Finale
Beyond the known seventeen heroes of faith that are specifically
mentioned, Hebrews 11 have also given indications as to the others that have
not been named. From the five verses from 11:33 to 11:37, there are evident
clues for us to reveal who they are likely to be:
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v.33 > “…who through
faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions…”
Daniel
(Daniel 6:21-22) but there are at least two others who did the same thing:
David in protecting sheep (1 Sam 17:34-37) and Samson (Judges 14:6)
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v.34 > “quenched the fury of the flames…”
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego (Daniel 3: 23-25)
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v.34 > “…and escaped the edge of the sword…”
Could be Elijah,
fleeing Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:8-10) or Elisha
whom the king of Israel wanted murdered (2 Kgs 6:31-32)
Might have also been David who was fleeing king Saul (1 Sam 23:19-29)
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v.34 > “…whose weakness was turned to strength…”
Hezekiah
having recovered from his sickness (Isaiah 37:1-38:22)
Could have also been Samson, after his hair was cut (Judges 16:29-30)
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v.34 > “…and who became
powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.”
Jehoshaphat
in defeating Edom (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)
Could have also been David in defeating Goliath (1 Sam 17:50) or Hezekiah whose faith led to the
slaughter of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kgs 19:1-36)
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v.35 > “Women received back their dead, raised to life again.”
The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24)
and the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37)
both received their sons raised back to life by the prophets Elijah and Elisha
respectively
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v.35-36 > “…There were others
who were tortured, refused to be released so that they might gain an even
better resurrection. Some faced jeers
and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.”
Jeremiah
was tortured and whipped (Jeremiah 20:1-3, 37:11-21, 38:1-13)
Could also be Micaiah the
prophet (1 Kgs 22:24-28)
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v.37 > “They were put to death by stoning…”
Zechariah,
son of Jehoida the priest, was stoned to death (2 Chronicles 24:20-22)
Possibly so too was the prophet Jeremiah
who was allegedly stoned to death in Egypt by his fellow Jews
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v.37 > “…they were sawed in two”
According
to mutually complementary rabbinic sources, Manasseh, enraged because Isaiah had prophesied the destruction
of the Temple, ordered his arrest. Isaiah fled to the hill country and hid in
the trunk of a cedar tree. He was discovered when the king ordered the tree cut
down. Isaiah was tortured with a saw because he had taken refuge in the trunk
of a tree. (Lane, W. L. Vol. 47B: Word Biblical Commentary: Hebrews 9-13. Word
Biblical Commentary (390). Dallas: Word, Incorporated)
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v.37 > “…they were killed by the sword”
Urijah the prophet (Jeremiah 26:20-23)
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v.37 > “… They were
about in sheepskin and goatskins”
Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8)
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v.37 > “…destitute, persecuted and mistreated…”
Elijah (1 Kgs 17:2-6, 18:9-10)
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v.38 > “…the world was
not worthy of them. They wandered in
deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”
Elijah
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v.39 > “These were all commended for their faith”
They did obtain a good
testimony concerning the elders (Heb 11:2) and as stated regarding Enoch (11:5)
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v.39 > “…yet none of
them received what had been promised…”
They did receive some of the promises such as
the Promised Land (Heb 11:33)
…but they did not receive ‘THE’ Promise (11:40)
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v.40 > “since God had
planned something better for us so that
only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Nor did they live to see
the coming of the promised Deliverer (Christ) nor did they experience the
‘perfection’ which Christ now offers as the Law could not make them ‘perfect’
(Heb 9:9-10, 10:1-4) but Christ can (Heb 9:11-14, 10:11-14)
End of Series
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