e. The conclusion, vv.39-40The word “commended” in verses 2 and 39 indicates a single unit, a framing of a concept (a literary device to delineate a unified section, an inclusio).1) Stated, v.39aFaith, trust in the promises of God, is how we please Him as His followers.2) Qualified, v.39bThe thing promised was “a land, a seed, and a blessing (Gen. 12:1-3).” The shadow was fulfilled in the promise of heaven, in the redeemer Jesus, and in the gift of eternal life. We have yet to receive the fullness of these things though we have received them.3) Reasoned, v.40The “without us” refers to believers in the New Covenant era in the sense that we received the fulfillment of the promises made to the OT saints in shadowed form. Without the fulfillment of God’s promises that were given to us in the New Covenant, they would still be waiting in “shadowland.”