Faithbook: Faith of the Heroes
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This week's sermon focuses on the tall end of Hebrews chapter 11 which gives a catalog of many of the great Old Testament heroes, mostly from the Book of Judges and the early monarchy. In this study we see that great heroes of the faith often had bad starts and shaky middles, but ultimately finished strong.
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Faithbook: Faith of the Heroes
- 1. Connecting with God’s Faith-filled Friends
- 2. Search Faithbook Home Heroes Edit Profile Philistines… Ammonites… Midianites… Bring it on! Samson 5 hrs Philistines! We don’t need no stinkin’ Philistines! David 4 hrs The Philistines helped me count to 200! Groups Action Heroes Samson & David
- 3. Doing Exploits for God Hebrews 11:32-38 Heroes Edit Profile Heroes Doing Exploits for God
- 4. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 32 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—
- 5. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
- 6. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 34 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.
- 7. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
- 8. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 37 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—
- 9. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Hebrews 11 38 of whom the world was not worthy— wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
- 10. Doing Exploits for God Heroes God’s Heroes of Faith were not born with faith and courage.
- 11. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon struggled with courage and faith. Comment
- 12. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Hiding Judges 6 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
- 13. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Hiding Judges 6 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6
- 14. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Self-Doubting Judges 6 15 … “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”
- 15. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Afraid Judges 6 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as theLORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
- 16. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Afraid Judges 7 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.
- 17. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon – Afraid Judges 7 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
- 18. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon’s Struggle with Faith •When called by God, he asks for a miraculous sign: “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.” (Judges 6:17)
- 19. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon’s Struggle with Faith When called by God into battle, he asks for another miraculous sign!
- 20. Doing Exploits for God Heroes 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”
- 21. Doing Exploits for God Heroes 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. (Judges 6)
- 22. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon’s Struggle with Faith After receiving another miraculous sign, he asks God to reverse the miracle!
- 23. Doing Exploits for God Heroes 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
- 24. Doing Exploits for God Heroes 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. (Judges 6)
- 25. Doing Exploits for God Heroes God’s remedy for Gideon’s lack of faith and courage was an impossible task! 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ (Judges 7)
- 26. Doing Exploits for God Heroes 22,000 10,000 300 •Gideon’s great exploit for God was to defeat the greatly superior Midianite army with an army that God whittled down to 300 men!
- 27. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon’s character is shown after his great victory 22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
- 28. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Gideon’s character is shown after his great victory 23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.” (Judges 8)
- 29. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Barak struggled with courage and faith. Comment
- 30. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 4 7… I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”
- 31. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 4 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
- 32. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 4 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
- 33. Doing Exploits for God Heroes “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” Mark Twain
- 34. Doing Exploits for God Heroes “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” John Wayne
- 35. Doing Exploits for God Heroes God’s Heroes of Faith had their lapses of faith.
- 36. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Samson had serious “lapses” of faith and character. Comment
- 37. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 14 1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”
- 38. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 14 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
- 39. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
- 40. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 16:4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- 41. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Jephthah had serious “lapses” of faith and character. Comment
- 42. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 11 (NIV) 23 “Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over?
- 43. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 11 (NIV) 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.
- 44. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 11 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
- 45. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 11 34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
- 46. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Judges 11 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.”
- 47. Doing Exploits for God Heroes David had serious “lapses” of faith and character. Comment
- 48. Connecting with God’s Faith-filled Friends
- 49. Doing Exploits for God Heroes The most important matter is not where you digress to during your journey of faith, but rather, where you finish.
- 50. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Despite questionable beginnings and weak middles, God’s Heroes of the Faith are remembered most for how they ended the race.
- 51. Doing Exploits for God Heroes More Heroes •Shut the mouth of lions - Daniel also Samson, David and Benaiah (one of David’s mighty men) •Quenched the fury of the flames – Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego
- 52. Doing Exploits for God Heroes More Heroes •Women received back their dead – Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17) Elisha and the Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4).
- 53. Doing Exploits for God Heroes More Heroes •Stoned – Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:21) Jeremiah? Tradition states that Jeremiah was stoned by his fellow Jews.
