How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah. . .
Hebrews 11:32
I have made it clear thus far what the writer of Hebrews was doing when he crafted his letter. He was using the heroes and heroines of the faith to make it clear to the readers what living “by faith” was all about. He didn’t give them and us a definition of faith, rather as Reg Ackland said to me, “knowing about faith is best fleshed out in personal experience”. Either through someone else sharing with us how they apply faith in their own everyday life or more to the point how we ought to grow in applying faith for ourselves. I have also made it clear to you that a number of things stand out about this list of names the author gave the Jewish believers at the time and us by way of more examples he didn’t have time to expand. Rather he left the expansion to the Jewish believers to work out for themselves. We on the other hand have a little more difficulty working it out.
Why did the author use these four people as examples specifically when he had other better heroes of faith to use? Why these four? I have also highlighted the fact that he has reordered the list. The natural order for him to have listed would have been:-
- Deborah / Barak
- Gideon
- Jephthah
- Samson
This would have put them in historical order and the order in which we encounter them in the Bible.
The Historical Order of the Judges | The Selection and Order in Hebrews |
---|---|
Othniel | Gideon |
Ehud | Barak |
Shamgar | Samson |
Deborah | Jephthah |
Barak | |
Gideon | |
Tola | |
Jair | |
Jephthah | |
Ibzan | |
Elon | |
Abdon | |
Samson |
In accord with the title I have given this Gem, why are these the four Judges chosen to exemplify what was done “by faith” and why were they ordered like this? I don’t know if you have been thinking about it but I certainly have. It is quite clear, isn’t it? The writer of Hebrews had something in mind when he chose and ordered these four Judges as examples of faith. I noticed it immediately I began to ponder this one verse. Ringing in my ears were the words of my Greek Prof.
No word is a throw away in the Scripture, no change to the text is merely by happenstance. Every detail of Scripture is there for a purpose and we need to pay careful attention to any changes, switches in ordering, omissions and additions.
Dr Basil Brown
Ok, got it Prof. I’m on to it.
I have also realised something else in pondering this verse which made me decide to look into the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah in detail. I have always considered the judges were just that: judges of Israel and there to pass out judgements as judges do. Edicts, rulings and the like, just like the judges who sat at the town gates and the people came to them for their wisdom. I also had it figured that these judges led all Israel into war against the groups who attacked them. That thought is inescapable isn’t it, when we read the accounts of the judges? I was also aware of the repeated refrain in the Book of Judges to the effect that the Israelites did well when they were mindful and subject to the LORD. But when they forget the LORD or neglected Him, they got themselves into trouble. Then they realised the error of their ways and they cried out to the LORD to save them and so God sent them a judge. That is after all the repetitive pattern of the Book of Judges. Add to that the motif ‘every man did what was right in their own eyes’. There, I have summed up the Book of Judges for you. Ah, but is that the full story? Is there more to this book than meets the eye? And why does the writer of Hebrews choose these four judges to represent the idea of the examples of people in the past who acted “by faith”? Why these four and why in this order?
Time for another map.
You will see from this map that the wars against the neighbouring people groups were more localised intertribal warfare than the whole nation fighting against the entire forces of another nation. The significance I have gained in my deeper investigation on these four judges has highlighted the fact that not all the tribes of Israel were involved in every battle. In fact the LORD appears to have made it clear to the leaders to either reduce their numbers taken to battle or the number of the fighting force was reduced due to the indifference of some of the tribes. I had always assumed these judges led all Israel into battle. That is most certainly not the case. I think the point is that God didn’t want them to rely on their military might as was the practice of the empires of the Ancient Near East, but rather to rely on, trust in, and have faith in God Himself.
