Triumph Faith

Hebrews 11:32–35 ESV

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

When the Browns play, I honestly expect them to lose. Sorry Brown fans, I’m picking on you today. But let’s imagine this crazy scenario, the Browns are going to play and instead of the professional players showing up, there are instead little kids in uniform and the players are nowhere to be seen. Everyone is baffled, thinking it is a joke. The opposing team is not sure if they are supposed to play.

After much debate, it is determined that those are the players for the Browns. The opposing team's plan is to just pick up those kids and run the field like when they are playing with their kids. Furthermore, instead of 11 players for the Browns, there are only two little kids. Now you really want to watch this game because it is just crazy. In this scenario, it would be impossible for the Browns to win. However, the Browns with the two little kids win with a final score of 52-0.

This is an impossible outcome, similarly, this passage we will be studying today talks about scenarios of impossibility and that by faith the impossible came to fruition.

After 12 Sundays we have come very close to the end of chapter 11 and the end of the Faithful Hall of Fame, we have seen over and over throughout all of this chapter the many examples of what it means to put into practice the definition of faith given in v1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The author of Hebrews has shown us through several living examples that Biblical faith is made up of two convictions. A conviction of the future. A conviction so strong that makes one so sure of the future as if it were present. And a conviction of the invisible. This conviction makes one live as if the invisible reality were within reach.

Those who live by faith hear God’s Word and so believe that its future fulfillment is a present reality and visible to the spiritual eye. This is very important so let me repeat it. Those who live by faith hear God’s Word and so believe that its future fulfillment is a present reality and visible to the spiritual eye. This is not just a subjective idea, but it affects how one lives, and the author of Hebrews has given us already sixteen heroes who are living testimonies of this biblical faith.

The triumph of all of these men and women is that they were righteous, they pleased God, and they were people of whom God was not ashamed. All of them experienced triumphs over great difficulties.

Some see the verses that we are going to study as a final rush to end the list because he is running out of time. However, this is not a rush to end, but a rush of encouragement as the author quickly describes the empowerment that comes through faith to true believers as they need encouragement and empowerment to face the difficult times ahead. We should feel encouraged that the author cannot even create a full list and has not even finished all of the books of the Old Testament that would have contained additional men and women of faith. (I think of Naomi, Daniel, Ruth and Boaz or Hannah…)

The writer begins by listing half a dozen obvious winners who were empowered for victory: And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets v32”

The Power of Faith:

1. Faith is not limited by our limitations

We will look briefly at each person mentioned here in v32, the crucial thing for us to notice here is not the perfection of character or ability of these men, but the fact that faith was not limited by their limitations. It is the same for us. Our faith is much greater than our human selves and our faith can accomplish innumerable acts beyond our limitations. That is the power of faith, it is not limited to our limitations, it depends on God’s grace and power.

This list in verse 3? first mentions Gideon. Remember Gideon? What do you remember of Gideon?

Through God’s direction, Gideon experienced a remarkable outpouring of power for an incredible victory over the Midianites. At God’s direction, Gideon reduced his troops from 32,000 to 10,000 and then to only 300. Then the 300, armed with unusual weapons: trumpets and pitchers that concealed torches.

Judges 7:12 says “And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance”

Gideon’s feat was an astonishing act of faith. Likewise, Barak, one of the judges of Israel, obeying God’s word as given through Deborah, charged the great army of Sisera with its 900 chariots of iron and myriads of troops, Barak himself having only 10,000 men drawn from just two of Israel’s tribes, Naphtali and Zebulun ( Judges 4:6). But his insignificant army was victorious. Once again faith saved the day.

Normally, we do not think of Samson as a man of faith, rather we might picture him as someone with a questionable moral life, and someone who wasn’t that smart. But there was a hidden substance of faith in Samson. He knew God had given him the power to deliver his people from the Philistines—though he squandered it away. But once blinded, he regained his spiritual eyes, and in a great act of faith, he prayed and received strength to avenge himself and ultimately the Israelites? ( Judges 16:25–30).

