By: Diane Caston

Hebrews 11:32- 40

The following verses are God’s explanation of faith. We trust even though we do not see the things promised. These people of faith were real people. They had ups and downs. They were trusting, but faltered, went on to trust again. They were just like us. Fortunately, the scripture tells us that ‘none will glory in His presence’. No one is going to be bragging in heaven about how much faith he or she had.


Heb. 11:32-40 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

The author continues his litany of the heroes of faith.

And what more shall I say? Time would fail me… The writer seems to realize he could go on for a good while mentioning all of the men and women of faith in the bible. He begins to summarize some of the saints and unnamed people who prevailed towards eternity with dogged faith. He names:

Gideon : He boldly destroyed idols and was mightily used of God to defeat a much larger army of Midianites ( Judges 6-7 ). Yet he was also a man who doubted God’s Word to him at first and repeatedly asked for confirmation, i.e. putting out a fleece.

Barak : He led the people of Israel in a dramatic victory over the Canaanites ( Judges 4 ). Yet he hesitated and went forward only when Deborah, the judge of Israel at the time, agreed to go with him. Deborah was his encouragement, but Barak’s name is listed here, not hers. A woman however got the glory, Jael

Samson : He was used mightily of the Lord to defeat the Philistines. Yet he never lived up to his potential and had a tragic ending to his life after being enticed by Delilah. ( Judges 13-16 ). It’s almost amazing that his name is listed here, but we see in the end of his life, he gave his own life to destroy the wicked Philistines.

Jephthah : He was used of God to defeat the Ammonites. Yet Jephthah made a foolish vow and stubbornly kept it ( Judges 11 ). To offer the first thing over the threshold to the Lord when he returned home. It was his daughter.

David : The great king of Israel was a remarkable man of faith. Yet he also failed with Bathsheba and with his own children.

Samuel: prophet and priest, mighty man of God, but he would not discipline his own children.

Each one of these were men of faith yet had notable areas of failure in their life. Still, Hebrews 11 commends their faith and lists them in the “Hall of Faith.” This shows that weak faith is better than unbelief, and you do not have to be perfect to make it into God’s “Hall of Faith.”

Heb. 11:33-35a By faith, some were victorious over their circumstances. In these next verses we see the victorious through faith heroes. These would be the kind of heroes of the faith we would all want to be, right?! Heroes with outstanding, and amazingly successful (as we would define it) stories. The ones who:

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.

Subdued kingdoms : We think of the people of Israel after wandering in the desert, entering the Promised Land, and conquering the enemies of God.

Worked righteousness : We think of the prophets and priests, and sometimes the kings who returned the peoples’ hearts to the Lord.

Obtained promises : Caleb received Hebron

Stopped the mouths of lions : Daniel and David

Quenched the violence of fire : Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Escaped the edge of the sword : David escaped the sword of Goliath and the sword of Saul

Out of weakness were made strong : Among these are Sarah, Esther

Became valiant in battle : David’s mighty men

Women who received their dead raised to life again : The Old Testament mentions at least two who fit this description, the widow of Zarepheth (1 Kg. 17:7-16) by Elijah the prophet and the Shunamite woman (2 Kg. 4:8-37) by Elisha.

In Heb. 11:35b-38 we see in contrast some by faith were victorious under their circumstances. The heroes who were not miraculously delivered, the ones who suffered and have a higher reward for not giving up in the face of terrible trials. None of us would strive to be this kind of hero, but these men and women were sustained by their faith in the promise to come.

They had what we would consider tragic endings – Joe Focht calls this the faith torture section of the list of His faithful followers.

And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

Because of our flesh and the comparative ease, we have lived in, these verses are difficult. No one would willing want to have their faith tested in these ways. These are the exceedingly tough times when it seems that God has forgotten us. These people stayed and endured, not according to their own will, but the will of God, and they were not delivered this side of heaven. Life brings hardship and suffering that we do not choose. Situations that are contrary to what we would expect with faith.

After relinquishing all to Him to suffer or to even die, they trusted God. These are those of whom the world was not worthy. I wonder how we would do in these situations. Is this what we would expect the Lord would allow in our lives?

We think of Paul the apostle in 2 Corinthians 6: 3-10 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. Paul was a man who gave all to follow God.