- 54. Doing Exploits for God Heroes More Heroes •Sawn in two – Isaiah? This is a reference to a tradition that Isaiah was martyred in this way.
- 55. Doing Exploits for God Heroes Ivan Vasilevich “Vanya”
- 56. Doing Exploits for God Heroes The most important matter… • is not where you start your journey of faith. • is not where you digress during your journey of faith. • is where you finish your journey of faith!
- 57. Connecting with God’s Faith-filled Friends
Editor's Notes
- Doing Exploits for God
- Hebrews 11 32 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—
- 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
- 34 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.
- 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
- 37 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—
- 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
- First Post: God’s Heroes of Faith were not born with faith and courage.
- Gideon struggled with courage and faith.
- The first hero mentioned is Gideon Gideon – Hiding: Judges 6 11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
- 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” I have always thought that this is one of the funniest verses in all the Bible. Gideon is hiding,, … terrified of the Midianites, and God calls him a mighty man of valor. He certainly wasn’t living into his reputation.
- Gideon – Self-Doubting: Judges 6 15 … “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”
- Gideon – Afraid: Judges 6 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as theLord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
- Gideon – Afraid: Judges 7 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.
- 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
- Gideon’s Struggle with Faith When called by God, he asks for a miraculous sign: If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.” (Judges 6:17)
- Gideon’s Struggle with Faith When called by God into battle, he asks for another miraculous sign!
- 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38a And it was so. (Judges 6)
- 38b When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.
- Gideon’s Struggle with Faith When called by God, he asks for a miraculous sign: If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.”
- 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
- 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. (Judges 6)
- God’s remedy for Gideon’s lack of faith and courage was an impossible task! 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ (Judges 7)
- Gideon’s great exploit for God was to defeat the greatly superior Midianite army with an army that God whittled down to 300 men!
- Gideon’s character is shown after his great victory 22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
- 23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.”
- Our text also mentions Barak. He too struggled with courage and faith.
- Barak was a warrior from the tribe of Naphtali during the period of time where the Canaanites were oppressing the Israelites. A woman was a Judge leading part of Israel. Her name was Deborah. In Judges 4:7 she calls upon Barak for help: 7… I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”
- But Barak was lacking in courage: 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
- 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Here were two heroes with shaky starts. I love this quote by Mark Twain:
- Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” We all struggle with fear. None of us keep it at bay all the time. Mark Twain
- I want to add one more quote. This one is dedicated to Darrell Reiling who loves John Wayne: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” Both of these quotes teach the same important lesson as Gideon and Barak. The most important matter is not where you start your journey of faith, but rather, where you finish.
- Let’s make a second post in our faithbook today: God’s Heroes of Faith had their lapses of faith.
- One of the most flamboyant of the Bible’s Super-heroes was Samson. But Samson had serious “lapses” of faith and character. You remember the story of Samson. He was born as an answer to the prayer of his mother who was unable to have children. The angel of the LORD, God Himself, appeared to Samson’s mother, who is only called the wife of Manoah, and tells her that she will have a son. The Angel of God gives special instructions. The child is never to drink any fermented drink and he is to never cut his hair. Later we learn that Samson’s miraculous strength is tied up in his hair and his obedience to God. Samson’s career begins brilliantly. He tears a lion apart with his bear hands. He slays a thousand of Israel’s oppressors, the Philistines, with a most unusual weapon… the jawbone of an ass. But Samson had a weakness… women!
- In Judges 14 we read: 1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”
- 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
- Judges 16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
- Judges 16:4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
- Samson had serious “lapses” of faith and character. Jephthah began well as a mighty warrior. He was zealous for the LORD as is reflected in his message to the Ammonite kings: You remember the story of Samson. He was one of God’s Super heroes. He was born as an answer to the prayer of his mother who was unable to have children. The angel of the LORD, God Himself, appeared to Samson’s mother, who is only called the wife of Manoah, and tells her that she will have a son. The Angel of God gives special instructions. The child is never to drink any fermented drink and he is to never cut his hair. Later we learn that Samson’s miraculous strength is tied up in his hair and his obedience to God. Samson’s career begins brilliantly. He tears a lion apart with his bear hands. He slays a thousand of Israel’s oppressors, the Philistines, with a most unusual weapon… the jawbone of an ass. But Samson had a weakness… women!