I believe that you heard and know about Gideon and Samson. You probably were not sure about Barak one of the judges of Israel, you might remember Barak when I mentioned Deborah. I am highly confident that you know David and Samuel. However, Jephthah, I’m guessing that most of you don’t remember Jephthah. You probably had the same reaction that I had when I first looked at the names, wait a minute who is Jephthah.

Jephthah is not that known to us, he was one of the judges of Israel. His story is recorded in Judges 11, he was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Because he was an illegitimate son he was cast out of his father’s house. When there was trouble in Israel they went and called for Jephthah to be their leader and lead them to battle. He defeated the Ammonites. However, Jephthah is known for his foolish and infamous vow to sacrifice his own daughter if God would give him the victory. Jephthah had victory because of his faith in God, even though

his raw uninformed faith tragically was perverted so that it became the source of his rash and wrongful vow to sacrifice “ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me ” ( Judges 11:31).

King David, on the other hand, is well-known for his acts of faith, it was by faith that David challenged and defeated Goliath, remember what David said to Goliath, “ It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands ” ( 1 Samuel 17:47).

The prophet Samuel had lived a life of faith since he was a little “ boy wearing a linen ephod ” ( 1 Samuel 2:18), serving Eli in the house of the Lord. Through faith, he fearlessly delivered God’s word to anyone anywhere at any time —even King Saul was in rebellion against God ( 1 Samuel 15:22, 23).

This faithful proclamation was the hallmark of all true prophets. During the days of the judges, everyone did “ what was right in his own eyes ” ( Judges 21:25), and this standard was very much alive during the times of the kings of Israel and Judah. From Gideon to David, each battled overwhelming odds—Gideon with his 300 against an innumerable number—young David against the giant. Each stood alone against the world. And most significantly, perhaps, each of these heroes had a flawed faith.

A commentator remarked:

SLIDES

“There was none of them whose faith did not waver. Gideon was slower than he need have been to take up arms, and it was only with difficulty that he ventured to commit himself to God. Barak hesitated at the beginning so that he had almost to be compelled by the reproaches of Deborah. Samson was the victim of the enticements of his mistress and thoughtlessly betrayed the safety of himself and of all his people.

Jephthah rushed headlong into making a foolish vow and was over-obstinate in performing it, and thereby marred a fine victory by the cruel death of his daughter. And to this, we could add that David committed adultery and murder ( 2 Samuel 11:1), and Samuel lapsed into carelessness in domestic matters ( 1 Samuel 8:1.)”

“In every saint, there is always to be found something reprehensible. Nevertheless, although faith may be imperfect and incomplete it does not cease to be approved by God. There is no reason, therefore, why the fault from which we labor should break us or discourage us provided we go on by faith in the race of our calling. ”

Does this mean we can relax and do nothing? No, the same principle applies to what Paul says in Rom 6 “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom 6:1-2)

This is for our encouragement, it tells us there is hope for everyone who has genuine faith, but it is still a work in progress. That means even after years of following Jesus we still need His grace and mercy and His work in our hearts.

Faith’s empowerment is not beyond any of us.

As believers, we have available faith that will surprise not only others but, most of all, ourselves. We have no idea of the power and the ability that the Holy Spirit can do in us, changing us to be more and more like Jesus. In us, there is still work to be done, we are not perfect. But, with Christ in us, there is hope, life, and freedom.

The author of Hebrews is well aware of the imperfection of the people he just mentioned, so he switches the focus to the power of faith through them in v33-35.

Hebrews 11:33–35 ESV

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

The Power of Faith: 2. Faith empowers

The main point in all the verses for us today is that faith empowers. That could be attested to by every person that was mentioned in this list of the Faithful Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11.

To further strengthen his argument regarding the power that faith brings to life, the author of Hebrews changes the focus from the people to the accomplishments. Here the author mentions 9 things that faith empowers in three groups of three.

The first three are broader descriptions in v33 “through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises” The description here does not refer to the only few mentioned in v32, but to all the men and women that were mentioned in the Faithful Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11.

