Sunday Night Bible Study Hebrews 11:35-40 October 23, 1994 Hebrews 11:35-40 Introduction The importance of faith The Jewish believers who were reading the original letter had been going through a great deal of persecution since they started believing in Jesus as their Messiah. Some of them had even been tempted to just give up in trusting in Jesus and go back to Judaism like they were before they were saved. But the writer has over and over again stressed the importance of faith, of trusting and continuing to trust in Jesus. The writer has been drawing from the Jews' own history of heroes to show that the great men of old all lived by faith. 35b and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. Faith's Greater Victories We titled last week's study "Faith's Great Victories" I think that in a way, this week's passage, as strange as it may seem, should be called "Faith's Greater Victories". :35 others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ... better resurrection Refers to a situation in 2Macc.7 Under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, 7 sons of one mother were tortured and put to death. One of them, in the midst of his tortures, having deliverance and advancement offered him if he would forsake the Law of his fathers, courageously refused the offer. Both they and their mother, who encouraged them to persevere, reiterated their hope of a resurrection from the dead. tortured Greek word is tumpanizo {toom-pan-id'-zo} ("timpani") 1) to beat the drum or timbrel 2) to torture with the tympanum, an instrument of punishment The tympanum seems to have been a wheel shaped instrument of torture, over which criminals were stretched as though they were skins and then horribly beaten with clubs or thongs (cf our "break upon the wheel") A man in 2Macc.6, Elazar was killed by stretching him out on a rack, a sort of wheel, and then beaten to death. "better resurrection" Means the resurrection to eternal life looked forward to by these people. It was better in that it was better than the temporary restoration to life experienced by the widow's son and the Shunammite's son (in vs.35) They kept their eyes ahead of them, not on their circumstances. :36 trial of cruel mockings and scourgings ... bonds and imprisonment mockings The Maccabean history mentions lots of "mockings" bonds and imprisonment Hanani 2Ch 16:7-10 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for [he was] in a rage with him because of this [thing]. And Asa oppressed [some] of the people the same time. Micaiah 1Ki 22:27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this [fellow] in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. Jeremiah After repeatedly warning and rebuking king Jehoiakim, he was persecuted, Jer 12:6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee. Jer 15:15 O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. Jer 15:18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, [which] refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, [and as] waters [that] fail? Plotted against Jer 11:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: Imprisoned Jer 20:2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that [were] in the high gate of Benjamin, which [was] by the house of the LORD. Then, under King Zedekiah's reign, after being honest with him, he was thrown into a dungeon Jer 37:15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. Then moved to the courtyard of the jail. Jer 37:21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Then, accused of treason, he was thrown into an empty cistern Jer 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that [was] in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon [there was] no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. After being rescued, he was put back into the courtyard of the jail. Jer 38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. :37 stoned Zachariah, son of Jehoiada 2Ch 24:20-22 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. 21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon [it], and require [it]. :37 sawn asunder This is thought to be a reference to the prophet Isaiah. His long ministry covered the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and into the reign of Manasseh. Jotham reigned 16 years, Ahaz reigned 16 years, Hezekiah reigned 29 years (at least 61 years!) But it was wicked King Manasseh that had Isaiah put to death, sawn in two. :37 tempted :37 slain with the sword :37 wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins Elijah was dressed like this. 2Ki 2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 0155 'addereth {ad-deh'-reth} 1) glory, cloak 1a) glory, splendour, magnificence (of a vine, shepherds) 1b) mantle, cloak made of fur or fine material 1b1) prophet's garment :37 being destitute, afflicted, tormented :38 of whom the world was not worthy I love this phrase! The world is not worthy of people who have a committment of this degree to the Lord. And the world is not going to be the reward of those with this kind of faith. Heaven is their reward! Mt 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Are we looking for the treasures of this world, or for God's treasures? Are we searching for the world's applause, of for God's? :38 they wandered in deserts ... mountains ... dens ... caves King David, running from Saul Both Elijah, running from King Ahab during the drought. The Maccabean heroes also hid in the mountains and caves 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. :39 obtained a good report There is a good witness or testimony about these people because of their faith, their trust in God :39 received not the promise The promise of a Messiah, but even more, the promise of eternal life in the resurrection Here's this great group of saints, who trusted God, and yet haven't yet received the resurection. They didn't have a deal with God: "God, if you give me this, I'll do this for you". Some people say that God isn't real because He hasn't answered their prayers yet. Quality faith doesn't demand God's meeting your requirements. :40 some better thing I think the writer is referring back to the "better resurrection" of verse 35. We could translate the verse, "God having provided a certain better for us" :40 that they without us should not be made perfect In the fulness of time, when all the elect have responded to God, the resurrection will take place. When we, as the church reach that certain number God has in mind of saved people, the Rapture will take place. In a sense, the resurrection for these Old Testament saints is tied to us, to God's working through us. Faith's Greater Victory Last week we talked about such great victories won by men and women of faith. But learning to live by faith is not just about getting nice things done for you by God. Purpose of Hebrews: Written to Jewish believers who are undergoing persecution. Who have started toying with the idea of giving up on trusting in Jesus. The writer is showing them that others have gone through rough stuff too. It's learning to trust Him, even if the going gets a little rough. Even if there is no chance that the going is going to get a little better. Is there some sort of "breaking point" to your relationship with God? The sign of maturity is when we realize that there is no breaking point. Job's faith: Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 2Co 4:16-18 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. How's that for fitting our definition of faith, looking to things not seen...? What are the unseen things we are to look for? It's not that the misery will end. Don't look to that! 1. God's will for me is good Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Ro 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 2. God loves me. Ro 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. How can I have more faith? We can identify with the man who brought his son to Jesus for healing: Mr 9:23-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. It's great to see all these champions of faith believing in God. But for me it gets kind of tough sometimes. How to gain more faith: 1. Soak in God's Word Ro 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 2. Take advantage of trials (I'm not talking about the OJ case!) 1Pe 1:6-8 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: The words "trial" and "tried" speak of the testing of precious metals, which is done by fire. The trials we face are the heat under the smelting pot of our faith. God needs to keep the heat on us from time to time to refine our faith. As the heat continues, the impurities come to the surface, where God as the master goldsmith can remove them from our lives. Trials also work hand in hand with the Word Ps 119:71 [It is] good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. Ps 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Ps 119:50 This [is] my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. Baby giraffes...birth of a giraffe... In a View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: "The first thing to emerge are the baby giraffe's front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn calf is hurled forth, falls ten feed, and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position with his legs tucked under his body. From this position he considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last vestiges of the birthing fluid from his eyes and ears. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over her calf. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heals. When it doesn't get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts...Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible in order to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they'd get it too, if the mother didn't teach her calf to get up quickly and get with it... I've thought about the birth of the giraffe many times. I can see its parallel in my own life. There have been many times when it seemed that I had just stood up after a trial, only to be knocked down again by the next. It was God helping me to remember how it was that I got up, urging me always to walk with him, in his shadow, under his care."