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Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah

          And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,  quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:32-38)

          And now the author of Hebrews decides he doesn’t have time to review any more? I think we understand most of why the others were listed in the Hall of Faith. But why doesn’t he mention Joshua? And why does he mention Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah? Gideon: who doubted God so much he put out three fleeces. Barak: who was unwilling to trust God to go to battle unless Deborah went with him. Samson: who could not have cared less about his Nazarite vow, and was more interested in his ego and wenching, than in justice. His moment of faith (at least as far as Scripture mentions it) comes in the last minute of his life. Jephthah: who rashly vowed to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house if God would give him victory, and didn’t read in the law that there were provisions for rash vows. His daughter was the first thing out through the door when he got home.
          All four of these men lived during the period in which all of Israel “did what was right in their own eyes.” That description fits them well. They all seem to be poor choices for the Hall of Faith, but we should be thankful that they are there. They show us that faith doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s not going to be perfect, so that’s good news. Our faith can be fragmented, momentary, reluctant, or cowardly. We can turn in faith to God for the wrong reasons. This is not to say that these things should characterize our faith, but since they’re going to be in our fallen, flawed mix of faith and non-faith, it’s nice to know that our few moments of fleeting, flawed faith don’t go unnoticed among the more frequent moments of failure.
          Tomorrow, we’ll continue with this passage.

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