Hebrews 11:32-40
5. \\#Heb 11:32-38\\ The Roll Call of Faith (part 3)-This last section
of the roll call will feature non-specific examples of those who
believed God’s promises, often enough to suffer and die for them.
a. Specific names but non-specific actions
(1) Gedeon (Gideon) - lead Israel to defeat the Midianites with
only 300 men (Judges 6-8).
(2) Barak (Judges 4-5) - With Deborah the prophetess, lead Israel
in victory over Sisera and the Canaanites.
(3) Samson (Judges 13-16) - Gave Israel victory over the
Philistines.
(4) Jephthae (Jephthah) - Deliverer from the Ammonites
(Judges 11-12).
(5) David - David who waited for God while being hunted by King
Saul and ruled Israel for forty years, expanding its borders
further than they had ever been or will be until Jesus Christ
Himself comes to rule.
b. Non-specific names but specific actions-We can only guess at who
the author of the book was thinking of, but we definitely see a
long list of those who stood by faith no matter what the cost.
(1) \\#32\\ "the prophets" - Generally, all of these actions
will be attributed to the prophets, those who stood to
proclaim the Word of God to a people who did not want to hear
from God.
(2) Those who "subdued kingdoms."
(3) Those who "wrought righteousness."
(4) Those who "obtained promises."
(5) Those who "stopped the mouths of lions." Sounds like Daniel
\\#Daniel 6:1-28\\.
(6) \\#34\\ Those who quenched the violence of fire." Perhaps
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego \\#Daniel 3:1-30\\.
(7) Those who "escaped the edge of the sword."
(8) Those who "out of weakness were made strong."
(9) Those who "waxed valiant in fight."
(10) Those who "turned to flight the armies of the aliens."
(11) \\#35\\ "Women received their dead raised to life again"
There are several of these.
(a) \\#1Kings 17:17-24\\ The widow’s son by Elijah.
(b) \\#2Kings 4:18-35\\ The Shunammite’s son by Elisha.
(c) \\#Luke 7:12-17\\ A widow’s son by Jesus.
(d) \\#Mark 5:35-42\\ Jairus’ daughter by Jesus.
(e) Other resurrections are mentioned but these four
specifically mention the mother of the resurrected.
(12) "others were tortured, not accepting deliverance"
(a) The implication is that they could have been delivered
if they had recanted their faith in God or His word.
(b) Instead, they opted for "a better resurrection." That
is probably a reference to a better place or reward in
the resurrected life (heaven).
(13) \\#36\\ "And others had cruel mockings and scourgings…
bonds and imprisonment"
(14) \\#37-38\\ Some "were stoned."
(15) \\#37\\ Some were "sawn asunder." Tradition says Isaiah was
cut in half from top to bottom).
(16) They "were tempted… slain with the sword… wandered about
in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented"-These last phrases could refer to individuals
that were on the writer’s mind at the time or it could refer
to the many who endured such threats daily in that time.
(17) \\#38\\ "(Of whom the world was not worthy;)-The writer
adds a comment, no doubt shared by both himself and the Holy
Spirit, before continuing with his list.
(18) "they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth."
6. \\#Heb 11:39-40\\ But These Were Required to Wait
a. \\#39\\ "And these all… received not the promise"-The writer
re-emphasized what he stated in \\#11:13\\.
(1) The writer wants his readers to understand that a walk by
faith is not always vindicated in this life.
(2) Sometimes, we live our whole life waiting for God to fulfill
a promise.
b. "And all these, having obtained a good report"-Even though they
did not receive the completed fulfillment, they did walk by faith
and thus earn a good testimony before their peers and a reward
from their God.
c. \\#40\\ "God having provided some better things for us"
(1) That "better thing" was the New Covenant.
(2) All those Old Testament saints waited for what God has
given to us—-a crucified Lord, a slate cleaned of sin, a
home in glory—and all of the other aspects of the new
covenant which we now enjoy.
d. "that they without us should not be made perfect"-
(1) God has always planned a two-covenant system.
(2) God did not give the completed work of grace under the first
covenant because He did not want them to have it all, leaving
us—the post-cross covenant—with nothing special.
(3) Hence, while the Old Testament saints had much to be thankful
to God for, we have the better covenant and the greater
blessing.
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