Hebrews 11:30-40
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
These of old overcame all by faith. They pursued victories by the hand of God working for them to see unfold as they acted in obedience to His word of promise as at Jericho. Like faithful Rahab, they were delivered from certain destruction by trusting the word of God given through others (Joshua 2:9, 6:25, James 2:25). Many took the Lord at His word and were given the triumph of success that filled the air they breathed like Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, along with King David, Samuel and the other prophets. Their faith in God’s enabling power and grace brought victory as we now have in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57-58) to bring kingdoms to defeat as the adversary’s will be completely in the final judgment. These faithful men did works of righteousness because they stood in the righteousness of God as we now do with full knowledge in Christ, they inherited promises as we do in Him forever, they were kept safe from death at times while suffering for His sake to death on other occasions as we likewise face in Christ for the gospel’s sake. In weakness they were made strong (2 Corinthians 12:10) and were made valiant in the fight for God’s kingdom. Some even had their dead returned alive (1 Kings 17:22, 2 Kings 4:35-37) to them as Lazarus was later raised from the grave and Christ likewise raised Himself as a promise of our own resurrection to come in the last day. Some were faithful to death or endured terrible torture as they suffered for the Lord with eyes on an eternal prize, though they did not comprehend it as we do now that Jesus Christ has come and the apostles afterwards revealed the mystery (Ephesians 3:5, 9) fully to us to marvel at now. There will still be mocking responses to the gospel we proclaim and sometimes physical violence or even death for His name’s sake. We may end up destitute, afflicted, or tormented, but we hold to the faith of these gone before us in faith who counted (James 1:2) the sufferings as proof the world was not worthy of them or Him. All these had obtained a good testimony through faith in God and His word according to the promises given them; do we do likewise? We must remember that they had to wait until Christ came and will come again to be together made perfect in the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14, Acts 24:15) at the final judgment. All God’s chosen who came to Him by faith in Christ, before and after He walked on earth, all these will revel in His presence as more than conquerors as overcomers through faith (Romans 8:37) in Him! When the books are opened, we all shall see and hear tales like those of old like these examples which we have our own names add to. Praise and give thanks to Him for the glory given us to see and trust which we live by in faithfulness to follow.
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