“…the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Dan 11:32 KJV).

In our modern society we love to read about fictional heroes and heroines in ancient mythology or contemporary novels because they stir us and reach into our hearts.  But the Bible abounds with stories of real-life heroes, real people with flaws and weakness such as David and Samson, women with undaunted courage such as Deborah and Esther, women of great faith such as Leah, Ruth and Hannah, wise women such as Abigail, wise men such as Solomon, and so on.   The accounts of these true heroes are meant to encourage Christians to face the difficulties and opposition of our enemies and embolden us to live as God’s people on this earth and in this life.

Heroes with Feet of Clay

Hebrews chapter 11 has been called the “Roll Call of the Heroes of the Faith” by some Christians; but some of these Old Testament “heroes” look to be decidedly unheroic as we read the actual accounts of them.  For example:

Samson

Samson is a classic example of a hero as the secular world understands the concept, due to his superhuman strength and, sad to say, his escapades with various women; he is thus often compared to the mythological Greek hero Heracles (Hercules).  Samson was a judge in Israel and single-handedly fought the Philistines on Israel’s behalf, killing thousands of them in his lifetime.

Gideon

Gideon, another judge in Israel, fought against the vast hordes of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east (Judges 6:3).  The biblical account describes their overwhelming numbers: “And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it” (Judges 6:4-5). 

But God raised up Gideon, an insignificant young Hebrew man, to lead his people Israel against the Midianites.  When Gideon raised an army, God pruned it to just 300 men; and with these men, Israel routed the Midianite hordes through a God-inspired ruse.  And as they fled in panic from these bold 300, Gideon sent messengers throughout Israel to come and help with the slaughter, and they slew 120,000 of the enemy; the rest, only 15,000, escaped (Jud 8:10); but Gideon pursued even these and destroyed them (Jud 8:11-12).  So great was the slaughter, and so complete the victory over the Midianites, that they never again troubled Israel (Jud 28).

Signs from God

But before the battle, when God told Gideon he wanted him to lead Israel against the Midianites, he gave this promise to Gideon: “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man” (Judges 6:16).  But it wasn’t enough for Gideon.  He immediately asked God for a sign.  It beats me why Gideon would want a sign from God when he is actually talking to God!  Isn’t that sign enough that God will be with him?  Why would anyone want more than that?!  But God is gracious and he indulged Gideon and gave Gideon the sign he had requested.  This was the first of four signs that God gave to Gideon, each of which Gideon had requested (Judges 6:14-24; 36-40; 7:9-15).  When Gideon received these signs as confirmation that God would be with him in the battle, he was assured. 

Unfortunately, Christians today often use the example of Gideon’s fleece (Judges 6:36-40) as an encouragement to ask God for a sign of their own but, while God is gracious and still gives signs for his people today as he sees fit, we ought not to ask for them, because we have the Bible and we are to live by faith.  If we depend on signs from God every time we’re confronted with a choice or a difficulty, then we’re walking by sight and not by faith.  “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign….” (Matt 16:4).  There is enough in the bible to encourage and motivate us to serve God in whatever he calls us to do, without us having to also seek a sign for confirmation.  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).

Jephthah

Again, when Israel was oppressed by their enemy, this time the Ammonites, Jephthah, the son of a harlot (Jud 11:1) and consequently an outcast in the Israelite tribe of Ephraim, was chosen by God to be the deliverer of his people.  He, too, routed Israel’s enemy in battle and saved God’s people.  Before the battle he prayed that if God gave him victory, he would offer up as a sacrifice to him, “…whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (Jud 11:29-31).   

But what or who did he expect to come through the door?  He likely didn’t even have servants or slaves, being the son of a slave woman himself; so why was he surprised when his daughter came out to greet him after his victory?  Of the few people who might have been in his house, they would be relatives (including his wife/wives) and friends.  And Jephthah is surprised when his daughter comes through the door?  Jephthah, knowing the small circle of people who supported him, was prepared to sacrifice one of them anyway.  What kind of a man – what kind of fool – was Jephthah?  And he gets praised by God and his name memorialised and commended forever in Hebrews chapter 11?  If ever there was an example of how differently man sees compared to how God sees, this is the crown!  “…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  Jephthah is the epitome of a hero with feet of clay.

King David

God said of King David: “I have found David the son of Jesse a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22 cf 1 Sam 13:14).  His most well-known act, which is proverbial even in our day amongst believers and non-believers alike, is his slaying the Philistine giant, Goliath.  Goliath, we’re told, was “a man of war from his youth”; whereas, King Saul said to David, “thou art but a youth” (1 Sam 17:33).  Every Israelite soldier in the camp was afraid of Goliath due to his huge size, his height being nearly ten feet.  His armour was heavy and his weapons proportionally far larger than the same weapons of the ordinary soldier.  But David was outraged at Goliath’s blasphemy and contemptuous of him, saying, “…who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam 17:26).  Brave words indeed and brimming with righteous religious fervour.  And because there was no man in all the Israelite camp who was game to accept Goliath’s challenge to mortal combat, David accepted the challenge himself.  Saying to Saul that he had killed a lion and a bear in defence of his sheep, he said, “…this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God….The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam 17:34-37).  And meeting Goliath face-to-face on the battlefield, he slung a stone which lodged between the giant’s eyes, and he toppled over, as lifeless as the stone sticking out of his face.  This deed of heroism is proverbial, as well-known as any other historical event, and continues to motivate and inspire people today.

But….when David had become king, he committed a sin which was as heinous as slaying Goliath was heroic; and it is just as well-known – his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah, to cover up his adultery with Uriah’s wife (2 Sam 11:1-17).