I am also certain that you have noted, with me, the dysfunction of Israel as a nation at this stage in their history. That dysfunctionality is evidenced in both the character of the leaders (judges) who led them and also the lack of cohesion between the twelve tribes seen in the stories chosen. I can’t help but think that is the author’s point. I am talking about the author of Hebrews in this case. I have a hunch that these four judges, chosen to demonstrate faith, are a perfect bridge to the next point the author makes. I am sure you have picked up the character flaws in the judges as you have read their stories. Doesn’t that encourage you; it does me? God doesn’t choose perfect people to do His will or lead His people.
It fascinates me that the author chooses Gideon first. I am convinced that is because Gideon exemplifies hesitancy in the one chosen to undertake God’s call. We all know the portion of the story of Gideon focused on the sign of the fleece. But as I pointed out in Gem 2148, Gideon had already had indication that God was behind all the things that were happening. He had already received a number of confirmations so to speak. The signs related to the fleece were in the context of Israel going to war against the alliance of the Midianites and Amelakites. See the aforementioned Gem. A perfectly reasonable thing to do was to check with God whether to get involved in this war or not. The Israelites had learned the lesson before not to go to war without the Lord’s confirmation. Is it not interesting that the author of Hebrews begins with the story of the judge called Gideon with this thought in mind?
Following that he turns to the example of Barak. Now isn’t that an attention grabber. Why? Can’t you work it out now that you have read the story? If you can’t, go back and read the story. Barak is the name of the judge the author of Hebrews chose, but the real power behind the throne was Deborah as we have seen. Choosing the name Barak, only serves to highlight the fact that the author is using the names and the stories in a way to draw our attention to something. Do you see Deborah’s name is always first in the pairing, or introduced first, which is a sure sign that she was the one who had prominence? Go back and read the story of Barak and Deborah again. Notice the number of times in the Song of Deborah the tribes are castigated for their unwillingness to get involved. Deborah is known as the judge who solved the Canaanite threat from King Jabin and the song is called her song and not Barak’s. What is interesting in this case is that while the other skirmishes with Midianites, Amelakites, Ammonites and Philistines were all localized tribal groups, the name Canaanite referred to all ethnic groupings in the area of Canaan, or the Levant, the coastal strip from Egypt up to Aram, Assyria or Syria. Thus we could group all the other ethnic groups in the stories from the Book of Judges as Canaanite. So we can conclude Deborah’s (and Barak’s) threat was from a wider base.
Then he moves on to Samson and lastly Jephthah. Notice that he has done it again in switching the order of Jephthah, the 9th judge, with Samson, the thirteenth and last judge. I sense there is more to the switches but have only just realised all of this and will spend more time pondering it. I have looked at other sources but it is not mentioned by the commentators I have looked at and I am currently away from my library. The switch is also present between the names which follow those of the judges. Samuel ought to be first and then David but they are reversed. Ponder that one as I am.
In the case of the judges I can’t help but think that the author of Hebrews has chosen these four judges because of their frailties and shortcomings as mentioned above. I am even more convinced that is the case by the way the author continues. If you want some prior food for thought have a look at the Nugget where I wrote about this in A Puzzling Paradox # 30 – God’s Ultimate Paradox is the Final Key to Understanding the Puzzling Paradox. I am giving you a preview of where we will be heading after we cover David and Samuel as examples of faith. You can see, I am sure, that the list of ‘those who functioned by faith‘ is fascinating due the nature of the people included. Many of today’s name it and claim it brigade would not even consider some in the list to come as remotely eligible to be considered those who operated by faith, BUT GOD HAS A DIFFERENT VIEW!
It goes without saying that I find this list of The Examples of Faith mind blowing when you examine it in the detail.
The only way to know strong FAITH is to work through hard questions.
Ian
Realise that God is doing right, even when you don’t understand why He works the way He does or some of the examples He includes in His Book.
Ian
All the principles of the Bible are keys that, when acted on in faith, unlock the power of heaven.
A R Bernard
Most believers think God works when the blessing comes. That’s not true! God is working on you and your faith when the blessing is delayed.
T D Jakes