Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Well that about sums it up. I guess I’ll just stop right here now that we all have a firm grasp on the tough subject of faith. Is faith really that simple? I couldn’t find any other example of a biblical writer attempting to explicitly define faith with the phrase faith is… What makes the writer of this passage so bold as to attempt such an explicit definition of faith? Does he know something that we don’t? It could just be my own weakness but it doesn’t seem quite as simple as hoping for things I can’t see. Luckily, the passage doesn’t just end with the first verse. The writer of Hebrews knew a little about the human condition and it seems that Hebrews 11 is an attempt to define faith through example. Not the writer’s own example but through those who came before.
So let’s take a closer look at who are lifted up as the exemplars of faith that we should follow. We only heard a partial list in today’s Scripture reading so I’ll read the entire list so we can visualize what some call the international faith hall of fame. Pay close attention to the list and see if any names jump out at you. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Israelites that passed through the Red Sea, the soldiers around Jericho, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, all the prophets, women and martyrs. Were there any names that you didn’t recognize or know from your Bible stories? Any names you perhaps thought unworthy to be in this faith hall of fame?
I understand why we hear the name Abel. The younger brother who offered a beautiful sacrifice that was pleasing to God. He provided the choice lamb of his flock and God noticed and beamed with pride at this beautiful child of God, a reaction that prompted his older brother Cain to murder him. Abel, the first to lose a life because of his faith. Noah’s inclusion is a given. If you’ve seen the recent adaptation of his life, Evan Almighty, you probably have few doubts about his worthiness. Despite year upon year of everyone mocking him for building an unusually large boat in the middle of a dry spell, he kept going and somehow convinced his family to come aboard and lock themselves in with all those filthy and smelly animals for a really long time. Noah, included for following God against the insults of the world.
Abraham makes perfect sense. Here was a simple guy with a family just minding his own business when all of the sudden he hears a voice tell him to leave his country, his kin and his father’s house for a land yet to be determined. He leaves his previous life behind based on a voice that promised to make him a great nation and a blessing for all the earth. Abraham is listed because he turned around for God. Moses is a no brainer for inclusion. He was destined for greatness from birth. God had an eye on this one. He gets set adrift in a river to hide him from death and is found by pharaoh’s daughter and raised as royalty. Then, in a stunning turn of events, Moses remembers his birth heritage and stands up to his adoptive family and brings down plagues to convince pharaoh to “let my people go!” As if this wasn’t enough to warrant inclusion on this list, he then leads an entire nation, is given the Ten Commandments and even gets to feel God’s presence. Moses’ inclusion is for delivering an entire nation from slavery and leading them in following God.
Rahab put her life on the line to protect two Israelite spies in Jericho. She even admitted to housing them to the King of Jericho and then when it was dark she let them out of the city behind those who were pursuing them. Somehow she knew they were from the Lord and that Jericho didn’t have much longer to stand so she asked them to spare her and her family. Rahab welcomed mysterious strangers of the Lord and now stands as a hero of faith. Gideon went and destroyed the altar of Baal. What is amazing about this is that Baal was the god of the Midianites, a powerful nation that was harassing and destroying the economy of the Israelites. This starts a bit of a fight so Gideon set out with 32,000 for the battle but God had other plans. God keeps telling him to leave soldiers behind finally leaving Gideon with 300 with which to defeat the Midianites. And he actually goes forward with God’s plan!
Samson was gifted with extraordinary strength and used it to pull down a building full of Philistines. Unfortunately, this act also entailed the taking of his own life as he was chained to the pillars that he demolished to accomplish the feat. David is the man of God’s own heart. We tend to lift him up as the ultimate leader and the quintessential role model. He reformed Israel as the king. He patiently endured death threats from Saul trying to prevent him from taking his place as the anointed king of Israel. He penned many of the prayers we now know as the Psalms. Samuel was a young boy that could hear God’s voice. In fact, when he first heard God speak, he was the only one who could hear God. Not even Eli, the head priest could hear God.
That leave three individuals that gave me pause when I read the list: Enoch, Barak and Jephthah. I recognized the name Barak for what it means in Hebrew: blessing, but didn’t quite remember what he had done to warrant inclusion in this list. And, maybe because I was sleeping in both Sunday school and my Old Testament class when the names Enoch and Jephthah were mentioned, I had no clue who those two individuals were much less why there were on such a prestigious list. I guess they deserve to be here, don’t they? The writer of Hebrews wouldn’t induct any questionable names or those of little faith into this hall of fame would he? This made me dig around in the Bible for these individuals to learn what great acts they accomplished.
Barak led 10 thousand Israelites into a potential battle based on the words of Deborah, one of the judges of ancient Israel. As we would expect this results in a major victory for Israel and Barak gets recognition on this list for following the commands of God as relayed by someone who heard God’s voice. I can live with his inclusion in the hall of fame; the other two leave me a bit puzzled.
