Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Works Testify Of Faith

 

Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: [33] who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked 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, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

 

It is notable that of the five names mentioned in this passage, four properly belong to the era of the Judges. Judges is one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to read for me, largely because of the outrageous atrocities committed by the people that wear the name of God. The golden thread of Judges, that binds together this peculiar time in Israel’s history, can be summarized as, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25, see also Judges 17:6, 18:1.

When a Judge reigned, Israel prospered, defeated their enemies and enjoyed the liberty God desired for them. When the Judge died they backslid immediately into apostasy, and God sold them into the hands of their enemies. The issue’s root was here: “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel,” Judges 2:10. The consequence of this new generation not knowing the Lord was natural, again summarized in Judges 21:25. The Israelites rejected God as King and donned the crown for themselves. They fell into the pit of needing human leadership to govern their religious lives. But God does not want to have an intermediary; in the person of Jesus Christ He wants to be close to you and lead you Himself. A good leader will merely help you see God more clearly, and to see Him yourself. A bad leader will stand in your way, blot God out of your sight, and proceed to fill your ears with doctrine contrary to His will, so that they may steal you from His service, to theirs. Such are many professing Christian leaders today, whose churches are tremendous, but whose spiritual vitality is nil.

 

Chronologically, Barak is the first Judge on this list. Before him were Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. In Barak’s day, after the death of Ehud, Israel played the harlot. The pattern was that they intermarried with the Canaanites, and by polluting themselves so, served the gods of Canaan, Judges 2:6. Barak was anointed a Judge in Israel by Deborah the prophetess, who was also contemporaneously a Judge, see Judges 4:4. Yahweh chose a number of women over the course of time to be prophetesses, beginning with Miriam, Moses’ sister, Exodus 15:20. There was Huldah the prophetess in the days of King Josiah, 2 Kings 22:14. Isaiah’s wife was apparently also a prophetess, Isaiah 8:3. In the days of Jesus’ infancy Anna the prophetess dwelt in the temple, Luke 2:36. Philip’s four virgin daughters were all prophetesses, Acts 21:9. Deborah hailed from a lineage of godly women that the Lord used as mightily as any man.

 

Deborah was so esteemed among the people, that Barak would not go to war without her, though she informed him that God called him to battle and to victory, Judges 4:6-8. Barak did defeat Jabin, king of Canaan and his general Sisera, but his reluctance to obey lost him the glory of defeating Sisera in battle. Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, killed him through duplicity, Judges 4:21. This historical moment is a teaching moment, reflecting what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it,” 1 Corinthians 9:24. If we are too timid when called to service, rest assured others will respond in faith to God’s calling. And those others will reap the reward for services rendered. Barak lost his reward, so to speak, to Jael; God’s purpose would not be frustrated, and if Barak would not wholly lean on Him in faith, another would.

 

Gideon rose as a Judge in Israel after forty years of peace, with Barak and Deborah judging. His story is told between Judges chapters 6 through 8. Gideon certainly qualified as subduing kingdoms, working righteousness, becoming valiant in battle and turning to flight the armies of the aliens, in this instance Midian, who ruled over Israel seven years, Judges 6:1.

 

Gideon’s faith was one of evidential substantiation. Gideon encountered the Angel of the Lord, who encouraged him to follow Him, and to defeat Midian. To evidence that God was truly speaking to him, Gideon wanted to give an offering, which God accepted. In fact, He accepted it in such a spectacular manner that it was difficult to reach a wrong conclusion about God’s personal presence and calling. Gideon was commanded to profane the altar of Baal and Asherah, pilfering their offerings and using the material of their altar as fuel to burn the offering to the Lord, Judges 6:25, 26. Like Barak, Gideon still feared reprisal, both from his household, and the people of the city. Barak feared going alone into battle; Gideon feared retaliation for profaning the gods of Midian, which Israel in their captivity adopted, Judges 6:27.

 

Gideon further tested the Lord with the infamous fleece. Twice Gideon prayed to God for a sign; and twice God granted it by first soaking the fleece, and then keeping it dry overnight, Judges 6:36-40. Gideon asked, as James would have put it, in faith, James 1:6. He was not a double-minded man, or a man of two minds. Otherwise he would not have received his answer from God, James 1:7. Like Thomas, he required evidence to undergird his faith. Some, like John, need little, John 20:8. Some, like Thomas or Gideon, need more. All of us need something. Yes, the Christian faith is not substantiated blindly. That would be an oxymoron. Claiming that one’s faith is true (in anything real) sans evidence is to court delusion and fantasy. The Bible is grounded in fact and reality, riddled with evidences for its veracity, and open to public scrutiny. My fellow saints, do not be afraid of honest doubts; honest doubts drive us to find answers, and lead us into a closer walk with the Lord. It is when that doubt is actually a smokescreen to hide the absence of honesty or faith that it becomes dangerous. Those whose doubts lead them astray, and they turn from God for the rest of their lives proclaim by their actions that they never knew Him to begin with, just like the heroes of the faith in this chapter demonstrate knowing Him by their actions.