10. Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city that God had planned and built.
11. Even when Sarah was too old to have children, she had faith that God would do what he had promised, and she had a son.
12. Her husband Abraham was almost dead, but he became the ancestor of many people. In fact, there are as many of them as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the beach.
13. Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth.
14. When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own.
15. If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time.
16. But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That's why God wasn't ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.
17-18. Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac,
19. because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death.
20. Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau.
21. Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshipped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons.
22. And just before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them.
23. Because Moses' parents had faith, they kept him hidden until he was three months old. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's orders.
24. Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh's grandson.
25. He chose to be ill-treated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while.