of faith, not that it brings deliverance to a man, but that sometimes, when deliverance is offered, it gives him a fine courage to refuse it. There are seasons when faith shows itself in taking. There are seasons when it is witnessed in refusing. There is a deliverance that faith embraces. There is a deliverance that faith rejects. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance—that was the sign and seal that they were faithful. There are hours when the strongest proof of faith is the swift rejection of the larger room.
The idea of the “larger room” is that torture was often done in a small tight room – and to go to the larger room, meant the torture had stopped. But they chose not to go there, because they refused to denounce their faith in God.
Because of their faith in God, they:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Define: Mocking – scornful, derisive, contemptuous, disdainful, sardonic, cutting, scathing, sarcastic, disrespectful
Define: Scourging – A means of inflicting severe suffering, vengeance, or punishment; To chastise severely; to flog; beating, thrashing, whipping, thumping, pounding
Define: Bonds – tie, shackles, fetters, manacles, chains, restraints, irons
BBC: Others were mocked and flogged, and were bound in prison. For faithfulness to God, Jeremiah endured all these forms of punishment (Jer_20:1-6; Jer_37:15). Joseph too was imprisoned because he would rather suffer than sin (Gen_39:20).
Heb 11:37 They were stoned,
Because of their faith in God, they endured stoning:
BBC: They were stoned. Jesus reminded the scribes and Pharisees that their ancestors had murdered Zechariah in this way between the sanctuary and the altar (Mat_23:35).
they were sawn asunder,
Because of their faith in God, they endured horrible ends:
BBC: They were sawn in two. Tradition says that Manasseh used this method of executing Isaiah.
were tempted,
Because of their faith in God, they were tempted:
BBC: They were tempted. This clause probably describes the tremendous pressures that were brought to bear on believers to compromise, to recant, to commit acts of sin, or in any way to deny their Lord.
were slain with the sword:
Because of their faith in God they were killed,
BBC: They were slain with the sword. Uriah the prophet paid this price for his faithful proclamation of God's message to King Jehoiakim (Jer_26:23); but the expression here refers to mass slaughter such as occurred in the times of the Maccabees.
Because of their faith in God,
they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
BBC: They might have rustled in silks and velvets and luxuriated in the palaces of princes had they denied God and believed the world's lie. Instead, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, themselves accounted no better than goats or sheep, nay, they like these reckoned fit only for the slaughter.
being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Because of their faith in God they lived destitute lives,
Define: Destitute – poor, penniless, impoverished, on the breadline, insolvent, needy
Define: Afflicted – troubled, bothered, made miserable, caused problems, worry, upset, distress
Define: Tormented – beleaguered, stressed, harassed, besieged, beset, plagued, under attack
BBC: They suffered poverty, privation, and persecution.
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:)
Define: Worthy – commendable, praiseworthy, laudable, admirable, valuable, precious, creditable
Who was not worthy of these saints? The world was not worthy.
BBC: The world treated them as if they were not worthy to live. But the Spirit of God burst forth here with the interjection that actually it was the other way around—the world was not worthy of them.
Because of their faith in God they had been chased from their homes,
they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
BBC: They wandered in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. Dispossessed of homes, separated from families, pursued like animals, expelled from society, they endured heat and cold, distress and hardship, but they would not deny their Lord.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,
Because of their faith in God they obtained what? Notice what this statement implies. They obtained a good reputation through their faith in God. They did not receive their good report because of who they were. They received their good report through their faith in who God is. By faith in God, a “nobody” can obtain a good report – by faith in God and in His promised Messiah, we please God. Then God, who is the Rewarder, gives us what He has promised to them who believe in Him. In His own good time!
received not the promise:
They had great faith in God….. but did not receive what? They never actually received the promise.
BBC: God has borne witness to the faith of these OT heroes (a good report), yet they died before receiving the fulfillment of the promise. They did not live to see the Advent of the long awaited Messiah or to enjoy the blessings that would flow from His ministry.
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
What has God provided for us? Some better thing! That, without us, these saints should not be made what? Perfect.
Define: Perfect – complete, whole, finished, total, (made new in Christ)
They were not made perfect without us. We are not made perfect without them. When the time comes we shall all be resurrected together. Those who lived their lives by faith in God shall all receive the same blessed reward, no matter the time period in which they lived!! Whether they looked forward to the birth of the Messiah, or looked back, as we do, the just shall live by faith in God’s grace. The recompense of the reward is eternal life with God and Jesus in heaven. By the unity of faith in God’s grace we are one family, under one God.
Eph 4:1-8 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph_2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Read our verses again:
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
