Today we hear a lot about the “health and wealth gospel.” These preachers try to tell us that if we have enough faith then we shouldn’t get sick and we will live in prosperity. Some go so far as to say that if we “name it and claim it” God is obligated to give it to us. This has not only affected believers in the United States, but around the world.
A third-world pastor Dieudonne Tamfu and a recent professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary defines prosperity theology like this:
The prosperity gospel is an idolatrous perversion of the gospel according to which Jesus is a means to God’s full blessings, primarily of wealth, health, and might, now available to those who trust and obey certain faith principles prescribed by a particular man of God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-gods-of-the-prosperity-gospel, accessed 5/20/24)
In prosperity theology the God of heaven has been reduced by the religious con artists to nothing more than a dispenser of gifts that gratify the basest lusts of men, and a god that can be manipulated by positive thinking.
The Christian life in America has become synonymous with prosperity, so that any failures, illnesses, or tragedies are ruled to be outside the sovereignty of God, and beneath the dignity of the Christian. But faith is not a magic button to get God to do what you want him to do.
None of this modern teaching finds any resemblance to Hebrews 11, or the balance of Scripture for that matter. We err when teaching of faith only in terms of some tangible success or accomplishment. Faith is just as active, just as real, and just as powerful when all circumstances are unfavorable, when we face deep personal loss, when our enemies appear to conquer us, and when all hope of comfort and happiness are gone.
Yes, we should have faith enough to secure a “yes” from God, even in impossible situations. But we must also have faith enough to endure a “no” from God, trusting Him still not only when He gives, but when He takes away.
Again, faith in Christ is just as active, just as real, and just as powerful when all our earthly circumstances and experiences are distasteful, when we experience deep personal loss, when our enemies overwhelm us, and when all hope of comfort and external peace are gone. Faith takes us through the rivers of woe, through the fiery furnace of adversity, over the hills of difficulty, and through many stormy seas.
Both kinds of faith receive God’s approval. Notice v. 39, at the end of this passage in Hebrews 11.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised…
Now the “all these” includes everyone mentioned in Hebrews 11, but in particular the two groups of people mentioned in vv. 32-34a and vv. 34b-38. One group experienced miraculous victories and deliverances, but the other group did not. Yet, all of them were commended for their faith. You see, faith is not measured by whether we get what we ask for or by whether we succeed in what we do. Rather, faith trusts God and submits to His will, in spite of the results, in view of a greater reward.
Remember verses 1 and 6 in Hebrews 11 say, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” …“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Faith in God, the eternal God who is faithful to all His promises, looks beyond this life. It doesn’t put all of its emphasis on whether God “come through” in the here and now. Faith believes that the best is yet to come!
The writer of Hebrews in the 11th chapter has been providing his original audience (and us) with one example of faith after another. He has selectively displayed different individuals and their faith-based actions in chronological order, beginning with Abel, the son born to Adam and Eve. In verses 32-40, he focuses on the periods of the judges, kings, prophets and beyond.
This passage is bracketed by the words “through faith” in verse 33 and “through their faith” in verse 39.
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. 35a Women received back their dead by resurrection.
That all sounds great, doesn’t it. These people, “through faith” were victorious and successful and experienced miraculous deliverances. But that isn’t the whole picture of people of faith.
But in the middle of verse 35 we start to find situations in which people did not get delivered, did not experience victory or health or prosperity.
Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy–wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And our author summarizes this whole chapter, again emphasizing the hope for future reward:
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Our text falls into three portions:
- In verses 32-35a, he shows how sometimes God blesses those who trust in Him with spectacular answers to prayer.
- But without even catching his breath, in the middle of verse 35 he shifts direction to show (11:35b-38) that sometimes God blesses those who trust Him with the grace to endure horrible persecutions and difficulties without wavering.
- He then concludes (11:39-40) by showing that God will definitely bless all who trust Him with eternal rewards.
This is our author’s crescendo and conclusion.
God blesses some who trust Him with the power to secure spectacular results.
Our author begins this portion with a rhetorical question: “And what more shall I say?” Need he add more examples of faith? Need he say anything more to prove the necessity and effectiveness of faith? He admits that he does not have the space or time to do it, “For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets…”
By mentioning these men we see that God’s grace allows flawed people to accomplish great things for God. Even our flaws cannot prevent God’s grace from accomplishing some great things through us! Each individual that the writer mentioned was far less than perfect, as is every believer today. Yet God approved the faith of each one—no matter how weak or frail.
Leon Morris points out: “Gideon was slow to take up arms; Barak hesitated and went forward only when Deborah encouraged him; Samson was enticed by Delilah; and Jephthah made a foolish vow and stubbornly kept it.”
Four of these men were identified in the book of Judges, during that period when “every man did what was right in his own eyes,” and faith appeared to be almost non-existent. But here’s the reality: Although all five of these men had serious shortcomings, God still honored their faith. When they expressed their faith in God, God honored that. He came through.
Ellingworth comments: “The order of names here may be understood if they are read as three pairs, Gideon-Barak, Samson-Jephthah, David-Samuel, the more important member of each pair being named first” (Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews (New International Greek Testament Commentary, p. 623)
Gideon did lead Israel in victory over the Midianites and he did express faith in God that his 300 men could defeat the Midianite army of 135,000, but when God originally approached Gideon, he was hiding in the winepress to escape the notice of the Midianites. At that point “the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). Gideon was anything but a “mighty man of valor” at this point. He was hiding out of fear.
