12. Abraham was past the time when he could have children. But many children came from that one man. They were as many as the stars in the sky. They were as many as the sand on the seashore. No one could count them.
13. All those people were still living by faith when they died. They didn't receive the things God had promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a long way off. They openly said that they were outsiders and strangers on earth.
14. People who say things like that show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15. What if they had been thinking of the country they had left? Then they could have returned to it.
16. Instead, they longed for a better country. They wanted one in heaven. So God is pleased when they call him their God. In fact, he has prepared a city for them.
17. Abraham had faith. So he offered Isaac as a sacrifice. That happened when God put him to the test. Abraham had received the promises. But he was about to offer his one and only son.
18. God had said to him, "Your family line will continue through Isaac." (Genesis 21:12) Even so, Abraham was going to offer him up.
19. Abraham believed that God could raise the dead. In a way, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20. Isaac had faith. So he blessed Jacob and Esau. He told them what was ahead for them.