Enoch is reported to have never died, though I’m not so sure of this. In Genesis it just says that he walked with God and after 365 years was no more because God took him. We don’t know what he did to warrant the honor of walking with God, something only really mentioned in relation to Adam and Eve. We do know that he was father to Methuselah, you know Old Methuselah who lived to be 965 years old and he was Noah’s great-grandfather. I guess including Enoch is like including Emily Putich or Alfred Smith in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Don’t know who they are? Coach K’s mom and Dean Smith’s father. Definitely an induction based on potential.
Jephthah is the most shocking of the list. When I reread his story in Judges I remembered who he was and couldn’t believe that he was included in this list of honor. He was disowned by Israel because of his lineage but in a time of need they called upon him to lead their army. He just kept defeating army after army and gets a little confident of himself or something. He decides to make a vow that if the Lord would hand over Israel’s greatest enemy, the Ammonites, then he would sacrifice the first thing to come out of his house to meet him as a burnt offering. Now nothing in Israel’s belief system would have prompted this brash deal. Well, he won and when he returns home a conquering hero who is the first to come out and greet him? His daughter. His only child. He kept his vow. Later he goes and kills 42 thousand fellow Israelites because they were unable to pronounce a certain word. This guy gets included in this list? Why lift up people like Enoch and Jephthah as examples of good faith?
But, what if that is the point? What if they are as deserving of recognition and the future in Christ as those we see as our heroes of faith? What if they are equals to Abraham, Noah and Moses? I think the writer of Hebrews is making that exact point. In our modern mindset we tend to venerate people, including those on this list, based on their accomplishments. But if we take a closer look at these individuals a different picture of their lives and faith may appear. Abel may not be the innocent child that we picture in our minds. Anyone with a younger brother knows they can be the most annoying and cunning individuals. Believe it or not sometimes they just keep pushing our buttons until we snap. There were times my younger brother did just that and got the reaction he wanted so I would get in trouble. This typical brotherly “love” is captured by an ancient Hebrew midrash depicting Abel as gloating over God’s love incessantly such that Cain just snaps and didn’t realize he had killed the brother he loved. While the fights with my brother didn’t have disastrous consequences, the emotions were similar.
Abraham lied about his wife Sarah, saying she was his sister, to save his own life, committed adultery and cast out his first born son. Ham, one of Noah’s sons embarrassed Noah when Noah was drunk so Noah cursed Ham’s son, who did nothing, to punish Ham. Moses murdered an Egyptian in a fit of rage. Also, while leading Israel in the wilderness he got mad with God and threw a temper tantrum that kept him from entering the Promised Land with the people he led for 40 years. Rahab was a prostitute. Gideon tested God with a fleece. Twice because the first time God demonstrated nature was under God’s command, Gideon felt he needed more proof. Samson used his gifts for all the wrong reasons and purposely married a woman that was forbidden and lived a life of excess and debauchery. David committed adultery and then conspired to kill a man so he could marry his wife. Samuel eventually fell into the ways of Eli and abdicated his authority as judge and prophet in Israel to his sons. In return, his sons performed poorly and were a disgrace leading Israel to loudly demand a king. Samuel’s actions led to a distinct distrust of the people in God’s ability to rule over the land in a fair and just manner.
This is the inaugural class of our faith hall of fame. We have added many more in the last few centuries: Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Bonhoeffer, MLK, Mother Teresa. While we focus on their accomplishments and the fruits of their faith we need to remember that each of these individuals are as flawed as those in the inaugural class and as us. So what do all of these individuals have in common with each other? What do we have in common with those on this list? Just like with most children’s sermons the answer is Jesus. His work on earth and the cross cleared the way for grace to be the dominating factor in our induction into this faith hall of fame. Jesus did what was necessary for all of us to walk around knowing we are inductees into this faith hall of fame also called a priesthood of all believers or even a cloud of witnesses. But we also have to do something. By faith, we have to follow God’s call. It may not be as drastic as Abraham’s dropping everything to travel to a new land, it may be a little more complicated than just living your life like little known Enoch. I don’t think we’ll need to go into battle like Barak or build an ark like Noah. All we have to do is be receptive to God’s working in our lives and God’s speaking to us in many different ways, including through the voices of those sitting in this room.
But, regardless of how God calls us to fulfill God’s purpose on earth, the one thing we do to get inducted into this hall of fame is having the faith to say yes to God. When Jesus walked the earth he put it in one of the most powerful two word phrases ever uttered: “Follow Me!” He didn’t promise anything in this life, in fact he warned of the danger in obeying that command. Many have heard the command and turned the other way because they can’t comprehend not receiving something for following or because the near term consequences overshadow the glorious reward of “an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Once we agree to follow God and put God at the top of our mind, we are inducted into the faith hall of fame the benefits of which are eternal life and indescribable and incomprehensible rewards at the fulfillment of time. Now that I think about it the writer of Hebrews had it correct by saying that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By faith, it really is that simple.
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