Unexpected Members of the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11

Articles From Our Bulletins

Philip C. Strong
03/29/22 - Bulletin Articles

While it is certainly not my or anyone’s place to judge the eternal destiny of anyone else, nor do I assume that an OT character who’s not listed in Hebrews 11 has/will fail to attain heaven, portions of the list may intrigue and surprise us.

Obviously, some extraordinary OT individuals are included along with a partial catalogue of their faithful deeds, Hebrews 11:7-28. But there are some other notable OT individuals that we might expect to be included that aren’t- like the son of a king who became the wisest man ever, the wealthiest of his generation, and the king who ruled Israel in and through its zenith period, Solomon. And yet he’s not included while a Canaanite prostitute is, Hebrews 11:31! Additionally, several others are included in Hebrews 11:32 that you or I probably would have never considered worthy to be listed, like:

A hesitant man who was apparently full of doubts and misgivings, Gideon, Judges 6;

An excessively cautious man who refused to go into battle unless a particular woman went with him, Barak, Judges 4:4-10;

An immature, lustful, and vengeful man, Samson; Judges 13:1 – 17:22;

A man who was the illegitimate son of a harlot, and made a foolish/reckless vow, Jephthah, Judges 11;

A king who shirked his duty and committed adultery and murder, David, 2Sam.11; and,

A prophet/judge who appointed his sons to exalted positions of authority and leadership despite the fact that they took bribes and perverted justice for dishonest gain, Samuel, 1Samuel 8.

All of which well-illustrate a principle of truth expressly stated in 1Samuel 16:7, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

If we can so misjudge men/women of the past, are we not just as apt to misjudge those of our present for the same reasons and in the same ways? “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment,” John 7:24.

But what if we can became more patient with the doubting so that they can become courageous soldiers in the Lord’s army like Gideon, Judges 7:1 – 8:32; more forbearing with the dubiously cautious so that they can become faithfully supportive and sing the song of victory like Barak, Judges 4:12 - 5:31; more willing assess others on their present and future potential instead of their violent past so they can accomplish tremendous feats of strength and sacrifice while suffering like Samson, Judges 17:23-31; less judgmental of a single rash moment of folly so that they can become faithfully fierce leaders like Jephthah, Judges 12; more forgiving to even those who’ve committed mortally tragic sins so that they can return to being “a man after My (God’s) heart” who “do(es) all” of God’s will, Acts 13:22; and more understanding of a father’s misguided love for his children by seeing an otherwise dedicated and faithful life speaking (and acting) for God like Samuel, 1Sam.25:1; Acts 3:24. Think about it, won’t you?