Six Final Examples

Introduction:

In this section of Hebrews, the writer has focused on illustrating faith through biblical examples.

He has taught.

Trust of God gets made visible through loyal action:

Worship Him the way He desires.

Value His Word.

Live looking forward to eternity rather than the present.

Trust the power of resurrection.

In part 1, we will look at what is happening at the end of this chapter, and we will think about two examples that may not be as familiar to us.

The Final Six: Breakdown

The structure, especially the sound structure, that begins in Heb. 11:33 is interesting by itself.

After the initial “who” statement, all the others begin with the “e” sound.

Actions 3& 5 both include στόματα as the secon word.

There seems to be no real order to what the writer of Hebrews lists.

The chronology of Judges through David is not observed strictly anymore, a real departure from everything above.

Then, there is no attempt to associate any specific individual with a particular act or attitude.

We might conclude, on safe grounds, that the verbs are meant to highlight the lessons.

He might be following Samuel’s recitation in 1 Sam. 12:6-11.

We might conclude this initial analysis by noting that faith does not make one sinless.

Gideon, Samson, David, and Samuel were not perfect individuals. They trusted God.

Barak and Jephthah were shocking as well.

Barak: Judges 4

Israel continued to sin against Jehovah by worshipping the Baals, so Judg. 4:2 establishes that God enslaved them to Jabin the king of Canaan.

Jabin had iron chariots and oppressed Israel for 20 years.

Deborah was the judge of Israel:

She didn’t just pass judgment on cases.

Like the other judges, she was a military leader too.

Judg. 4:6: she calls for Barak and gives him the command of the Lord.

Barak was to:

Gather men at Mt. Tabor.

Take 10k from Naphtali and Zebulun.

Not receive any glory from the victory (Judg. 4:7).

The victory over Sisera:

Judg. 4:12-22.

Introduction: Part 2

Even in Israel, those loyal to God were in the minority.

We cannot make the mistake of associating being part of the truth with a life of security and ease.

The evidence in this chapter alone points to the opposite.

Identity with Christ calls for the highest degree of loyalty, or it has no meaning at all.

What is this we have joined?

Be careful how we think of this chapter.

Jephthah

Israel, again, sinned against the Lord.

Spiritual conditions have worsened, and the quality of the judges has decreased.

This time, the Lord has brought Israel under the Ammonites.

Judges 10 establishes the conditions.

Jephthah did not come from a good background.

His mother was a prostitute (Judg. 11:1).

After his father married, his wife’s sons ran Jephthah off.

Jepthah agreed to return (Judg. 11:4-11).

He engaged in a historical dispute with the king of Ammon.

Jephthah sacrificed his own daughter (Judg. 11:29-40).

Jephthah had to face internal rebellion and civil strife between the tribes.

Notice Judg. 12:1-2.

Jepthah’s response: Judg. 12:2-3.

Two Others

After the women who received their dead from raising, although this is not the same kind of resurrection, the writer lists two “others.”

Type 1: They were beaten not accepting redemption so they might obtain a better resurrection.

This seems to differentiate between types of resurrection in the biblical fashion.

The writer also seems to have in mind something Paul longed for in Philippians 3, namely, the experience of the resurrection. Rather than being able to take up their earthly lives again through compromise, they would rather move on to the better resurrection.

Type 2: They experienced insults and whipping and still bonds and imprisonment.

Type two remains in suspension until the disruption of thought.

Note the asymmetry between the way they lived and who they were.

The world was not worthy of them.

They were the nameless minority about whom there may not even be a mention in scripture.

They all were witnessed through faith, but they did not receive the promise.

At the conclusion, the writer of Hebrews brings the converation back to his audience.

Why are we included alongside them?

God foresaw something better concerning us.

This does not mean that we are superior to them, per se.

It could mean that God considered us worthy to be included with them, and he did not fulfill the promise for them without us.

This theme fits with the broader context of Hebrews as the writer has explained the superior sacrifice and authority of Jesus, to whom we belong.