Wed, 16 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
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.
Hebrews 11 is the faith hall of fame, as the writer lists heroes of the Old Testament who are commended for their faith. We meet the familiar big names: Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David. No surprise there. But there are some names here that are rather surprising. Rahab the prostitute. Gideon, who was afraid to obey God and laid out the fleece to test God. Barak, who wouldn’t lead the Israelites against Jabin’s army unless he was accompanied by a Deborah. Samson who kept falling into sin with women to his final destruction. Jephthah, who sacrificed his daughter in fulfillment of a rash vow.
What are these folks doing in the faith hall of fame? We mostly remember them for their failings and weaknesses. How did they end up being honored like this in scripture?
What do we learn from this?
Oh the great mercy of our God. We see the weakness and the failings of the people around us and dwell upon them. God sees their faith.
We can have great doubts and fears. We can even have great failings and weaknesses. But if we have faith in God, that is what is important. It isn’t the amount of faith we have that is important, since even a faith as small as a mustard seed is greatly honored by God. The issue isn’t how much faith you have, but rather the issue is the object of your faith.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Jesus Christ is to be the object of our faith. These Old Testament saints who are lauded as examples of faith did not fully understand the salvation that God would provide, but they were trusting in God’s provision for their salvation.
We have a great privilege of looking back on the Old Testament scriptures in the light of the New Testament, and we can see how they point to Jesus Christ. We can see that we are called to trust in Jesus Christ only for our salvation. Like the Old Testament saints before us, the amount of our faith isn’t the issue. The issue is: What are we trusting in? We are to trust in Jesus Christ.
