The Most Beautiful City

 

The great 18th century Bible commentator Matthew Henry, anticipating that some would unduly mourn his passing, wrote these words of comfort and assurance: "Would you like to know where I am? I am at home in my Father's house, in the mansions prepared for me here. I am where I want to be, no longer on the stormy sea, but in God's safe, quiet harbor. My sowing time is done and I am reaping; my joy is as the joy of harvest. I am made perfect in holiness. Grace is swallowed up in glory.

I see God, not as through a glass darkly, but face to face. I am engaged in the sweet enjoyment of my precious Redeemer. I am singing to Him who sits upon the throne. The blessed company I keep is better than the best on earth. Here are the holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. I am with many of my old acquaintances with whom I worked and who had come here before me. This is a dawn that never fades! After millions of ages, it will be as fresh as it is now. Therefore, weep not for me!"

The letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were facing persecution. The author encourages them to hold fast to their faith in Christ. He tells them “Remember those earlier days … when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated... joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded" (Heb 10:32-39).

The faith of  the early church member’s  was tested through public reproach, persecution and material loss. However,  they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Christ’s name (Acts 5:41). This required steadfast confidence in Christ when suffering made compromise seem easier. Rather than abandoning Christ these believers endured with joy, confident that earthly loss could magnify Christ (Phil. 1:29) and refine faith (1 Peter 4:13). Their joy was anchored in certainty, not vague hope.

Hebrews 11:1-2 tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Faith grants spiritual eyesight; It is able to “see” what cannot be seen with natural eyes. Faith rests confidently on God’s unbreakable word and anticipates His promised future. Faith  stands convinced beyond doubt and embraces unseen realities as already true. Such faith empowers believers to live courageously and obediently until every promise becomes a reality.

"By faith Abraham... 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. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11:8-10). Abraham lived as a pilgrim in the land God promised to his descendants, trusting that God’s purpose extended beyond immediate possession. His faith rested on the certainty that God would fulfil every promise in His appointed time.

Tents speak of mobility and impermanence; they represent the temporary and transient nature of the patriarchs' lives. In contrast “building” speaks of permanence and stability.  While Canaanite cities boasted of walls and houses, Abraham chose tents (Gen.13:18). The tents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob marked their temporary residence in Canaan, while the city they sought represented an enduring homeland. They lived lightly on earth, fixing their hope on the unshakeable city God had prepared.

Here on earth we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come (Heb.13:14);The city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22). God’s dwelling place among the people (Ps. 46: 4; Rev.21:3). Paul says “for we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Cor. 5:1-5). He speaks with certainty: “we know,” not “we hope” or “we think.” For, no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ" (2 Cor.1:20).

Paul uses a tent as a metaphor to describe our physical bodies which are temporary, fragile and subject to wear. Our bodies will be taken down like a tent after our camping is over. Apostle Peter said to his flock “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside" (2 Pet, 1:13-14). A tent has no foundation, but a building rests on a foundation. The patriarchs were looking forward to the city with foundations. Heaven has twelve foundations.

 Apostle John saw Heaven in a vision. He says ^“it shone with the glory of God and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates…The wall of the city had twelve foundations…The city was laid out like a square…The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone…the great street of the city was of gold as pure as transparent glass...The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it... God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp…On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there...nothing impure will ever enter it” (Rev. 21:11-27).

Abraham’s faith reached beyond earthly inheritance to lasting fellowship with God. As his gaze was fixed beyond Canaan’s tents to a city with foundations, we are also “looking forward to a new heaven ... where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet.3:13).  “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Cor.4:18); for in this hope we were saved...who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently" (Rom.8:24-25). Looking forward speaks of active, eager expectation, not wishful thinking.

Christians are sojourners on earth, called to live with the understanding that their true home is with God. They maintain a heavenly perspective, prioritizing spiritual growth and heavenly treasures over earthly gains. The promise of a home in heaven provides hope and assurance, encouraging believers to persevere in faith despite life's uncertainties and the temporary struggles of this world. The reward is “great”—far surpassing any earthly loss ( Rom.8:18, Matt.5:12). 1 Corinthians 2:9 states, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.

The Patriarchs and other ancient believers “were still living by faith when they died. .. admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" (Heb. 11:13-16).

The patriarchs looked beyond Canaan because even the land promised to their descendants was not their final home. Faith gave these believers confidence in realities still beyond their earthly reach. Today, believers share that pilgrim identity, living faithfully in the present world while belonging to the kingdom of heaven. “Our citizenship is in heaven" (Phil.3:20). Heaven is a real place where the redeemed of the ages will make their homes. It is a place of peace and rest; a perfect place where burdens and troubles cannot follow. When we get there, we will be home!

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible" (Heb.11:24-27).

Moses made a deliberate choice after years of education and privilege in Pharaoh’s court; He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. This title promised power, wealth and security in the world’s most advanced nation. Identifying with God’s people meant embracing their hardships and hopes. Moses chose reproach with Israel over privilege in Egypt. He judged those visible riches to be temporary when compared with God’s inheritance.

Life in Egypt’s royal court offered immediate comfort and power, yet its pleasures could not endure and were bound to a culture opposed to the living God. Moses valued God’s promised inheritance above temporary gratification. He traded momentary gratification for lasting glory. He saw beyond temporary allure to eternal reward. His gaze shifted from present comfort to future certainty. The eternal inheritance he anticipated outweighed any temporary earthly gain. Despite not being able to see God physically, Moses trusted in His presence and promises. Steadfastness was fueled by a settled vision of God’s faithfulness.

The writer of Hebrews wants us to consider why certain people decide to live in a way that seems radically different from the rest of the world. Such a life comes about by an unshakable hope in something better and lasting beyond this life. They accept persecution and loss with joy. They are looking for something better; something that would last forever. In his famous words Jim Elliott said, “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” This life is just a brief preparation for eternity. That explains why Christians live the way they do.

Chapter 11 of Hebrew gives us examples of people who have laid hold on the future reward of joy with God in such a way that it makes a great difference in their lives here and now. The author wants you to deepen your confidence in God’s promises so that you live out the radical kind of life that comes from having your hope in God. Faith is a deep confidence that the promises of God will come true so that we bank on them. Faith is the confidence that there is something better and lasting beyond this life. The assurance of things hoped for really makes a difference in life. By faith we see what the world cannot see. Faith accepts the realities God has revealed though they remain beyond physical sight. Faith is solid confidence in a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Nothing on earth lasts forever. Peter wrote “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?...make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (2 Peter 3:10-14). God has given us “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you" (1 Pet.1:3-5). Therefore "do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt.6:19-20).

Job 20:4-9 says “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth, that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night. The eye that saw him will not see him again;    his place will look on him no more.