Heb 11:32-40. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—
Heb 11:33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
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quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
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Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.
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Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
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They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—
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of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
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And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
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since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
11:32 At this point Paul the writer asks a rhetorical question: And what more shall I say? He has given an imposing list of men and women who demonstrated faith and endurance in OT times. How many more must he give in order to make his point?
He has not run out of examples, but only out of time. It would take too long to go into details so he will satisfy himself to name a few and catalog some triumphs and testings of faith.
There was Gideon whose army was reduced from 32,000 to 300. First the timid were sent home, then those who thought too much of their own comfort. With a hard core of true disciples, Gideon routed the Midianites.
Then there was Barak. When called to lead Israel to battle against the Canaanites, he agreed only on the condition that Deborah would go with him. In spite of this cowardly facet in his character, God saw real trust and lists him among the men of faith.
Samson was another man of obvious weakness. Yet, in spite of that, God detected the faith that enabled him to kill a young lion with his hands, to destroy thirty Philistines in Ashkelon, to slay one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, to carry away the gates of Gaza, and finally to pull down the temple of Dagon and slay more Philistines in his death than he had in his life.
Though an illegitimate child, Jephthah rose to be the deliverer of his people from the Ammonites. He illustrates the truth that faith enables a man to rise above his birth and environment and make history for God.
The faith of David shines out in his contest with Goliath, in his noble behavior toward Saul, in his capture of Zion, and in countless other episodes. In his psalms, we find his faith crystallized in penitence, praise, and prophecy.
Samuel was the last of Israel's judges and her first prophet. He was God's man for the nation at a time when the priesthood was marked by spiritual bankruptcy. He was one of the greatest leaders in Israel's history.
Add to this list the prophets, a noble band of God's spokesmen, men who were embodied consciences, who would rather die than lie, who would rather go to heaven with a good conscience than stay on earth with a bad one.
11:33 Paul The writer now turns from naming people of faith to citing their exploits.
They subdued kingdoms.
Here our minds turn to Joshua, to the judges (who were really military leaders), to David, and to others.
They worked righteousness.
Kings like Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah are remembered for reigns which, though not perfect, were characterized by righteousness.
They obtained promises.
This may mean that God made covenants with them, as in the case of Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon; or it may mean that they received the fulfillment of promises, thus demonstrating the truth of God's word.
They stopped the mouths of lions.
Daniel is an outstanding example here (Dan 6:22), but we should also remember Samson (Jdg 14:5-6) and David (1Sa 17:34-35).
11:34 They quenched the violence of fire.
The fiery furnace succeeded only in burning the fetters of the three young Hebrews and setting them free (Dan 3:25). Thus it proved to be a blessing in disguise.
They escaped the edge of the sword.
David escaped Saul's malicious attacks (1Sa 19:9-10), Elijah escaped the murderous hatred of Jezebel (1Ki 19:1-3), and Elisha escaped from the king of Syria (2Ki 6:15-19).
They won strength out of weakness.
Many symbols of weakness are found in the annals of faith. Ehud, for instance, was left-handed; yet he slew the king of Moab (Jdg 3:12-22). Jael, a member of “the weaker sex,” killed Sisera with a tent peg (Jdg 4:21). Gideon used fragile earthen pitchers in the defeat of the Midianites (Jdg 7:20). Samson used the jawbone of a donkey to slay one thousand Philistines (Jdg 15:15). They all illustrate the truth that God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1Co 1:27).
They became valiant in battle.
Faith endowed men with strength beyond what was natural and enabled them to overcome in the face of insurmountable odds.
They put to flight the armies of the aliens.
Though often under-equipped and greatly outnumbered, the armies of Israel walked off with the victory to the confusion of the foe and the amazement of everyone else.
11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection.
The widow of Zarephath (1Ki 17:22) and the woman of Shunem (2Ki 4:34) are cases in point.
But faith has another face.
In addition to those who performed dazzling feats, there were those who endured intense suffering. God values the latter as much as the former.
Because of their faith in the Lord,
some were subjected to cruel torture. If they would have renounced Jehovah, they would have been released; but to them it was better to die and be raised again to heavenly glory than to continue this life as traitors to God. In the time of the Maccabees, a mother and her seven sons were put to death, one after the other, and in sight of each other, by Antiochus Epiphanes. They refused to accept release that they might obtain a better resurrection, that is, better than a mere continuation of life on earth. Morrison comments:
So this is also a result of faith,
not that it brings deliverance to a man, but that sometimes, when deliverance is offered, it gives him a fine courage to refuse it. There are seasons when faith shows itself in taking. There are seasons when it is witnessed in refusing. There is a deliverance that faith embraces. There is a deliverance that faith rejects. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance—that was the sign and seal that they were faithful. There are hours when the strongest proof of faith is the swift rejection of the larger room.
11:36 Others were mocked and flogged, and were bound in prison. For faithfulness to God, Jeremiah endured all these forms of punishment (Jer 20:1-6; Jer 37:15). Joseph too was imprisoned because he would rather suffer than sin (Gen 39:20).
11:37 They were stoned. Jesus reminded the scribes and Pharisees that their ancestors had murdered Zechariah in this way between the sanctuary and the altar (Mat 23:35).
They were sawn in two. Tradition says that Manasseh used this method of executing Isaiah.
They were tempted. This clause probably describes the tremendous pressures that were brought to bear on believers to compromise, to recant, to commit acts of sin, or in any way to deny their Lord.
They were slain with the sword. Uriah the prophet paid this price for his faithful proclamation of God's message to King Jehoiakim (Jer 26:23); but the expression here refers to mass slaughter such as occurred in the times of the Maccabees.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Moorehead comments:
They might have rustled in silks and velvets and luxuriated in the palaces of princes had they denied God and believed the world's lie. Instead, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, themselves accounted no better than goats or sheep, nay, they like these reckoned fit only for the slaughter.
They suffered poverty, privation, and persecution.
11:38 The world treated them as if they were not worthy to live. But the Spirit of God burst forth here with the interjection that actually it was the other way around—the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. Dispossessed of homes, separated from families, pursued like animals, expelled from society, they endured heat and cold, distress and hardship, but they would not deny their Lord.
11:39 God has borne witness to the faith of these OT heroes, yet they died before receiving the fulfillment of the promise. They did not live to see the Advent of the long awaited Messiah or to enjoy the blessings that would flow from His ministry.
11:40 God had reserved something better for us. He had arranged that they should not be made perfect apart from us. They never did enjoy a perfect conscience as far as sin was concerned; and they will not enjoy the full perfection of the glorified body in heaven until we are all caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess 4:13-18). The spirits of OT saints are already perfect in the presence of the Lord (Heb 12:23), but their bodies will not be raised from among the dead until the Lord returns for His people. Then they will enjoy the perfection of resurrection glory.
To put it another way, the OT believers were not as privileged as we are. Yet think of their thrilling triumphs and tremendous trials! Think of their exploits and their endurance! They lived on the other side of the cross; we live in the full glory of the cross. Yet how do our lives compare with theirs? This is the cogent challenge of Hebrews 11.
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