HEBREWS CHAPTER 11:32-40 HOWARD BUCK JULY 27, 2014

Hebrews 11: And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. 39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

“Hebrews 11:30-40 shows three ways in which courage demonstrates faith it: conquers in struggle continues in suffering counts on salvation” (John MacArthur) The people of this “hall of fame” we are exploring show all three of these outcomes

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." What are we without FAITH??? Faith is the opposite of the world system Although, I truly believe it takes more faith to believe in evolution than the Bible!!!

32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, The verse could open with; “Is there a need to say more”? Our author has elected to only mention a few more names and in summary what they accomplished:

Gideon: 300 men armed with torches and a rams horn defeated an army: “as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number” All this simply based on instructions from God Did that take a little faith???

Barak: At the urging of the Lord through His prophetess Deborah he went up against a large army that included 900 chariots and with only 10,000 men routed the entire army Samson: Commended here in the faith “hall of fame” not for his deeds or his mistakes but simply because he always believed God to be his only source of strength

Jephthah Conquered the Ammonites based solely on God’s command, trusting the Lord for his strength and power David The king who was referred to by God as “a man after My heart” Probably the best example of faith in the whole Bible

Samuel: Stood up to all of Israel condemning its idolatry and immorality – he was the last of the Judges The prophets: Too many for the author to list individually but to a man they stood up against those that opposed righteous living

33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Here is the summary of what these guys and some others accomplished Everything they did was based on their faith and the strength of the Lord

Conquering in Struggle: Joshua at Jericho – Rahab and the spies Gideon – Barak – Samson – David – Samuel and all of the prophets Now, Continuing in Suffering:

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; The suffering came when their loved ones died and of course during the torture These are the real people of faith, those that would endure torture to the point of death without denying their faith because of the promise of resurrection! Why, because they believed what God said

36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated While the author is discussing OT martyrs it is interesting to note that at the time of this writing the torture, mocking, scourging, imprisonment was still taking place and in certain parts of the world continues today!

38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. How would you like the Holy Spirit to have this: the world is not worthy, written as your epitaph?? Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Counts on Salvation 39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Looks like God reneged here?? They did not get the promise??... Let’s put this together:

1.They gained approval = they were believers based on faith in God 2.They did not receive the promise of the coming Christ, because He hadn’t come yet Consider our situation: Just like us, we haven’t received the promise of Christ’s return and all that die before the rapture won’t get that promise fulfilled until after death

…apart from us: Just means that without the cross and the resurrection, these OT believes could not complete their salvation The Holy Spirit could not indwell them because their sin was not yet paid for nor could they be redeemed prior to the cross

1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, Note: without the mercy (cross) and the resurrection, there is no inheritance Our OT saints had the promise but not the inheritance

This hall of fame is there for the purpose of giving us an example of what in almost every case is overwhelming faith in the face of what looked to be unsurmountable circumstances Put it together: The OT saints had amazing faith to face earthly circumstances while at the same time believing a promise of a future inheritance THAT IS WHY THESE PEOPLE ARE IN THE HEBREWS HALL OF FAME

AT THE SAME TIME: Look a these guys they are in the hall but look at their human frailties and sin and yet God still chose them, He stuck with them and long after their death He honors them with inclusion in the hall of fame Can God use us considering our human frailties?

John 20:29 ”Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” I always thought this only applied to the NT saints since we have never: Walked in the cool of the evening with God Spoke audibly with Him Didn’t experience the flood See the Egypt miracles Sit under the teaching of the living Christ See the empty tomb BUT…

After this study, I can see that this verse also applies to the OT saints just as much They didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit They didn’t have the completed Biblical text They didn’t have the confirmations of science and archeology Theirs was a great faith

Faith: Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen Trust: 1.Reliance; confidence in and reliance on good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor, or ability 2.Hope for the future; hopeful reliance on what will happen in the future In our belief system I believe the two are intertwined

You may remember: Chapter 11 = Faith Chapter 12 = Hope Chapter 13 = Love We have completed faith and now move to hope