Then, when God called him to “save Israel from the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:14), Gideon made excuses (Judges 6:15). Even though God promised to be with him, Gideon tested God two times, asking him to make a sheepskin wet with dew while the ground was dry and then to make the ground wet with dew while the sheepskin remained dry.
But, in Judges 7 Gideon led his 300 men (which God had pared down a couple of times from 22,000 to 10,000 to 300) in victory against the Midianites. That took faith and God provided the victory. Gideon would know that he could not possibly win on the strength of his army, but totally relied on the strength of God. Gideon’s feat was an act of faith with spectacular results.
Barak also led Israel to victory, however he seems to do so on the coattails of Deborah. Barak, who was from the tribe of Naphtali and led the Israelites against Jabin’s forces, was better than most of the judges who came after him. Yet, he was no paragon of faith. God spoke through Deborah, telling Barak to lead men from Naphtali and Zebulun against Sisera, Jabin’s general, and the Canaanite forces. Moreover, Barak was promised victory (Judges 4:6-7). However, Barak resisted, saying that he would go only if Deborah went with him (v. 8). The promise of God was insufficient for him, evidencing a lack of faith on his part. Deborah consented to go with him, but she told Barak that in the victory to come, he would not receive the glory (v. 9). God can use people even when their faith is less than perfect, but we lose out on those blessings ourselves when we doubt His promises. God can give victory, even when our faith is less than perfect.
I hope that is encouraging to you. God can still use your little faith to accomplish His will.
By the way, just let me remind you that for all his faith in building the ark, Noah got stone cold drunk! Abraham twice lied about who Sarah was in order to save his own skin. Jacob was known as the deceiver and is perhaps most famous for having stolen his older brother’s birthright. Moses committed murder. All of these men of faith were less than perfect.
Samson routed the Philistines on several occasions, but his whole life rarely evidenced any faith in God, until the very end. Samson was victorious over the Philistines men; it was the women that tripped him up.
Jephthah was the son of a harlot, initially driven away by his half-brothers. But later, the elders of his hometown pled with him to return and lead them in battle against the enemy. He did win a great victory, but then made a rash vow to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house when he returned home from battle and that happened to be his only daughter. I mean, what did he expect to come out of the house to greet him? The vow was foolish, but he ended up keeping it.
One wonders why God would put a man like Jephthah into a list of faith heroes. In our minds hard to reconcile such an act with Hebrews 11:32 and its record of Jephthah’s being a man of faith. Yet we should note that the author of Hebrews is giving an evaluation of Jephthah with respect to his military victories, not this specific incident. In Scripture—as in the world today—people who trust in God also sometimes commit awful sins. That is not to excuse our transgressions. Jephthah should have repented of his rash vow and not killed his daughter, for God does not want us to fulfill vows that break His commandments. We can be grateful that God’s grace covers all of our sin when we trust in Christ, but that gives us no license for evil. (https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/jephthahs-rash-vow)
The writer does not go into all the details about what these men did. But if we examine the OT record, we find that each man battled against overwhelming odds so that, humanly speaking, there was little chance of his coming out on top. (Frank E. Gæbelein, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12, 129-30)
“Hearts of iron, feet of clay” is a phrase coined by Gary Inrig to describe many of these Old Testament heroes. And no one fits that moniker better than David, the only king named in all of Hebrews 11. Though as famous for his sins as for his faith, he was clearly one who from childhood had a simple faith in God—taking on lions and bears with his bare hands, as well as Goliath using a simple slingshot, it seemed not even to occur to David not to trust in his God in those cases. Though quite imperfect, God still called him “a man after My heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22).
Samuel is the last person mentioned in this list by name. He was the last of the judges of Israel but the first of the prophets. Though not a warrior like the rest, he fought a battle as fierce as any faced by the military leaders—only it was against immorality and idolatry among his own people. It often takes more courage, as we all know, to stand up against our friends and our own people than against our enemies.
His (Samuel’s) great foes were idolatry and immorality. He had to stand up in the middle of a polluted society and fearlessly speak God’s truth. His severest opponents frequently were not the Philistines, the Amorites, or Ammonites–but his own people. It often takes more courage to stand up against our friends than against our enemies. (John MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur NT Commentary: Hebrews, 366)
Even Samuel, although a godly man himself, failed to raise his sons to follow the Lord (1 Samuel 8:1-3). Samuel was regarded as the first of the prophets, and so the term covers everyone from his day down to Malachi that functioned as a prophet—revealing God message to His people.
The reversal of the order of Samuel and David may be intended to bring Samuel into closer contact with “the prophets” who are mentioned immediately after, Samuel being the first in the continuous “prophetic succession” of the age of the Hebrew monarchy. (F. F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the NT: Hebrews, 320)
As a whole, these people boldly proclaimed God’s truth, and often suffered for it. But overall, put the men of verse 32 into a scale and it tips upwards towards those who had glaring flaws. John Calvin said, “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.”
It is not the perfection of our faith that God honors, but the perfection of the object of our faith. God approves faith even when it is displayed through the weakness of flawed personalities, because faith looks to Christ.
I hope this is encouraging to you. You do not have to be perfect, or have perfect faith, or be a spiritual giant to be used by God. Just exercise the faith you have in the promise and person of God.
On the other hand, this is not an excuse for not dealing with sin in your life. If we have sinned, we need to confess our sins and repent and change.
It’s not our faith, but God’s faithfulness that brings the victory. Even when we are weak, or especially because we know we are weak, it is God’s strength that accomplishes His purposes.
We will continue with what these men of faith did in vv. 33-34 next week.
Grace Still Amazes 