The second set of empowerment lists some more personal deliverances that they experienced: “33b stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,

Samson, David, and Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, all shut the mouths of lions through physical force. Samson, barehanded, took a charging lion by the jaws and ripped it apart. David grabbed a sheep-stealing lion by the beard and thrust it through. Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed another lion. But Daniel is the preeminent example, through his faith and prayer ( Daniel 6:17–22).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God, and even though they were thrown into the blazing furnace did not get burned, not even their hair. (Daniel 3) King David, as well as the prophets Elijah and Elisha, escaped the sword, as did many others ( 1 Samuel 18:10, 11; 1 Kings 19:8–10; 2 Kings 6:31, 32; Psalm 144:10).

34b were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection.

The last set of three empowerment points to the astonishing power that came from God through faith. First is that they were made strong out of weakness. Second, became mighty in war and put foreign armies to flight. Lastly, women received back their dead by resurrection.

The first two are very generic assertions, but they are the fulfillment of the promise of the blessings that Moses told the people in Deut 28,

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city”

The blessing continues then a few verses later it says

“7The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”

We could say that the promise of this blessing is very similar to what Hebrews says here were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Throughout the history of Israel, there were so many wars that they won not because they were mightier, but because God gave them victory. There were occasions when they didn’t even have to fight, the attacking army killed each other, other occasions the armies were destroyed because God sent hail to stop them. It is no wonder that God gave the victory to Gideon and his 300 men against a multitude.

Listen to what happened to this army during the time of the prophet Isaiah in 2 Kings 19:35

“And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies”

Remember when the army went to search and destroy the prophet Elisha? The King of Syria found out where Elisha was living, then he sent horses and chariots and a great army and then they surrounded the city. (2 Kings 6) This was a great army against one man, and they could not kill him, but the whole army was blinded and had to be led by the hand.

Then the last empowerment of faith has to deal with the strongest enemy of humanity, which is death itself. This was the foreshadowing of the ultimate victory of Jesus over death, but here the first part of v35 says Women received back their dead by resurrection.

Elijah stretched himself out three times on the dead body of the son of the widow of Zarephath and cried to God for his life—and then carried the child alive down to his distraught mother ( 1 Kings 17:17–24).

Elisha accomplished a similar feat for the Shunammite woman’s son— who was dead and Elisha brought the boy back to life ( 2 Kings 4:34).

All of this empowerment came through faith. This quick rundown was not because the author ran out of time, but because he wanted to give a great boost to the confidence of the hearers to hold fast. This was so crucial to the first readers because soon they were going to face great suffering under Nero’s hand.

The Power of Faith: 3. Faith pleases God

What these verses make clear to them and to us today is that God delights to bring mighty triumphs through people of faith. Faith pleases God, faith empowers, and faith is not limited by our limitations. God can do the impossible and He can deliver the faithful anytime He wants from the most impossible situations.

We might ask, why does faith please God? Because it takes the focus away from our own abilities and strength and places it directly on God. On His ability … His power … His glory. When faith is displayed it doesn’t exalt man, but it brings glory to God and exalt His name.

Noah’s family was delivered even though the whole world was diluted by the flood; the world was deluged with water and perished, but God saved Noah and his family. Moses and Israel walked through the Red Sea. Joshua and Israel crossed the Jordan River. Rahab survived when her whole town was destroyed. Gideon won the war when he was outnumbered beyond our understanding.

God can deliver us triumphantly from anything if he so pleases—sickness, injustices, family issues, the growing oppression of a culture that hates God and His Word. And He will do it again and again and again. But remember, it is always “ by faith ” in God and his Word. But the parallel truth is, God has not always promised deliverance in this life for his people and in every situation. When we study the next few verses it will be very clear that not all of us will be “ winners ” in this life. From the world’s point of view, some people of faith are huge “ losers. ”

We might lose the world but gain Christ. The Triumph of Faith is having Christ and like all the men and women in this Faithful Hall of Fame be righteous, people that please God.

Phil 3:7-11

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.