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32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and 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. ~ Hebrews 11:32-34
Today, we return to our study of faith in Hebrews 11. This passage describes the faith of people who were used by God to bring His culture to us. History proves faith does not act blindly. It evaluates, it weighs the possibilities, and takes note of the faithfulness of the object that it trusts. Biblical faith takes educated risks in the God of the Bible!
In today's passage we read of notable people who maintained their faith in the God of the Bible. In these three verses, starting with the Judges, the writer of Hebrews rapidly moves us to the Old Testament prophets. His point: History has always made it clear that it is faith in the God of the Bible which ushers in His involvement in and through our lives. Described with great intensity are the difficulties and subsequent faith in the lives of these Old Testament believers. These believers endured life-and-death situations because they were convinced of the utter faithfulness of God.
When God sees fit to expose us to this intense type of pain described here, courage is required. There are six men mentioned in v.32, and they are not in chronological order, but they were all very critical to the nation of Israel establishing itself in the promised land. And, each of them required great courage for their faith in the God of the Bible to be demonstrated.
The first was Gideon who was a leader who made important decisions for the people Israel. Gideon faced a 135,000 man Midianite army and even though he began with a 32,000 man army, God paired it down to 300 men. For Gideon, all military strategy was out the window, because there is no military strategy by which 300 men can defeat 135,000 soldiers. Gideon was at the mercy of God who instructed him to gather pitchers used to pour water, trumpets, and torches. Then God told Gideon to go to the Midianite army armed with these three very important weapons. Gideon didn’t argue, and per God's instructions, he split his 300 men into three groups. At a certain strategic point, Gideon order the men to light their torches, and at the appropriate time, they were to smash their clay water pitchers. The breaking of the pitchers made so much noise, the sound reverberated in the dark. Then, the lights with the torches dispelled the darkness with such a bright light the Midianites were caused to be confused. And then, the men of Israel loudly sounded their trumpets. As a result the Midianites panicked, and, were subsequently defeated. That day Gideon vanquished the enemy and weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
Then, there was another man of battle, Barak, who had 10,000 men, and he was going against the massive force of Sisera the Canaanite commander. The odds were greatly against Barak, and, he had no way to win. But God, sent a message to Barak through a woman by the name of Deborah. Barak believed the message that God would give him the victory which was the message from God through Deborah. Gideon and Barak gained what was promised through their battles.
Then, we come to Samson, who demonstrated great courage in the God of the Bible. Samson rose to the place of leadership because of his prowess and his strength, and he was called by God to conquer the Philistines. He never feared to enter into battle. And he knew that his strength came from the Lord. The symbol of his strength was his Nazarite vow. Samson's strength came from the Lord, and he knew when he went into battle that at any moment that strength could disappear because he knew he did not deserved this power. At the end of his life, due to a series of poor choices that he made, Samson was compromised and bound by the Philistines. But, he recovered his strength and he went into the Philistine temple and brought it down on the Philistines.
The next name in today's list of faithful Old Testament believers is Jephthah who was driven away from his family as an adult because he was an illegitimate child. But, there came a day when the Israelites were about to fight the Ammonites and they requested Jephthah to fight for them. When life is hard one learns valuable lessons of making it, and for Jephthah, the difficulties in his life taught him to be dependent upon the Lord. After the people requested the help of Jephthah, he accepted their request and went out to battle. He crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. Jephthah's life teaches us God can use us regardless of our background.
The last list of names in today's passage are David and Samuel and the prophets. King David is the most notable here and his victory over Goliath is the most notable battle in all of the Old Testament. This teenage kid was used of God to deal with Israel's greatest enemy at that time. Goliath was intimidating for he was about 9 feet tall. When David went down into the valley to spar with Goliath, everyone laughed. But, David did not for he was not afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith. In fact, when we are giving into fear, we are going backwards. It is said that 85% of all things we fear never happen.
When we are living by faith in the God of the Bible, we are advancing. That day, David and Israel advanced because the day before this battle, David was pronounced to be the next king of Israel by Samuel. David had learned to be defined by God, and so, that day he went into battle against Goliath. And, when David went into the battle, he was armed with vision of and from God. Having shut the mouths of lions, that day David didn't see a giant, he saw a big target. Goliath presented himself a total of 80 times challenging Israel over a 40 day period of time. On day 40, David showed up and escaped the edge of the sword and like all of the others, his weakness was turned to strength.
David defeated Goliath because he remembered past victories of God. He remembered those many times that he protected the sheep in the wilderness from lions and bears. Fear in the present is conquered by recalling victories in the past. If we have a good memory and a sound theology, we are prepared for any battle. That day, David became powerful in battle.
David defeated Goliath because he realized his personal assets. That day, David had five smooth stones, which, due to their smoothness, were aerodynamic. And, when David hurled one of those stones, it hit Goliath at just the right spot and down he went. That day, God gave David the victory over the much more sizable Goliath.
David was prepared that day because he had done his homework, knowing Goliath had four brothers, which may have potentially retaliated against him after knocking Goliath down. Therefore, David chose five stones in order to prepare for his battle against Goliath and his very large brothers. And, that day, David took on his giants with a giant sized saturated soul of God.
David conquered Goliath that day because he was dependent upon God's power. He showed up referring to God. No one else that day discussed God. But, David talked about no one else but God. Goliath was not just attacking any old army, he was attacking the people of the LORD. That Day David came "in the name of the LORD" and he gained what was promised by God. If we are too slay giants, we must have a healthy respect for the God of the Bible. When God is magnified in our hearts, our fears are vanquished. The others could not win these battles because they compared Goliath's size to their size. As a result, they feared. David compared Goliath to God, and as a result, he increased in his faith in the God of the Bible and won the battle.
