Pastor Ralph Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? The powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses is the promises that God gave and their confidence in His faithfulness to bring it to pass. What was this faith based on? This faith was based on evidence that God is not a liar that cannot be trusted, but that He will do as He said he will. At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? The Israelites had God's promise to rescue them from the bondage of slavery. The Egyptian army's faith lie in the arm of flesh, which fails. Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? Rahab placed her faith in the God of the Israelites because she had heard of the many victories he had given them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabatha Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? The powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses I believe is they saw the miracles performed by God against the Egyptians through Moses. This faith was based on God proving Himself to the people over and over.They believed His promises were being fulfilled through Moses being the leader they had waited for At the Red Sea the Israelites faith was secure in Knowing God had brought them this far He was not going to let anything happen to them. Once more His promises were true in that only God could part the red sea. The Egyptian army moved in fear and revenge. They were being led by self not the God of the Israelites. By Faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. I believe she knew Israel's God and maybe had heard of God's faithfulness to Joshua. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charisbarak Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 The powerful motivating factor was their belief in a Great God. This faith was based on what they had heard & knew about God. The faith of the Israelites at the Red Sea was believing God could do what He wanted to do. They probably thought they were trapped, but God miraculously delivered them! The Egyptian army, however, did not believe God could do anything & their faith was in the Pharoah's decision to send them, and their faith in what they, themselves could do. Rahab had heard about the Israelites' God & believed in Him too!! She showed it by her actions. Had she been an opportunist, she might have betrayed them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helenmm Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? I think this is one of the most impoprtant questions I ever answered, because it excites me that God always wanted "all men" to be saved. It was always possible for anyone to join the Israelites (or Noah, or Moses as did his Ethiopian wife,) and receive the full blessing of God, subject only to taking the circumcision. It is the same now - Jesus saves all who will incise sin and receive His power and grace. All that is required is that they actually believe that God is God - the great "I AM", the Creator and Redeemer through the blood of Jesus Christ. The great motivating factor is simply that they can see "the way the land lies" and act in accordance with the evidence, which is their faith. Intelligence is always opportunistic, and faith is just a form of intelligence that has integrity! They could see who God was, and wanted the blessing of being among His people. This was more important to them than other distracting goings on. To a major degree it's a function of integrity, acuity of insight with a response from the heart (which is probably deeper and more all-encompassing than the intelligence!). Their faith was based on the evidence of their own ears. At the Red Sea the Israelites operated in accordance with the instructions given to Moses by the Living God, while the Egyptian army operated under the orders of a totally in-your-face, God-defiant Pharaoh. I love the Rahab story. Yes, she was an opportunist, as we all are (unless we have a broken spirit which is the result of major trauma and terribly sad). Hopefully our opportunism is tempered by integrity, but God never put opportunity in our way for us to ignore it! And yes, Rahab had faith. Faith is not complicated. It's just a matter of meeting the evidence with a positive response - opportunism again, if you like. She knew very well (through a wide range of "connections") that the Israelites were protected by Jehovah, and that no-one had a show against them, so she decided, right in the face of her own death, to assist them in the hopes of consideration. She judged rightly! No-one else in Jericho did. She was willing to give up her lifestyle and live as a Jewish woman of integrity (she'd probably never had the chance to live with that kind of integrity before!) What an incredible decision! Together with Noah, Ruth, Job, Abraham and Moses she elected to believe God and come out of "the world" into the presence of the Most High! Not very many people do it. But in Revelation 18:4 God says "Come out of her, My people." He is saying it today, but many Christians don't really come out of her (the ungodly world of unbelief or lack of acknowledgement of God before people). Nevertheless it is God's plea with us all, "Come out of her, My people". Is there a difference between having faith and being a shrewd opportunist? Didn't Jesus say "be as cunning as a fox and harmless as a dove? Piercing discernment, for better or for worse, is shrewdness, and shouldn't be confused with judgement which means doing God's job of condemning a person to hell or misery. We have to have sharp discernment (perception, understanding), yet leave judgement to God because that's His area! If we have keen understanding, then how foolish we'd be not to act on the opportunities we see because of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia A Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? The powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses was their faith in an all-powerful God. What was this faith based on? This faith was based on evidence that God was faithful. At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? The Israelites believed in an all-powerful God while the Egyptian army put their trust in a human leader. Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? Rahab had real faith and was also a shrewd opportunist. We are shrewd (wise) opportunitist if we trust God and are assured of eternal life with Him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? They believede that God would do what He said He would do, or they didn't believe in Him at all. The Hebrew faith was based on what they had seen and had learned from their Fathers before them. They had faith in the God of the people and had been taught that they were the chosen people of God and when He started sending plagues against Egypt they saw for themselves that He was real and was setting them free. At the Red Sea they had a choice believe and cross the river or not believe and be kill or taken back into captivity. They chose to believe that the God of their Fathers would help them again and lead them across. The Egyptions were slow learners, they had seen the plagues,but it was enough to cause them to fear the Living God and what He was about to do. Rahab had faith that what she had seen and heard the God of Isreal had done to other people and kings He could also do to jericho. She believed that the only hope she had was to allow the spies to go in peace and hid them from her own people. She chose to try to protect her self and family through her fear of the true God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Faith. Looking for a better way of life. God's promises for better things. Israelites crossed on dry land and the Egyptians all drowned when they tried to cross because of their lack of faith. Rahab was considered righteous for what she did. She had real faith for her family also. As the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without deeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJeff Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 All had great faith, based upon the word of God, directly or indirectly (as in Rahab). I would have to believe that after seeing 10 plagues and a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day the Israelite's faith was built on what they saw from Adonai. The Egyptians on the other hand based their faith upon what they saw the Jews do. Rahab's faith was real and opportunistic. There is no difference as when faith moves you, you have to seize the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Rupert Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? God promised to rescue them as he did. He had already rescued them from the Egytians, he rescued them from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea and with victory over Jericho, so their faith continued to grow each and everytime he rescued them. God always kept his promises. What was this faith based on? This faith was based on how God constantly rescued them and kept his word. He never let them down or disappointed them or lead them to believe that he was not a God of truth. At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? At the Red Sea after the Israelites saw that God parted the sea they knew for sure that God was rescuing them another time. The Egyptians thought this was help from their false God's, so they never thought that this might be the work of the God of The Israelites and because of their lack of belief in the Israelites God they drowned. So God showed his people again that he would continue to rescue them from the Egyptians. Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? I believe that Rahab gained faith after seeing Joshua and the Israelites and learned of their God. I believe that God touched her and she helped Joshua and the Israelites which grew her in faith in the God of the Israelites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s8nfighter Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I cannot say that faith is a motivation, I can say that faith is a strong belief. The motivation behind the actions in each of these cases was different. Their belief or faith was in the word of God, His promise to see them through moments of crisis or through to a destination. By faith, when I bid on and get a job to paint a building, I take my own money and buy supplies. By faith I get up at five A. M. and go to work every day. By faith I work all day long to the best of my ability. By faith I make payments to my employees. All this I do till the job is finished and by faith I give the person who hired me a bill for my services.. I spend my own money and my time because I trust that the person will pay me at the completion of the job. That is faith, my motivation is the payment I will recieve. The nation of Israel, at the Red Sea and from time to time, forgot what Rahab believed strongly in. ( When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.) Rahab had real faith in God. Her motivation was salvation for her and her family and she believed only God could give her that salvation. Isn't that our faith and our motivation? The nation of Israel felt like they were between a rock and a hard place at the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army behind them and the sea in front of them they began to doubt God. They began to believe that God had sent them on a forty year walk only to deliver them to their enemy. Moses believed God even though he didn't know how God would pull off a miricle this time, so he said just sit back and watch. Now here is where God forces action to work with faith, God said, "What are you crying for, just get up and go." Yep he told Moses to lift up that reminder of faith, that stick he told him to pick up years earlier, lift it above his head and go. Their motivation was salvation and their deliverer was the LORD. The Egyptian army was motivated by either anger or a sence of duty to the Pharaoh. God said he would harden the hearts of the enemy so they would lose sight of what they were doing and destroy them in the process. And that is what he did. There are many things wich can be a motivation to us. Wealth, popularity, respect, power and much more. On the surface these are not bad things but that is not what the LORD says should be the motivation behind our faith. Our motivation should be salvation and the desire to spend eternity in worship of Him. Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loisb Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? 1) The most powerful motivating factor was the faith they had in God's promises to lead them to a new land. 2) They had faith in God and after seeing the miracles they had seen in Egypt, this encouraged them more. 3) The Egyptian army was following the wrong leader. They put their faith in man and not God as the Isralites did. They believed that God had promised to resuce them from slavery, so they didn't believe that He wouldn't keep His promise. 4) Rahab seemed to have both, but most of all she had stronger faith that she or the others wouldn't die . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PATJOE Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? Their powerful motivating factor behind all of their actions was faith. It was based on the promises they had received from God that they truly trusted. The Israelites believed they would have dry land to pass through the Red Sea because their deliverance was promised to them by God. The Red Sea became their temple. The Egyptian Army were in unbelief and it became their tomb. The only time I believe, that true faith and shrewd opportunism are close to being the same, is when true faith exists first and is the reason for opportunism. (We grasp the opportunity to become faithful children of God). Rahab had real faith and after coming to know the spies that she protected, she truly wanted to know Israel's God, and came to trust Him and survived the destruction of Jericho because of her faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCHRIS Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 I love this response from Helenmm, it is beautiful and sums up the truth for me! Thankyou Helenmm 'I think this is one of the most impoprtant questions I ever answered, because it excites me that God always wanted "all men" to be saved. It was always possible for anyone to join the Israelites (or Noah, or Moses as did his Ethiopian wife,) and receive the full blessing of God, subject only to taking the circumcision. It is the same now - Jesus saves all who will incise sin and receive His power and grace. All that is required is that they actually believe that God is God - the great "I AM", the Creator and Redeemer through the blood of Jesus Christ. The great motivating factor is simply that they can see "the way the land lies" and act in accordance with the evidence, which is their faith. Intelligence is always opportunistic, and faith is just a form of intelligence that has integrity! They could see who God was, and wanted the blessing of being among His people. This was more important to them than other distracting goings on. To a major degree it's a function of integrity, acuity of insight with a response from the heart (which is probably deeper and more all-encompassing than the intelligence!). Their faith was based on the evidence of their own ears. At the Red Sea the Israelites operated in accordance with the instructions given to Moses by the Living God, while the Egyptian army operated under the orders of a totally in-your-face, God-defiant Pharaoh. I love the Rahab story. Yes, she was an opportunist, as we all are (unless we have a broken spirit which is the result of major trauma and terribly sad). Hopefully our opportunism is tempered by integrity, but God never put opportunity in our way for us to ignore it! And yes, Rahab had faith. Faith is not complicated. It's just a matter of meeting the evidence with a positive response - opportunism again, if you like. She knew very well (through a wide range of "connections") that the Israelites were protected by Jehovah, and that no-one had a show against them, so she decided, right in the face of her own death, to assist them in the hopes of consideration. She judged rightly! No-one else in Jericho did. She was willing to give up her lifestyle and live as a Jewish woman of integrity (she'd probably never had the chance to live with that kind of integrity before!) What an incredible decision! Together with Noah, Ruth, Job, Abraham and Moses she elected to believe God and come out of "the world" into the presence of the Most High! Not very many people do it. But in Revelation 18:4 God says "Come out of her, My people." He is saying it today, but many Christians don't really come out of her (the ungodly world of unbelief or lack of acknowledgement of God before people). Nevertheless it is God's plea with us all, "Come out of her, My people". Is there a difference between having faith and being a shrewd opportunist? Didn't Jesus say "be as cunning as a fox and harmless as a dove? Piercing discernment, for better or for worse, is shrewdness, and shouldn't be confused with judgement which means doing God's job of condemning a person to hell or misery. We have to have sharp discernment (perception, understanding), yet leave judgement to God because that's His area! If we have keen understanding, then how foolish we'd be not to act on the opportunities we see because of it!