There are quite a few verses in Hebrews about Abraham--the father of the Israelite (Hebrew) people.   The greatest example of his faith was when God sent him to sacrifice his only son Isaac--which was a picture of the sacrifice God would make with his only son, Jesus.  God provided a substitute for Abraham , but up to the last minute, Abraham was ready to do what God had asked him to do.  In the same way, God provided a substitute for us.  His son Jesus.

Of course, God had no intention for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, only to test Abraham's faith.  Isaac was the son of the promise God made to Abraham (and Sara) that he would be the father of many people.  Without Isaac, there would have been no future.  Abraham was an old old man and his wife Sara was way past the age of child bearing.

The fifth person of faith is Sara.  Hebrews 11:11 "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him (God) faithful who had promised."  Sara had her doubts.  Her faith wavered in the face of the impossibility of her situation.  So she sent her hand-maiden Hagar in to Abraham because she felt like she (Sara) was too old to conceive.

Big mistake.  You can't help but wonder if the entire Arab-Jewish animosities would never have occurred if Sara hadn't had a moment of weakness in her faith.  But Ishmael was born to Hagar.  He became the father of the people of the desert.  And the Jews and the Arabs have been at war ever since.

We all make mistakes.   Sara had a moment of weakness and tried to do God's job for him.   The fact that Sara is listed as a person of faith in this chapter shows us that God forgives us.

Ishmael and Isaac.  Arab and Jew.  At war forever.   I have heard people in government say that Christians do not believe there will be peace in the Middle East.  Duh.  They need to read history.  Biblical history.  I haven't put my faith in government.  My faith is in God.