The Hallway of Faith
Hebrews 11
Contents:
Also see:
Introduction
(Heb 11:24-26 NIV) By faith Moses, when he had
grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. {25} He chose
to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a short time. {26} He regarded disgrace for the sake of
Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking
ahead to his reward.
(Heb 11:31-34 NIV) By faith the prostitute
Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were
disobedient. {32} And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, {33} who
through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was
promised; who shut the mouths of lions, {34} 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.
Preaching about Moses, Gideon, Rahab, Barak, Samson and
Jephthah as people of faith is a sermon that every preacher needs to preach at
least once in his life. Most of us would not dare unless for the fact that
these people were named in Heb 11. And so we believe that the Holy Spirit has
his reasons for including such unlikely people in the hallway of faith. These
people all had their flaws as well as faith. Through faith, their weakness was
turned into strength, Heb 11:34. I believe that through the lives of these
people, God is giving us encouragement and hope to persevere in the faith. Even
though we perceive ourselves as being weak, yet it is our faith in a God, who
is greater than us, that makes us great, and that comes through the obedience
that comes by faith.
(Rom 15:4 NIV) For everything that was written
in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
In this day, we live by faith in a God who is unseen, but it
is not blind faith, we see in the lives of God's people, how God dealt with
them. The people in Heb never found what they were looking for, they only saw
it afar off. We are the same we are looking for something better. A place where
God will dwell with us, and where there will be no more pain and suffering.
(Rev 21:3-5 NIV) And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God. {4} He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away." {5} He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making
everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true."
We do not see this yet, just like the ancients did not see
it. But based on the testimony of the bible we look forward to something better
than our life on earth. Our faith and hope is in God and in Jesus Christ who
rose from the dead. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead our
faith is futile.
(Heb 11:24-26 NIV) By faith Moses, when he had
grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. {25} He chose
to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a short time. {26} He regarded disgrace for the sake of
Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking
ahead to his reward.
Now most people would agree that at least Moses should be in this list.
- He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter
- He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a short time
- He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the
treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Moses sounds a great man of faith in the NT. But compare it to the OT text.
(Exo 2:11-15 NIV) One day, after Moses had grown
up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard
labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. {12}
Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid
him in the sand. {13} The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He
asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
{14} The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking
of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and
thought, "What I did must have become known." {15} When Pharaoh heard
of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live
in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
- He was a murderer
- He was afraid
- He fled from Pharaoh to Midian and stayed there 40 years until Pharaoh died
Gideon the "doubting Thomas" of the OT
What shall we say about Gideon? The angel of the LORD
appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
Judg 6:12. If we look at Gideon, he was a wimp. He was the "doubting
Thomas" of the OT, he wanted a sign. In all he asks for three signs.
- Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they
said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has
abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Judg 6:13
- He wanted a sign that the angel of the Lord was really talking to him, Judg
6:17 , he got it Judg 6:21
- He had to tear down his fathers alter to Baal. He did it at night rather
than in the daytime, because he was afraid of his family and the men of the
town. Judg 6:27
- He needed another sign that the Lord will save Israel by his hand, Judg
6:36
- The Lord gives him a sign and then he asks for another sign, Judg 6:39, the
Lord gives him a sign Judg 6:40
In fairness to Gideon we should note that he did not live through the
wonders of God himself, his fathers had, but he had not. He needed to know the
Lord for himself.
(John 20:24-26 NIV) Now Thomas (called Didymus),
one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. {25} So the
other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to
them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where
the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
{26} A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with
them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
"Peace be with you!"
Now Thomas wanted a sign, he wanted a sign that the Lord had
risen from the dead. He wanted evidence, physical evidence. He wanted to see
the Lord alive with his own eyes and to feel the marks of his nails with his
own hands. He wanted the evidence of his senses, his eyes and hands.
(John 20:27-31 NIV) Then he said to Thomas,
"Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into
my side. Stop doubting and believe." {28} Thomas said to him, "My
Lord and my God!" {29} Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen
me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed." {30} Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of
his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. {31} But these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name.