God allowed Satan to test Job. Some courses in life are mandatory, not elective. In answer to Job questioning, the Lord says , “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” In other words, who was He to challenge the Lord? We do not always understand the Lord’s ways. That is why it is called faith. Job was ultimately able to say in the middle of his trials, “Though he slays me yet will I praise Him!” Sometimes there is no answer to why we suffer, but does that mean we charge God? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. In the middle of trouble, we always have hope of the deliverance.

We think of Joni Erikson, a paraplegic since she was a teenager, or Nick Vujicic born without limbs who have used their trials and difficulties as a tool to bring others to Christ. This takes true surrender and trust.

Faith teachers do their best to avoid these passages. Their doctrine does not hold up here. The only reason they can prosper in developed countries is because we are so unused to suffering in our own lives. When serious trials come, we think, is there sin in my life? Is this the enemy’s warfare winning in my life? Faith is not a guarantee we will not suffer. Faith is actually manifested more powerfully in suffering if we will accept it and surrender to it.

Tortured : This is a brutal word in the ancient Greek language. It carries the idea “to beat with a stick or a baton.”

A better resurrection : As Jesus said in John 5:29 , there is a resurrection unto life and a resurrection unto condemnation. These worthies received the better resurrection.

Trial of mockings : Think of Noah building the ark when it had never rained

Chains and imprisonments : Joseph in Egypt

They were stoned :

Sawn in two : According to reliable tradition Isaiah was sawn in two and killed.

Were tempted : Among these terrible physical tortures, the writer brings up being tempted in the same context. Some think the text was corrupted here and the writer to the Hebrews originally wrote, “branded,” “burnt alive,” “mutilated,” or “strangled.” But for those who know the pain of temptation, it is not unreasonable to think that the writer regarded overcoming temptation as a true triumph of faith.

‘They were tempted’: it does not say how. If one form of temptation had been mentioned, we should have surmised that they did not suffer in other ways, but when the statement is, ‘they were tempted,’ we shall not be wrong in concluding that they were tried in any and every form.” (Spurgeon)

Were slain with the sword : The school of prophets in Samuel’s time

Wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins :

Of whom the world was not worthy : The world is not necessarily friendly to people of faith, and the world is not necessarily worthy of them either.

“The despised and ill-treated group of servants of God was of greater real worth than all the rest of humanity put together.” (Morris)

In dens and caves of the earth :

We think of the early church members in Rome who hid in the catacombs just to meet together and worship the Lord.

I have shared this poem many times in the past. It always makes me reflective. What are we willing to give? I’ve told you before of Amy Carmichael who gave her life to raise the girls she rescued from the sex slavery in the Hindu temples in India.

No Scar – Amy Carmichael

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die, and rent
by ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound?

No wound, no scar?
Yet as the Master shall the servant be,
And, pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole: can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?

Heb. 11:39-40 Gives us the conclusion of these dear heroes of the faith: We have even more reasons for faith, more reasons to hold on to faith, than these heroes of the faith did. We can now see the full picture.

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Having obtained a good testimony through faith : Though they obtained this good testimony, they did not receive the promise, the testimony of the completed work of the Messiah on their behalf. If these followers of God were steadfast without receiving the promise, those of us who have received the promise have even more reason to continue through trials and difficulty.

God having provided something better for us : We are provided something better (seeing and enjoying the completed work of Jesus on our behalf), and therefore have much more reason to hold on to faith, and to not let discouragement and tough times defeat us.

They should not be made perfect apart from us : The idea of perfect is “complete.” They could not be made complete until the work of Jesus. They looked forward to Jesus and to His work, we look at it from behind – and enjoy the fruit of His finished work.

Their faithfulness makes our faith a little easier. The writer to the Hebrews began this chapter speaking of faith in the present tense: Now faith is... By faith we understand ( Hebrews 11:1 and 11:3 ). The end of the chapter reminds us that faith is, and it is for we who follow in the footsteps of the faithful men and women of previous ages. We can have faith because we see the promised fulfilled.

So dear sisters, as we begin to see in our own country, and throughout the world, the increasing distaste of Christians. As we see a mild form of persecution starting, remember the saints of old who bore their cross’ and looked forward – and have faith for the promises of the future, that live or die we will have our eternal reward! We have the great privilege of living in a free nation that seems to be changing. Remember to honor the Lord and remember He is in control. Show humility and the love of Jesus to those who are deceived as we stand for our rights. Many are confused and well intentioned who seek to constrain us. These situations are and will continue to be great opportunities to share the freedom and love in Christ Jesus!