- Judges 11 (NIV) 23 “Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over?
- 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.
- Tragically, Jephthah had a lapse of faith that struck close to his heart. In Judges 11:30-31 we read: 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Jephthah lapsed from faith to superstition, vowing to slay the first human being to come out of his house. The Hebrew text makes it clear that the “whatever” was a person, not a pet. He uses language that was specific to a human sacrifice. It is a serious lapse of faith and a great evil. He expected a servant to come out of his house, as would be typical. God would teach Jephthah a grave lesson:
- 34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. Theologians wrestle with the fate of Jephthah’s daughter. Many suggest that she was consigned to perpetual temple service. But Jephthah’s reaction suggests otherwise
- 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”
- We are well aware of David’s serious moral lapses: Adultery with Bathsheba The murder of her husband Uriah as part of a cover-up. David’s polygamous, adulterous and murderous lifestyle produced sons who were guilty of incest, adultery, murder and open treason. It seems insufficient to refer to sins of Samson, Jephthah and David as “lapses” or “short-comings.” These were serious flaws in character. However, despite these serious flaws, God forgave these men and used them mightily.
- There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13 One of the greatest impediments on the road to a mature faith is the inability to find forgiveness for our mistakes. God’s choice of imperfect men with serious lapses in character to mold into men of faith should teach us an invaluable lesson.
- We are well aware of David’s serious moral lapses: Adultery with Bathsheba The murder of her husband Uriah as part of a cover-up. David’s polygamous, adulterous and murderous lifestyle produced sons who were guilty of incest, adultery, murder and open treason. It seems insufficient to refer to sins of Samson, Jephthah and David as “lapses” or “short-comings.” These were serious flaws in character. However, despite these serious flaws, God forgave these men and used them mightily.
- Third Post Despite Questionable Beginnings and Weak Middles, God’s Heroes of the Faith are remembered most for how they ended the race. After listing several specific examples of additional heroes of faith, the author of Hebrews goes on to list some non-specific examples. Some of these can be discerned.
- Sawn in two – Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:21) Jeremiah? This is a reference to a tradition that Isaiah was martyred in this way. What do each of these have in common? They all faced death without losing their faith. Daniel and his friends faced death, and were delivered. The two mothers faced death without bitterness, and received back their dead. Many of the prophets faced death and were delivered over to it – they did not shrink from faith and received a martyrs crown.
- An amazing modern account of Christian martyrdom has come out of the former Soviet Union. It is the story of a young member of the Russian military, Ivan Ivanesevich. Vanya came to Christ in the early 1970’s and became outspoken in his faith. All attempts to silence him proved fruitless. In an attempt to discredit Vanya, his commander forced him to stand in the Russian cold for five days without food. Miraculously, Vanya survived. When he still refused to be quiet about his faith, he was forced to stand for 12 straight nights in sub-zero weather. When he amazingly survived, he was beaten mercilessly. He could not be broken. "I have one higher allegiance," he said, "and that is to Jesus Christ. He has given me certain orders and these I cannot disobey." From there he was remanded to the KGB, which administered a "treatment" that ended his life (Ibid., p. 254). The coffin of Ivan (Vanya) Vasilevich arrived at his parents’ home welded shut. They were told that their son had drowned. After prying the coffin open with a crowbar, they saw their son, bruised and blackened from face to feet. Vanya had been stabbed, burned, beaten, and tortured to death because he had prayed and witnessed for Christ. Vanya began life as an atheist. In his middle years he became a loyal soldier of the Russian army. We do not remember him as a one-time atheist, nor do we remember him as a soldier in the Red Army. Vanya is remembered as a man whose glowing faith could not be frozen by Siberian ice or beaten down by the very worst of KGB tortures.
- The most important matter…