We are much like Gideon, we rely on second hand testimony,
he relied on the testimony of those who had seen God's mighty works with their
own eyes. Thomas also had secondhand testimony, those of the disciples who had
seen Jesus after the resurrection. However Jesus pronounces a blessing on those
who have not seen with their physical eyes and yet believe. Much like Gideon we
only have the historical testimony about Jesus. The people at the time wrote
down the biography of Jesus and the history of the early church. We cannot feel
with our hands the historical Jesus, but we can believe on him based on the
testimony of eye witnesses.
In our day we have the eye witness testimony or evidence of
those who knew Jesus. John concludes hits own testimoney about Jesus by saying:
John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs
in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. John
20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John notes that Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the
presence of his disciples. These are not all recorded. But the ones that are
recorded are so that you can believe that Jesus was whom he said he was. And so
that you can receive eternal life. For those of you wanting evidence for the
existence of God we have it here, it is historical evidence. You may want more
and God does give some people more evidence, but for most of us the historical
evidence is sufficient. The point is that God has given us evidence for his
existence, it may not be in a form that we like, but, it is still evidence.
I well remember being a juror in a court. I wanted further
evidence about something the defense had said. I sent the judge a note, I
wanted more evidence. I had to go back to the room for jurors, then we came
out. The judge said that the only evidence I could have was the evidence that
had been produced in the court. In other words it was the testimony that I had
heard, no more evidence would be produced. I looked at the judge and I was not
happy with his answer, sure I wanted more evidence. As a jury member I had to
give my verdict with less evidence than I wanted. For many years I was annoyed
with that judge, why couldn't he give me more evidence, for years I struggled
with my decision so give my verdict on the prisoner of "not guilty".
Was I right or was I wrong? Some of you are struggling with the decision about
whether to believe in Jesus or not. You struggle with the evidence. I know that
in English law a man is innocent until proved guilty.
Luke was also a careful historian. He had carefully investigated the
eyewitness testimony of those who knew Jesus.
(Luke 1:1-4 NIV) Many have undertaken to draw up
an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, {2} just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and
servants of the word. {3} Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated
everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, {4} so that you may know the
certainty of the things you have been taught.
Luke's objective was so that Theophilus might know the
certainty of the things he had been taught. The Christian faith is based on
evidence, historic evidence. The testimony of men and women who experienced
God's dealings with them. That testimony is recorded in the bible. For those
worried by bible difficulties see
here.
Christianity was started by people who were eye witnesses to the fact of
Jesus resurrection.
(Acts 2:32 NIV) God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are
all witnesses of the fact.
Acts 3:15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from
the dead. We are witnesses of this.
(1 Cor 15:3-7 NIV) For what I received I passed
on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the
Twelve. {6} After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers
at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen
asleep. {7} Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
And what can be said about Rahab? She was a HARLOT a
prostitute. Both the OT and NT make it clear that she was a prostitute, not an
innkeeper like some say. However, James uses Rahab as an example of a person
who had faith and works (Jam 2:2:24-26). He hardly condones the fact that she
was a prostitute because uses the expression "was not even Rahab
the prostitute". It was her faith put into practise that saved her from
destruction along with the rest of Jericho
(Josh 2:1 NIV) Then Joshua son of Nun secretly
sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said,
"especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a
prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
(James 2:24-26 NIV) You see that a person is
justified by what he does and not by faith alone. {25} In the same way, was not
even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave
lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? {26} As the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Rahab and her family was saved from destruction because she hid the spies.
(Josh 6:25 NIV) But Joshua spared Rahab the
prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the
men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to
this day.
But she hid the spies for a reason. Her faith was based on evidence, it was
not 'blind' faith.
(Josh 2:9-12 NIV) and said to them, "I know
that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has
fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because
of you. {10} We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for
you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings
of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. {11} When we
heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you,
for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. {12} Now
then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family,
because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
She knew that the Lord was with them, she had heard how the
Lord had dried up the Red Sea, she had heard what they did to Sihon and Og. Her
faith was based on evidence. Just as our faith is based on the historical
evidence of the bible. Her faith was not blind faith and neither should ours
be. If Jesus did not historically, physically rise from the dead then our faith
and preaching is useless, 1 Cor 15:14. The idea that the Christian faith is
'blind' faith is stupid as well as dangerous. Faith must be based on objective
evidence. Rahab's faith was based on what she had heard about the Israelites
and their God. The Christian faith is based on historical evidence and the
teaching of the apostles as recorded in the bible. For an article on Fallacious
Faith see here.
