Hebrews 11:30-40

Abel - faith worshipping

Enoch - faith walking

Noah - faith working

Abraham - faith waiting

Moses – faith warring

Joshua and Rahab - faith winning

Joshua’s faith:

daring

obedient

patient

anticipating

Rahab - TRUE FAITH

Rahab is saved unto good works

Rahab:

protected the spies

put the cord in the window

won her family to the Lord

Result:

she was delivered from judgement

she became part of the nation of Israel

she gave birth to Boaz

she became part of the ancestry of Jesus Christ!

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)

Rahab knew very little spiritual truth, but she acted on what she did know.

Rahab overcame:

“I don’t know much about Jehovah (the Bible)”

“I am too bad to be saved”

“What will my family think?”

Gideon and Barak faltered in their faith

Judges 6:11-7:25 and Judges 4:1 - 5:31

Samson: He was used mightily of the Lord to defeat the Philistines. Yet he never lived up to his potential, and had a tragic ending to his life after being enticed by Delilah (Judges 13-16).

Jephthah: He was used of God to defeat the Ammonites. Yet Jephthah made a foolish vow and stubbornly kept it (Judges 11).

David: The great king of Israel was a remarkable man of faith. Yet he also failed with Bathsheba and with his own children.

Each one of these were men of faith, yet had notable areas of failure in their life. Still, Hebrews 11 commends their faith and lists them in the “Hall of Faith.” This shows that weak faith is better than unbelief, and you don’t have to be perfect to make it into God’s “Hall of Faith.”

Women who received their dead raised to life again: The Old Testament mentions at least two who fit this description, the widow of Zarepheth (1 Kings 17) and the Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37)

All is well.

BUT — not all were delivered and/or healed (Hebrews 11:36-38)

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)

In fact, it takes more faith to endure than it does to escape

V38 - God’s estimate vs man’s estimate

Man tortures and mocks them

God says the world is not worthy of them!

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)

Faith enables us to turn from the approval of the world and seek only the approval of God.

“God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (v40). No one was “made perfect” under the Old Covenant, because Christ had not yet died. They were saved, but not until Jesus’ work on the cross was complete could salvation be perfect.

Their salvation looked ahead to what Christ would do. Ours looks back to what he has done—and ours is "more" perfect now but someday in glory totally perfect. Amen.

Many of them never received the land. Sometimes they had earthly victory; sometimes they did not. Sometimes their faith saved them from death; sometimes it brought them death. No matter. They knew that God had provided something better.

Does our faith have the power to affect our lives?

Is our faith affecting the world?

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)

Lord, increase our faith!