Unlikely Heroes

These unlikely heroes were victorious over the enemies of Israel and did amazing exploits; under normal circumstances their achievements would have been impossible – but when people trust in God, and God intervenes, all things are possible.  We look at such achievements and marvel.   But as we’ve seen, God sees the heart and he commended them for their faith rather than their physical achievements.  That Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, or slew a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, means nothing to God.  That Gideon defeated the vast armies of the Midianites and their allies with just 300 men; or that Jephthah defeated the superior forces of the Ammonites and saved Israel – these are only impressive in the eyes of humans.  God overlooks the bad, the weak, the shameful, and only sees the faith of the individual as they trust in him and obey in whatever it is he has commanded them to do. 

This famous chapter – Hebrews 11 – begins: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good report” (Heb 11:1-2).  It then goes on to list those unlikely heroes – heroes in our eyes, but whom God regards as faithful and obedient servants: “…when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Lk 17:9-10).

It continues: “By faith Abel… (verse 4); By faith Enoch… (verse 5); By faith Noah… (verse 7); By faith Abraham… (verse 8)….All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.  They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth [verse 13]; By faith Jacob… (verse 21); By faith Joseph… (verse 22); By faith Moses… (verse 23); By faith Rahab the prostitute … (verse 31)….And what more shall I say? for the time would fail me to tell of…..” (verse 32).   

Unsung Heroes

And then there are those believers of extraordinary faith who are unknown to Protestants because the bible book in which they are found (2 Maccabees) is not in their canon – it was removed by Luther and Calvin etc. who vandalised the canon during the Reformation.  But they couldn’t get rid of or overlooked the passage in Hebrews which refers to these heroes i.e. “Women received their dead by resurrection” (Heb 11:35a).  A brave and godly Jewish woman urged her seven sons to refuse to eat the swine’s flesh at the king’s command.  The king had them tortured to death in the most excruciating manner while their mother looked on as she continually she exhorted them to resist even to death, in order that they might receive God’s favour at the resurrection; and that she might see them on that day.

Again, “Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection” (Heb 11:35b), referring to Eleazar, an elderly priest who was tortured and suffered the most cruel and devilish death, and at the same time, the most courageous and heroic, likewise, for not denying God by eating swine’s flesh (2 Maccabees 6:18-31). 

Noticeable by their Absence

But where is Joshua in this list?  Why was he omitted?  If ever a person was worthy of being honoured by God, Joshua should be the first pick from the Old Testament.  But he isn’t there.  Gideon and Moses asked for a sign.  Jephthah made a bargain with God for success.  Samson and David were adulterers, and David a callous murderer.  But, in stark contrast to these other saints, Joshua never questioned God, never doubted him, always instantly obeyed him without question – and yet their names are immortalised as heroes of faith; while Joshua, despite his unwavering confidence and obedience to God, is absent from the list of faith and faithfulness.

And what about faithful Deborah, a prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4:4)?  She had a message from God to Barak, commanding him to raise an army of 10,000 men to fight against Sisera: “She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’” Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’ Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh” (Jud 4:6-9). 

So, Barak fought Sisera and destroyed his whole army and the chariots, and Sisera escaped on foot.  Seeking refuge in the tent of a woman named Jael, Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion; and Jael took a hammer and smashed a nail through his head and killed him, and then cut off his head (Jud 5:18-22, 26) – not enough to justify her inclusion in Hebrews 11, it seems.

But it wasn’t Deborah who was enrolled in Hebrews 11, despite her courage.  No, it was Barak, who had refused to go into battle at God’s command unless Deborah went with him!  Not faithful Deborah; not courageous and patriotic Jael; but disobedient Barak who gets the glory, despite that Deborah warned it would not be for his glory.

So, what are we to do with this?  How are we to understand the seeming unfair treatment of these two worthies, and others like them in the OT, having been “overlooked” to be immortalised for their outstanding faithful and obedient service to God; while those who were singled out for this honour were distinctly unworthy, humanly speaking?

The first thing to say is that, as I mentioned above, God doesn’t see things as we do (1 Samuel 16:7).

The second thing, which is related to the first, is that God is a God of grace (Rom 5:20).

The third thing is that God acts with wisdom.  God is not bound by the concept of what seems unfair to us.  He challenges: “Where is the one who is wise?….God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Cor 1:20, 25).

The fourth, and most important thing, is that God is absolutely sovereign.  As King Nebuchadnezzar, when his sanity was restored to him by God who had initially taken it from him, so wisely and with absolute conviction, stated: “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does what he wills with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.  There is no one who can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What are you doing?’” (Dan 4:35).

The Saints of God

So, getting back to Hebrews 11 then, the passage goes on to describe many other acts of incredible courage and perseverance under the severest persecutions and physical torturesas these worthies endured, all for the sake of God.  Truly, the world has not seen the like of them, either before or since, who endured appalling suffering for the sake of their faith; and their example has inspired countless numbers of people to likewise endure the worst with which men and devils have tormented them; and many of them have praised God, thanking him that he has counted them worthy to suffer for him (Acts 5:41).

It is these worthies, ordinary people who achieved greatness in the eyes of humanity and commendation from God for their faith, by whom we should be motivated and inspired, rather than fictional characters, some of whom are indeed heroic, but many more of them being more bestial and devilish than human.  These are the characters that fill the novels and the games and the TV shows and movies which gain the attention and admiration of the world.  But when Jesus returns – and he will return – to judge the earth, all the fiction, all the myth and the legend, will be shown to be just that, and unbelievers will see, too late, that they literally chased a fantasy instead of Jesus and are therefore now condemned forever.  At the judgment set of God, they will regret and mourn and weep that they wasted their precious time on games and fantasies instead of using it to know Jesus, and securing the safety of their eternity (Rev 6:12-17).

“Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:8-9).

“New Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic Edition, copyright 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches in the United States of America, and are used by permission”