She also confessed her faith in the true God:
Josh 2:11b ...for the LORD your God is God in
heaven above and on the earth below.
She also asks the spies to swear by their LORD, and she is also putting her
trust in the same LORD to save the lives of her and her family.
(Josh 2:12-13 NIV) Now then, please swear to me
by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown
kindness to you. Give me a sure sign {13} that you will spare the lives of my
father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and
that you will save us from death."
Her faith was not just dead intellectual faith, her faith resulted in
action. She hid the spies and sent the kings men off in a different direction.
(James 2:24-26 NIV) You see that a person is
justified by what he does and not by faith alone. {25} In the same way, was not
even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave
lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? {26} As the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Part of the deal with Joshua's spies was to tie a scarlet cord in the window
and to bring her family into the house.
(Josh 2:17-18 NIV) The men said to her,
"This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us {18} unless, when
we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which
you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your
brothers and all your family into your house.
She risked her life because of her faith. If she had been caught hiding the
spies she would be in big trouble with the king of Jericho.
(Josh 2:3 NIV) So the king of Jericho sent this
message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your
house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
As a result of her faith and action her whole family was saved.
(Josh 6:23-25 NIV) So the young men who had done
the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers
and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in
a place outside the camp of Israel. {24} Then they burned the whole city and
everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze
and iron into the treasury of the Lord's house. {25} But Joshua spared Rahab
the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid
the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites
to this day.
Rahab then lived among the Israelites (Jos 6:25). Rahab
married Salmon of the line of Judah (Mat 1:5). Rahab was the mother of Boaz
whose great grandson was king David from whom Jesus descended.
(Mat 1:5-6 NIV) Salmon the father of Boaz, whose
mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the
father of Jesse, {6} and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father
of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
See also Rahab's Faith by C. H.
Spurgeon
What can we say about Barak that mighty man of battle? He was so full of
faith that he refused to go into battle without Deborah.
(Judg 4:4-9 NIV) Deborah, a prophetess, the wife
of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. {5} She held court under the
Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and
the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. {6} She sent for
Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD,
the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of
Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. {7} I will lure Sisera,
the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon
River and give him into your hands.'" {8} Barak said to her, "If you
go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." {9}
"Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of
the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD
will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh,
And what can be said about Samson? He was a WOMANISER.
(Judg 16:1 NIV) One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a
prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
(Judg 16:4 NIV) Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in
the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
Samson did again exercise faith, but his story as part of Judges is not
exactly a high point in Israelite history.
(Judg 16:28 NIV) Then Samson prayed to the LORD,
"O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once
more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two
eyes."
What can we say about Jephthah? He was that silly man who vowed to sacrifice
the first thing that came out his door as a burnt offering if the Lord gave him
victory.
(Judg 11:30-31 NIV) And Jephthah made a vow to
the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, {31} whatever comes
out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the
Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt
offering."
And guess who came out to greet him? Yes, his only child, his virgin
daughter.
(Judg 11:34-40 NIV) When Jephthah returned to
his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing
to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had
neither son nor daughter. {35} When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried,
"Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have
made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break." {36} "My father,"
she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you
promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.
{37} But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to
roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." {38}
"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the
girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. {39} After
the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed.
And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom {40} that each year
the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of
Jephthah the Gileadite.
Did he go ahead with it?
Did He (Gulp!) Go Through With It?
The final and ultimate question is: Did Jephthah actually go
through with a human sacrifice? Many commentators think so, but the text points
in another direction. We note, along with the incongruities cited by
Miller above, that
Jeppie's daughter spent some time in the wilderness bewailing the fact that she
would always be a virgin and never have children. This sounds like Temple
service to me! It's either that, or a kid with wrong-headed or peculiar
priorities:
J'S DAUGHTER: Oh, boo-hoo! Daddy is going to sacrifice me tomorrow!
FRIEND: How awful!
