Faith that God Himself Commends, Part 1

"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." -- Hebrews 11:32-40

So now we finally come to end of the Hall of Faith. Sixteen heroes have so far been presented along with the faith behind their triumphs. By faith the heroes of old were enabled to live so as to deserve the testimony that they were "righteous" [v. 4], that they "pleased God" [v. 5] and that they were people of whom God was "not ashamed" [v. 16]. And all of them experienced triumphs over great difficulties. Remember that this chapter was composed primarily with the hope of steeling the tiny, expatriate Hebrew church against the great persecution that was mounting against them and was soon to fall in the genocidal waves of horror orchestrated by the mad emperor Nero. And, indeed, those who did persevere did so because of their profound faith in the promises of God's Word. So it is that we must understand to grasp the author's intent in Hebrews 11. It was not just an entertaining aside, but rather was essential life-and- death teaching for the Hebrew church. It may well become the same for us and our children over the next 10-20 years.

Recent history has again reminded us that no democracy or dictatorship is eternal. Freedom, and especially religious freedom, is fragile. Moreover, dark forces are at work in our culture to the extent that it has become politically correct to call "evil good and good evil" [see Isaiah 5:20] especially as we begin to see the widespread acceptance of homosexual marriage, yesterday's vote in the Congress to end "Don't ask, don't tell," the growing "irrelevance of marriage" in the eyes of the majority in our culture, the near universality of pre-marital sex, etc. To the purveyors of this politically correct cultural agenda, Judeo-Christian morality is reactionary. And if any of us think that being reactionary is a safe thing, consider what the social engineers have done to the reactionaries in the twentieth century. There is only one unforgivable sin in the eyes of the popular moral pundits, and that is intolerance. "The one thing we will not tolerate is intolerance. It is un-American. In fact, it is un-Christian," goes the specious logic. But Jesus Himself was intolerant -- and His followers must humbly follow His loving example. It is more than possible -- it is highly probable -- that the church, once pampered may become the church persecuted. So then is everything, then, hopeless? Not at all! A church that lives with a dynamic certainty that comes from believing God's Word can have a profound effect on the culture -- as both salt and light. So it is that the church that sure of both God and His Word can foster great hope. And even if the culture proceeds down its neo-pagan path, even if it becomes overtly Neronian in its treatment of the church, there remains substantial hope for those who possess a Hebrews 11 faith -- for they will be empowered to persevere and will sometimes win dazzling and astounding victories.

At God's direction, Gideon underwent a remarkable divestment of power in preparation for his phenomenal victory over the Midianites. Obediently he reduced his troop level from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300. Then the 300, armed with only trumpets and pitchers that concealed torches, routed the Midianites whose "camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore" [Judges 7:12]. Gideon's feat was a stupendous act of faith. Likewise, Barak, obeying God's Word as given through Deborah, sallied forth to meet the great army of Sisera with its 900 chariots of iron and myriads of troops. Barak himself having only 10,000 men drawn from just two of Israel's tribes, Naphtali and Zebulun [Judges 4:6]. But his token army was victorious. Once again faith carried the day.

Normally we do not think of Samson as a man of faith, but rather a great doofus whose moral brain waves had flatlined. But there was a substance of faith in Samson that ran deep. He knew God had given him power to deliver his people from the Philistines -- though he had largely frittered it away. But once blinded, he regained his spiritual eyesight, and in a great act of faith prayed and received supernatural strength to avenge both himself and his people [see Judges 16:25-30]. Neither would we imagine Jephthah as a man of faith because of his infamous and foolish vow to sacrifice his own daughter [see Judges 11:30-39]. Nevertheless, this illegitimate son, this outcast Hebrew Robin Hood, was called back to save Israel -- which he did through his faith in God. He conquered because of his faith -- notwithstanding that his raw uninformed faith tragically was perverted so that it became the source of his rash and wrongful vow to sacrifice "whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me" [Judges 11:31].

King David, on the other hand, is well-known for his acts of faith, not the least of which was his challenge and defeat of Goliath, to whom he cried, "It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands" [1 Samuel 17:47]. What towering faith! The prophet Samuel had lived a life of faith since he was a little "boy wearing a linen ephod" [1 Samuel 2:18], serving Eli in the house of the Lord. Through faith he fearlessly delivered God's Word to anyone, anywhere, at any time -- even the sinning King Saul [1 Samuel 15:22, 23]. This faithful proclamation was the hallmark of all true prophets.

Viewed together, this dynamic half-dozen bore remarkable similarities to one another. Each lived in a time when faith was scarce -- definitely the minority position. During the days of the judges, everyone did "what was right in his own eyes" [Judges 21:25], and this ethic was very much alive during the transfer to the monarchy. From Gideon to David, each battled overwhelming odds -- Gideon with his 300 against and innumerable host -- young David against the giant. Each stood alone contra mundum. And most significantly, perhaps, each of these heroes had a flawed faith. In fact, it was none other than John Calvin who remarked that "there was none of them whose faith did not falter." Nevertheless, although their faith may have been imperfect and incomplete, it did not cease to be approved by the Lord. How encouraging this should be to us! Faith's empowerment is not beyond any of us. As believers, we have untapped faith capacities that will surprise not only others but, even more than that, ourselves. Each of us possesses an interior spiritual dynamite that even a small amount of faith can ignite.