A Study Of The Apostle Paul’s Letter To The Hebrews

Don’t fall away! Don’t Depart! Don’t neglect your salvation! Don’t cast away your confidence! Don’t harden your heart! Don’t drift away! AStudyOf TheApostlePaul’s LetterTo The Hebrews How can we neglect so greata salvation? ~ Hebrews 2:3

Allow me to begin with pretty much the sameintroductiononceagainas wecon-clude our study of The Hall of Faith—He-brews 11—wherein (according to 12:1-2) Paul pictured his Jewish-Christian read-ers as runners in a race within the con-fines of acoliseum;and withinthestadi-umseatsareallthefaithfulwho had run the race before them, cheering them on to final victory.

I see all the faithful from Abel (11:4) to the fulfillment of the promise (11:39-40) as one team running against sin, as it were, but somewhat like a relay race; so, since the brethren Paul was writing to were on the verge of reaching the long-awaitedendofthis race,theywere winning for all who had gone before them. When we look at it this way… 

Wecanseeallthemorehowtremendous- ly important it was that these brethren keep pushing on—it wasn’t just for their salvation as individuals that they were running, but, in a sense, it was for each and every child of God before them … and after them! So…   

After having studied Abel thru Rahab in verses 4-31, let’s conclude in verses 32-40 with Paul’s brief remarks about the various types of suffering that numer-ous other ancestors after Rahab experi-enced. And, as Paul has stressed before and will again as this chapter closes, all these endured their afflictions with only the hope of receiving the things pro-mised, whereas these brethren were in the process of finally receiving them … after 2,000 years of waiting since the promises were first given! So…   

Hebrews 11:32  What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

By asking this ques-tion, Paul seemed to be asking,“Must I go on with my list?” What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

If he did go on, he indicated that he’d run out of time be-cause there were so many faithful to God in their past, seem-ingly shaming them all the more for what they had become known as—aposta-tizers (cf. 10:25). What more shall I say? For the time would fail meto tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Paul went on briefly to allude to 5 jud-ges, 1 king, and the many prophets. And why did he choose to list the 6 that he did? Obviously be-cause of the over-whelming odds that each of these parti-cular individuals faced, odds that re-quired … and by faith received … God’s assistance. What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Barak was he who, with only 10,000 men, defeated the army of the Canaan-ite king, delivering Israel from 20 years of oppression. How? By faith. But…   What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

As with Sarah (in v. 11), Moses (in v. 23), and Israel (in v. 29) —all who (in these cases) depended on the faith of another, it appears from the story that Barak carried out his task by the faith of De-borah, Israel’s 4th judge (Jdg. 4—5). What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Gideon, Israel’s 5th judge, is known as he who, by faith, de-feated tens of thou-sands of Midianites with only 300 men (Jdg. 6—8). What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Jephthah, Israel’s 9th judge, is known for his victories over the Ammonites (Jdg. 11—12 in which a statement by Jephthah can be found concern-ing God’s promises). What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Samson, Israel’s 13th judge, is known for his victories over the Philistines (Jdg. 13—16whereinastatement by Samson can be found concerning his conviction that those victories were possible only because of his God-given strength). What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Samuel, Israel’s 15th and last judge, is known for being a very courageous and a nearly perfectly faithful man, regard- less of how immoral and idolatrous the circumstances were (1 Sam. 1—28). What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

David, Israel’s 2nd and perhaps great-est king, is known very well for his faith in God (1 Sam. 16— 1 Kgs. 1), especially in the case of his victory over Goliath and the Philistines. What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Bymerelysayingand the prophets, Paul was aware his read-ers knew about the faith of these menall too well to concern himself with naming them all! So…  What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Altho none of these people were sinless, at critical times in their lives they bold- ly trusted God when the odds were well against them; and thru their obedience to the Lord, God saved His people, the same thing He’d dofortheseHebrews —they just needed to trust and obey! What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sam-son and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets…

Hebrews 11:33  …who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promis-es, stopped the mouths of lions…

Joshua subdued the Canaanites; Gideon subdued the Midian-ites; Jephthah sub- duedtheAmmonites; and David subdued the Amalekites, Edo-mites, Jebusites, Mo- abites, Philistines, and others. …who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promis-es, stopped the mouths of lions…

This could be trans-lated as enforced justice (RSV); so it probably has refer-ence to leaders like Samuel and David for being righteous in the execution of God’s laws (1 Sam. 12:4 & 2 Sam. 8:15) … not only in Israel, but also among na-tions of a corrupt nature. …who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promis-es, stopped the mouths of lions…

Joshua and Caleb obtained the land of Canaan; Phineas ob-tained an everlast-ing priesthood; and David obtained the kingdom of Israel. In fact, among all the OT saints, they saw the fulfillment of many promises, promises concern-ing conquests, land, and children. …who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promis-es, stopped the mouths of lions…

Samson, Benaiah, David, and Daniel all survived encounters with lions, the most dreaded beast of their time and place. …who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promis-es, stopped the mouths of lions…

Hebrews 11:34  …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be-came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah (aka,Shad-rach,Meshach,&Abed-nego) were delivered from a powerful fire (violent is dynamin in Greek). The reading of this could mean that the faith of some quenched the power of the fire even though they weren’t saved like the above three. …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be- came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Moses escaped the sword of Pharaoh; Elijah escaped the sword of Ahab; Eli-sha escaped the sword of Jehoram; David escaped the sword of Saul; and Jeremiah escaped death by the hand of Jehoiakim. …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be- came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Abraham defeated 4 kings with only 318 men; Gideon defeat- edtensofthousands of Midianites with only 300 men; Sam-son took out a city all by himself; and David defeated the nine-foot Philistine champion with a rock. Jonathan said, Nothing restrains the Lord from saving by … few (1 Sam. 14:6). …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be- came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Courage in battle can’t only be easily seen in all the for-merly discussed vic-tories, but one can also find numerous others in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be- came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