DAUGHTER: Yes, but you know what the worst part is? I'm ALWAYS going to be a
virgin!BOOO-HOOOOOO!
Furthermore, Jeppie's own misery is perfectly
understandable; as Miller explains: "As the only child, and if given to
the priest in this fashion, Jephthah's entire estate would go to someone
else." As important as this was in the ANE, small wonder Jeppie was upset!
That vow cost him not only his daughter's life with him at home (and since he
was thrown out of his own house, that made the companionship all the more
valuable to him), but any chance he had of giving his property to a true
descendant.
We therefore conclude that while Jeppie was not a
particularly bright fellow, he neither promised nor committed a human sacrifice
in this instance. We can surmise that there is a bit of literary
"trickery" here...the abrupt ending of the account and the
non-specific "he did to her as he vowed" is perhaps designed to shock
the reader and make them wonder, "Hey...did he? He didn't!" This
would be in perfect keeping with the purpose of Judges as a mirror of Israelite
moral anarchy in this period. The reader is shown in various places how bad
things got; and this story easily encourages one to wonder just indeed how bad
things did get. It is yet another case of the Bible, the Word of God, forcing
us to take a long, hard look at ourselves, warts and all.
taken from Jephthah and
Daughter: Bad News for the Firstborn? by J P Holding
Glenn Miller comments on Jepthah's daughter....
Most commentators believe that Jephthah literally killed and
burned his daughter on an altar somewhere, and that this human sacrifice was
condoned by God (since it was a vow thing). It seems to me that this is
probably NOT the case--there are just two many incongruities in the
text/context for that. Consider:
Literal "burnt offerings" HAD TO BE male (Lev 22.18-19).
Jephthah's daughter obviously wasn't.
What did Jeff THINK would come out of a house? Not animals! He must have
known that only a human would have come out.
Human sacrifice was STRICTLY forbidden (Dt 12.31) and we
have NO record of it being practiced (even in horrible Judges-period Israel) by
mainstream Israel during this period.
The lament for the daughter is about 'not marrying' NOT
about 'not living'--it makes me wonder if some kind of religious celibacy is
not in view. (Maybe the women at the Entrance to the Tent were celibate--Ex
38.8--living as widows in Israel later did on Temple payrolls.)
Verse 39 calls his action a 'vow'. Lev 27.28 (coupled
with 27.21) allowed people to be given over the Lord, who became servants of
the Priests. As devoted to the Lord's service, some of them probably did NOT
marry (cf. the Nazarite vow, in its restriction on becoming 'unclean' for
family members (Num 6.7) omits the words 'husband' or 'wife'...perhaps it was
sometimes involving celibacy. The only Nazies we know, though, were
married--Samuel and Samson)
As the only child, and if given to the priest in this fashion,
Jephthah's entire estate would go to someone else.
We have the VERY parallel case of Hannah and Samuel. She
takes a vow, and offers her son to the Lord for all his life. (I Sam 1-2), and
such vows did NOT allow the person to be redeemed with money (Lev 27.28-29).
Burnt offerings were ALWAYS associated with
condemnation/evil--not thanksgiving and vows. Even the one non-literal use of
it in Dt 13.16 (in which a town is offered as a burnt offering) involves abject
judgment/condemnation--NOT at all in view in the Jephthah passage.
He would have had to offer her at some cultic site,
which would have had a priest. I cannot imagine a priest (even those as lax as
elsewhere in the book of Judges) that would have agreed to perform a human
sacrifice!
What I have to conclude from this passage is that
Jephthah is using 'burnt offering' in a general 'offering' sense, and
that he is meaning an 'irredeemable vow' as a thank-offering, along the line of
Hannah/Samuel. This is the only way to make sense of all the particulars.
(Interestingly, Jephthat is surprisingly literate—his knowledge of
biblical history,evidenced in the letter to his adversary, shows that he knows
the mosaic history—he WOULD have known how bad a literal human sacrifice
would have been.)
Taken from Women in
the Heart of God by Glenn Miller
Conclusion: all these people exhibited faith, but the bible records their
weaknesses as well.
Book: Believing
God by R. T. Kendall (30 sermons on Hebrews 11 preached at Westminster
Chapel)
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