Ordinary Heroes

Hebrews 11:32-34 "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— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 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." (ESV)

Most Christians are pretty familiar with Hebrews 11, or as it is often referred to, "The Hall of Faith." In previous verses leading up to this portion, the writer talks about the amazing faith and works of Scripture's most famous figures including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. It's a pretty imposing list!

Then you get to this portion. I know a lot of people, Believers and non-believers alike are familiar with David, even if it is only for the story of David and Goliath. And most Christians are probably familiar with Samuel. This brings me to the other names here; Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah. Now, I know, Samson is a known name all over the place, but I will venture to say that people really don't know him, which is evident in the way that the story of Samson and Delilah is portrayed as a love story. It definitely was not! So what's my point?

It occurs to me that these rather unknown or misunderstood people dwell in the same portion of Scripture as the giants of faith. Along with Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David, the Scriptures list Barak, Gideon, and someone named Jephthah. Weird, right? I'm going to take the time to elaborate, just a bit. This was most certainly done on purpose. This portion of Scripture lists these relatively unknown people of the Bible, all from the era of the Judges, (all from the book of Judges) and all of them are actually pretty tragic characters.

Gideon's story starts in Judges chapter six. He starts out really well, he is called to lead Israel and delivers his people from bondage. He does so well that the people beg him to become king, and he humbly objects, saying God is king of Israel, and peace reigns in Israel as long as he lives. Sounds good, right? Well, let's look closer. Remember how Gideon declined being king? Well, it seems odd that he would deny the position, but he named his son Abimelech which literally means 'Son of the King.' And right after declining the station of king, Gideon requests a tribute of every person in Israel, and he takes the jewelry and gold and makes an idol that he places in the city of Ophrah and the Bible says the people whored after it. Not good. As soon as he died, the people returned to idolatry.

The story of Samson starts in Judges chapter 13. There are a lot of misconception about the story of Samson, but I will try to keep this brief. Samson is a Nazirite, sort of a lay-priest of Israel. He is a Nazirite from birth, and there are three rules to his order; don't touch anything dead, don't cut your hair, don't drink alcohol. I won't go into specifics, but throughout the three chapters that contain his story, Samson will break all three rules and never go through the restoration rituals that are required for purity afterwards. He openly rebels against the authority of God and relies solely on his own immense strength. It is only in his death, in his own words, that he calls on God to provide strength "just this once." (Judges 16:28).

Then there's Barak. His story takes place in Judges chapter 4. He is a mighty warrior and a general and delivers Israel from the armies of Sisera. He is, however, a coward.

And that finally brings us to Jephthah. His story takes place in Judges chapter 11 and 12. Jephthah is a mighty warrior and he delivers Israel from the Ammonites, but rather than just trusting in God to provide victory, he tries to make a deal with God. He makes a vow to God, a 'if you give me this, I'll give you that,' kind of deal, and it results in his daughter's death.

So, all this explained and laid out, what's the point? All of these people are tragic figures, horribly flawed. And yet, they all did amazing things. Gideon defeated an entire army using torches and clay jars, Samson killed a small army with a jawbone of a donkey and killed a lion with his bare hands. Jephtah defeated the armies of the Ammorites, a foe that haunted the Jews throughout the entire Old Testament, second only to the Philistines. And Barak led an army to victory against an army that had 900 chariots in its number, something staggering in the ancient world, and not one of their number survived! Each of them earned their spot in Hebrews 11. And yet, each seems to be placed there almost in glaring contrast to the others in the chapter.

Wouldn't Joshua be a better choice than Gideon? Wouldn't Deborah, who shares the story with Barak be a better representation of faith? After all, she's who Barak went to for encouragement. Solomon was far wiser than Samson, and Caleb was just as mighty a warrior but more careful than Jephtah. So why these?

God can make a hero out of anyone, that's why. For all their flaws, each of them did wonderful things. Each had moments of triumph that define them every bit as much as their moments of failure. God elevates them past their weaknesses, and in spite of them.

And just as importantly, each is a picture of potential wasted. Imagine someone as mighty as Samson had he been humble. Imagine how many more victories Barak would have experienced had he found courage and faith in God. Gideon's son brings devastation to Israel, but how different may things have been had Gideon's heart been as humble as his words. And had Jephtah not spoken so foolishly, had he trusted God and not tried to make Him his personal genie, how differently would things have been?

Hebrews 11 gives us a breakdown of faith, examples of faith, and then lessons of unfulfilled faith, in that order. And so let us examine ourselves. Much like the Hebrews 11 B-team, it is never too late for us to start living by faith, trusting and relying on God. And it is also true that whatever we may accomplish in life, there is so much more for us to do if we are walking in faith and relying on God to move and work through us.

So often, much like these Biblical figures, we are trying to do God's work without God. Let's use their example to examine ourselves, and make sure we are relying on God, walking with Him, and letting Him guide our steps.