The money maker in this chapter is in the first few sentences, the rest are a series of examples intended to prove the point. Noting, certainly, that this continues the discussion that has already been in progress. The end of chapter 10 says that “…we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Lest we misunderstand what faith is, though, he elaborates.
Faith, the greek word pistis, is confidence or assurance in the things that God promises. Or perhaps more practically, it is living in the here and now with complete confidence that that which God has said will be will be, even when we don’t see it. For us, that means we accept the rejection of the world knowing we will be honored at rest in the everlasting life that is to come. It means we live in freedom, even though there is yet much in the world to tempt us and divert our minds from that reality. It means that we sacrifice readily for others, giving even our lives in the service of a fallen world, assured that the work of Jesus keeps its promises upon our death to bring us into life, and not only that, into the loving arms of a good, good Father.
All of this is why James speaks of faith without works being dead. If you didn’t think you were getting paid, you’d just stop working, even if your boss promises he would pay you. On the other hand, you keep working if you are confident your boss will do as he says and reward you when your work is done. James says it more succinctly but the point here about faith is the same; if you believed it, your life would change in reaction because your reality has changed.
And that’s where we get the OT examples. These are all examples of folks who took action based upon the promises God had made. I won’t rehash them all but they are reminder that things have always been this way. Following Jesus is no different, we are acting in faith, the assurance of promises that God has made, Jesus has kept, and we are the beneficiaries of.
After all of these OT examples comes the drop – they never got what they were promised…not entirely. You see even those promises ultimately hinged on Jesus. That’s why apart from “us” they should not be made perfect. It means that apart from the promises of Jesus that we are now defined under as Christians, they never get everything that is coming to them. But since God makes big promises, he sends Jesus to keep them, and even though they may not have known, it is indeed finished, everything God promised to his people, these people, and us people, through the work of Christ on the cross.