A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 29

How about we finish the chapter.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

That rounds out the roll call of faith. Look at the names of the examples of faith the preacher used. Rahab had no physical ties to the tribes of Israel. She was a prostitute, ostracized by her city. Perhaps she was a foreigner in Jericho, a Syrian or Chaldean. Perhaps she had learned of the Most High God in her youth and wanted to reconnect to people who worshiped Him. Perhaps she saw in the Israelites a way out of the sex trade. Whatever her reason, Rahab believed. And it was that faith that pleased God, and made her the ancestor to the line of Israelite kings, including Jesus Christ.

Gedeon was one of the Judges of Israel before the first king, Saul. If you take the time to read the Book of Judges, you will read how Gedeon was sent to expel an army of invaders with a smaller force, and God had him cut down the size of the force even further until there were only a few hundred Israelites versus thousands of invaders. God wanted to show that the victory was His, and set up conditions whereby there would be no mistake. Gedeon was aghast at the difference between the forces in numbers. Yet Gedeon still believed God and obeyed His command.

Barak was a soldier. He knew only the ways of battle, not the ways of God. Deborah was called of God to drive out the invaders who were persecuting the people, but as a woman she didn’t feel comfortable leading men in battle. So Deborah told God that she wouldn’t go unless He let her work through a male general, and she only trusted Barak. For his part, Barak told Deborah that she was in command because she had the word of God for the troops to follow. Barak would only relay Deborah’s orders. Realize the culture these people lived within, very much a male dominant one. For a man, and an important general to boot, to defer to a woman was unspeakable. But the faith of Barak was such that he trusted God through Deborah, femininity not withstanding.

Everyone in America should know the story of Samson, who was under a Nazarite vow from birth. God gave him great strength and battle prowess, so long as he never broke his vow. When Samson revealed his secret to Delilah, he gave away the blessings of strength and prowess. But it wasn’t Samson’s long hair that gave him the blessings, it was God’s grace. And when Samson’s faith was placed in God instead of his oath, the blessings returned, if only for a short time.

The reference to Jephthae is the Judge Jephthah who was of the tribe of Gilead. His story is tragic in many ways. The son of a harlot, he was thrown out of his father’s house by his brothers because they didn’t want to share the inheritance with him. He lived as a brigand in the land of Tob (wherever that is) until the people of Amman attacked Gilead to take away some of the land God gave to Israel. Then his brothers came and begged him to lead them in battle against the army of Amman. He made them promise to appoint him their judge if he lead them and won. As the battle against Amman was pending, Jephthah made a vow to God that if He delivered the Ammanites into the hands of the little army of Gilead, Jephthah would offer as a burnt sacrifice the first living creature that came out of his door to greet him upon his return home. Jephthah had only one child, a beautiful daughter, and when he returned home she burst through the door with timbrel and song to celebrate her father’s victory and safe return home. Although it tore his heart to do so, and the girl was still a virgin, Jephthah kept his vow and killed his only child to burn her corpse on an altar as a sacrifice to God. This foreshadows the sacrifice the Father made in sending the Son to die for us. Although Jephthah was unaware when he made the vow who or what would come through his door (he assumed it would be one of his livestock), he kept his vow in faith as a thanks to God for the victory.

The many examples of the faith of King David from the time he was a shepherd to the time of his death are too numerous to detail. You know most of the story if you read your Bible and go to Sunday school. Samuel the prophet was the last of the Judges, who anointed two kings for Israel, Saul and David. His faith is also well known. And I don’t have space in the blog to detail the faith of the many prophets who held to their trust in God in the face of persecution and oppression. The tortures they were put through were often as severe, if not more so, as the tortures the Romans subjected Christians to in the first three hundred years of the Church. But the preacher is saying these examples of faith are the ones we ought to emulate in our own life. They all knew of the Messiah Who was coming, while we know Him as historical fact. If they could maintain their faith in One who was yet to come, who are we to abandon that faith in Him Who came and died for us? Search your heart. Are you being faithful to the Lord? Is there something you are holding back from the old life, the dead religion, you once lived? Faith is more than mental ascent to the fact, but a deep, abiding trust in the One you believe and an eager willingness to do His bidding. Can you describe your own faith as obedient? Perhaps we should all examine our lives for any vestige of disobedience, and root it out before His immanent return.

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