This reads better as put foreign armies to flight (RSV); i.e., when nations such as the Ammonites, Assyrians, Moabites, and Philistines at-tempted to invade Israel’s territory, they were made to retreat. How? By faith in Yahweh. …quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, be- came valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tor-tured, not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

There were at least two OT women who received their dead back to life again: Elijah raised a wid-ow’s son (1 Kgs. 17: 17-24), and Elisha raised a Shunam-mite’sson(2Kgs. 4: 18-37). Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tor-tured, not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

And why didthey do this? While in verse 34 Paul spoke of many escaping the sword, here he placed in a disclaimer, viz. that there were some who didn’t escape death; i.e., God did notalways choose to save the faithful —many died of their torture, but even they died in faith, a faith that led tolife. Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tor-tured, not accept-ing deliverancethat they might obtain a better resurrection.

Why would they do this? They thought as Job who said, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (13:15); they also thought as the three Hebrew children who said that even if God did not deliver them, they still wouldn’t worship someone or something else (Dan. 3:17-18). Again… Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tor-tured, not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Incidentally… Abetterresurrection than whatresurrec-tion?Thebiological, temporal one that the women’s sons received. And what wouldbebetterthan that?Aspiritualone, of course—one that would reunite them with God in the hea-venlycountry(v.16)! Women received their dead raised to life again. And others weretor-tured,not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtaina better resurrection.

Something interest-ingaboutthisisthat thisinspiredNTverse confirms that OT saints believed in the promise of some type of resurrection; and it appears that it was not necessar-ily one of a physical (thus temporary) nature, but one that is better than that. Women received their dead raised to life again. And others weretor-tured,not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

By the way… And remember, the key term better thru- out Hebrews is a contrast word for the blessings of the New Covenant in contrast to the lack thereof under the Old Covenant. And… Women received their dead raised to life again. And others weretor-tured,not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

This word is from the same root term as the English “tym-pani” (a kettledrum); sotheparticulartor- ture referred to here involved stretching a victim over a large drum-like apparatus and beating him w/ clubs until he either denied God or was pronounced “dead.” Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tor-tured,not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

So can anyone read this verse about the numerous saints of old enduring torture for their faith and notseetherelevance of it to the Hebrews that Paul was writ-ing to in their time of severe persecu-tion? Surely not! Women received their dead raised to life again. And others weretor-tured,not accept-ing deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Hebrews 11:36  Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains & imprisonments.

While some were tortured to death on the tympani, there were others who lived to endure an enormous amount of torture of various kinds: many suffered the emotional anguish of mockings and the physical anguish of scourgings, things which usually led to chains and imprisonments. So Paul covered the whole spectrum: those who escaped death (v. 34), those who died during torture (v. 35), and those who suffered at length (v. 36).

Samson was scorned and ridiculed, im-prisoned, and even had his eyes bored out (Jdg. 16:21 & 25), all by the Godless Philistines; worse still, many of God’s prophets were scoffed at by His own people (2 Chr. 36:16). Joseph was falsely accused and impri-soned by Pharaoh (Gen. 39:20); the pro-phet Micaiah was beaten by Zedekiah and imprisoned with only bread & water by Ahab (1 Kgs. 22:24-27); and the pro-phet Hanani (Jehu’s father) was impri-soned in a rage by Asa (2 Chr. 16:10).

There was one man who endured all of these things and more: Not only was Jeremiahmockedbyeveryone(Jer.20:7), beaten (20:2a & 37: 15a), put in chains (20:2b), and imprisoned (32:2&37:15), but he was also put into a dungeon (a waterless well) of sludge, into which he sank(38:6).What was sobadabout poor Jeremiah’s case is that nearly all the tragedies he (as well as others) suffered were at the hands of his own people whom he was merely trying to warn for their own good! Likewise…   

The people Paul was writing to at this time (AD 63-65) were experiencing most of their suffering at the hands of their own Jewish brethren. The question was,Would they respond like Jeremiah and their many ancestral heroes of faith?

Hebrews 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

Naboth was falsely accused and stoned to death (1 Kgs. 21: 13-14); and the pro-phet Zechariah was stoned to death for his warnings from God for the people (2 Chr. 24:20-22). They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

Clarke wrote that, in a Jewish source cal-led the Yevamoth, it is written that Ma-nasseh slew Isaiah, for he commanded that he should be slain with a wooden saw. They then brought the saw and cut him in two; and when the saw reached his mouth, his soul fled forth. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

The oldest Hebrews manuscript we have doesn’t include this phrase, which is why many versions don’t include it. However…    They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

Incidentally… If we accept it, then it probably has re-ference to the trial referred to in verse 35 of being severely tempted (perhaps even threatening fami-ly members in the vic-tim’s presence) to deny their faith and turn to idols (cf. Dan. 3 & 6 where men were punished for not wor-shipping something or someone other than Yahweh). They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

There were severe consequences for anyone who tried to compel God’s people to worship anything or anyone but Yah-weh (Deu. 13:6-11). They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

Saul had many of God’s people killed by the sword for be-ing on David’s side (1 Sam. 22:17-19); the prophet Uriah was slain this way(Jer.26:20-23); and Elijah spoke about Jezebel killing many of God’s prophets in this way (1 Kgs. 19: 10), which ironically brings up the next thought:    They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflict-ed, tormented…

A Study Of The Apostle Paul’s Letter To The Hebrews