Hebrews 11:31-40 – faith demonstrated by Joshua, the judges, kings and prophets

In Hebrews 11:32, the author asked a rhetorical question, "And what more shall I say?" In asking the question, he was essentially indicating that he had brought up sufficient illustrations to show why it was essential to exercise persevering faith. It was the author’s way of saying that he saw no necessity to cite more examples and that the Old Testament contained many records of people who had vibrant faith.

Nevertheless, the author went on to select several more characters and briefly mentioned what each had accomplished by his faith. Each individual he mentioned was far from perfect, but God approved the faith of each one of them. The list began with Old Testament characters, including judges such as Gideon; Barak; Samson; and Jephthah; then King David, Samuel and the prophets.

From verses 33-35, the author briefly went through the exploits of some Old Testament characters, without mentioning their names. From the different accounts of the Old Testament, we can roughly know who these characters are: 

(1)  Joshua conquered kingdom

(2) Daniel (Daniel 6:17-22); Samson (Judges 14:5-6), David (1 Samuel 17:34-37), and Benaiah (1 Chronicles 11:22) all shut the lions' mouths. 

(3)  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego escaped fiery death (Daniel 3:23-27)

(4) David, Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah avoided execution.

In verse 35, the author seemed to be referring to the ministries of both Elijah 

and Elisha (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:17-37). Two women had their dead sons 

revived by the two prophets because they believed God could and would do what He had promised. 

In the second half of verse 35 right through verse 38, the author showed that faith however, did not always result in deliverance. These verses also described the different forms of harsh treatment men of faith had to endure. Perhaps the intention of the author was to comfort the readers who were distressed by their hard times. It is apparent that many faithful saints went through hazardous moments even to the point of enduring death. These would be rewarded only on the other side of life. Tradition revealed that Isaiah was sawn into two at King Manasseh's hand. Anyway, despite the intensity of their pressure, these faithful men of God stoutly endured their tough times without turning away from God. The author asserted that these were the people whom the world was not worthy of.  

Verses 39-40 reveal that all those faithful saints of old gained God’s approval. In the midst of their terrible circumstances, they lived out their faith and did not receive their inheritances while they were alive. Why? It is because God had a future plan that would include all believers. The pronoun “us” in verse 40 includes all Christians, even those who believe in Christ today. In Christ, God has provided what the author termed as “something better.” For it is in Christ that God unites all believers past and present. His resurrection is the hope that all believers look forward in faith. These last two verses also provide the transition for the author to launch into his discussion in chapter 12.             

It is obvious that the intention of chapter 11 of Hebrews was to encourage the readers to continue to trust and obey God in the midst of their temptations. This would help them not to turn away from following God faithfully. As we read these accounts of their exploits of faith, let’s be challenged to remain faithful in our pursuit of God.