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Faith was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses. This faith was based on a knowledge that God would take of them. At the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites believed that God would part the waters and delivered them and the Egyptians did not have a clue. All that is important about Rabah is that she was faithful to the God of Israel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Faith was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses. This faith was based on a knowledge that God would take care of them. At the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites believed that God would part the waters and deliver them and the Egyptians did not have a clue. All that is important about Rabah is that she was faithful to the God of Israel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms CJ Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? * Her Faith What was this faith based on? * The God of Israel At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? * They had faith in their God, whom had delivered them out of slavery and had healed them all. They had seen the hand of their God come up against the gods of Egypt and conquer them. They were now a very wealthy people and had a promise of their own land and that their God loved them and wanted them to be a free people and what they would work for now was theirs. * They saw and felt the live of God in their hearts and life and could not deny truth, and that their God was alive and active in their lives, they saw real truth and acted on out of real faith, something they had never know before. The hand of God on our lives and seeing the hand of God in our lives, should make us all want to leave Egypt Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? * Her faith was real, she felt it in her heart and never knowing the feeling and never seeing this hope in her mind and hearing of these people and their God and knowing they too were slaves to someone or something , she saw hope, a way out and a promise for her family. Isn't this all our stories and don't we want the same for ourselves and our family. We all would have to have real faith to do as she did and yes we would all be an opportunist and take advance of the chance at freedom from death, sin and the hope of saving our loved ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelOnLine Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? Their faith and belief in God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eudora Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? Faith What was this faith based on? Belief At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? They did not have faith in God. They didn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda bass Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 The powerful motivating factor behind the actions of the people in the aforementioned verses is faith. This faith was based on the confidence that God would do what He had promised. The difference between the Israelites faith and that of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea was, the Hebrews were able to pass through the Red Sea on dry land, but when Pharoah's army tried to do it, the sea returned and drowned them. The Israelites put their faith in the living God, while the Egyptians worshipped idols and even Pharoah himself. Rahab had real faith. She had heard the stories of how God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt and decided to put her trust in the living God. At the same time she was an opportunist because she found a way to keep her family from being destroyed when the walls of Jericho fell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewell Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Their faith was based on freedom - from bondage, from ways of life, from the ways of this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don W Posted August 18, 2007 Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 The powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by these people in Hebrews 11 is their faith and trust in the God they hadn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? I feel the powerful motivating factor behind the actions the people took is that what God says He will do, and He does. This faith was based on what was seen before and what God did in the lives of their ancestors. The faith of the Israelites was the same and differed from the faith of the Egyptians. Both the Egyptians and the Israelites had faith based on past experiences. The difference was what they put their faith in. Egyptians placed their faith on their own strength and their shrewdness to defeat the Israelites. While the Israelites saw that placing their trust in themselves would get them nowhere fast. If they were to survive God was the only one they could believe in. Faith is good and helpful as long as it is placed on the correct source. If Rehab she trusted God or if she depended on being shrewd, both would have taken real faith; because faith is faith. What makes faith work is what you place your faith in. Rahab placed her faith in the God as opposed to the Egyptians who put their faith in themselves, their horses, their chariots, in anything but the true and living God. This is why Rahab made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cee Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Q4. (Hebrews 11:8-31) What was the powerful motivating factor behind the actions taken by the people mentioned in these verses? What was this faith based on? At the Red Sea, how did the Israelites' faith differ from that of the Egyptian army? Did Rahab have real faith or was she a shrewd opportunist -- or is there a difference? They kept the faith of what God had promised them if the kept the covnant with God to the end of their lives. Their faith was base on believing in God and His promise. The Iseaelites' faith was strong enough to "go" through the Red Sea without fear for God was with them. rahab had real faith. Yes, there is a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidjjj Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Q4. Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Heb 11:9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. Heb 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Heb 11:11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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