Faith In Action

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, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 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. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 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 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. Hebrews 11:32-38

There have been so many who went before us on the pilgrimage of faith. The writer of The Letter to the Hebrew Christians indicated he could go on and on, but needed to state the principle and move on with his doctrinal exposition. There are accounts of numerous people of God; some heroic, some low-profile, who accomplished great things for their people by believing and obeying God’s Word in their particular circumstances. Well, he mentioned them, so we should at least get an idea who they were.

Gideon was an unlikely warrior whom God commissioned to deliver his people from the marauding Midianites. To prove it was God’s work and not man’s, Gideon’s army was reduced to 300 commandos, who defeated an overwhelmingly superior force. Judges 6-8

Barak headed up a punitive raid against a Canaanite chief, by request of Deborah, who was a Judge of Israel at the time. Judges 4,5

Samson, Judges 13-16, is one of the favorite Bible heroes to children. He was dedicated as a Nazarite by his parents. That required not shaving or cutting the hair, and total abstinence from alcohol. Samson was driven by his lusts, however, and became emotionally entangled with the harlot Delilah. She wheedled him into revealing that if his hair was cut, he’d lose his strength. Of course, she cut his hair and gave him over to the Philistines who made a helpless, blinded fool of him.
Samson’s strength was not in his hair. It was God’s gift to him. His hair was simply a symbol of his commitment to God’s will. The commitment went by the wayside when Delilah tempted Samson, and he became a whimpering weakling. He repented, though, and for the months he was imprisoned the hair grew. The Philistines brought him out for exhibition at a party, and that was Samson’s opportunity to destroy the temple of Dagon, kill himself and 1,000 Philistines in one final act of valor.

Jephthah was an outcast, a Robin Hood of a sort, when Israel needed a deliverer in the war with Ammon. His leadership of Israel was not a matter of pride to them, but of humiliation. He made a rash and unnecessary vow before a major battle, not knowing that his daughter would be the object of his keeping that vow. It reads like a human sacrifice, but the sacrifice was that she would never marry, which was a fate worse than death to a Jewish woman. Judges 11: 34-39. Jephthah was acting under the Spirit of God (v.29, 31). God did not require the killing of his daughter, nor would God have accepted that sacrifice. This incident is not the point of the commentary in Hebrews, but it is part of Jephthah’s story. These “heroes” of faith were mere men and women. They had old sin natures with areas of strength and weakness. Most of their stories lay bare all their flaws, as well as virtues. They knew God as their LORD and did their best, usually, to please Him. It was God’s faithfulness to His People that sustained them in their challenges. It was their faith in God that enabled them to face those challenges with inner courage and fortitude.

There was David, Israel’s greatest king, a man after God’s own heart. He grew from a youthful shepherd to become a mighty warrior and wise king. He had his famous flaws, but knew and loved God and understood the principle of repentance. He conquered nations and established orderly government after the failure of King Saul. He also wrote beautiful Psalms that we all love to memorize and quote. Jesus, the Messiah, was descended from David.

Samuel was the last Judge and first prophet of Israel. He had been dedicated to God by his mother and raised by Eli, the priest. After the period of the Judges left Israel without centralized leadership, they demanded a king. Samuel was the prophet who anointed that king, Saul. When Saul failed in his duty, Samuel anointed David to succeed Saul. Samuel was a great patriot of Israel and faithful spokesman for God, and was instrumental in the formation of Israel as a nation. I and II Samuel, I and II Kings and I and II Chronicles tell the stories of Samuel and David.

These mentioned by name were some of the well-known figures in Israel’s history, whose stories were told in every generation. Hebrews 11:36-38 Tells of many “others” who suffered persecution and death for their faith. Faith is the unifying and energizing force that motivates God’s elect.

God’s people are common, ordinary folk from all walks of life who believe in the One Who Provides. Why wouldn’t we? He always has.