FAITH THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD
By Sh. John Mike Pitts
Hebrews 11:29-40
Key Verse 11:29; 6
"By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned."
As we had already seen, Hebrews chapter 11 is a lineage of faith beginning with the faith of the ancients; Abel, Enoch and Noah. (v1-7) They were all men of faith who pleased God with their faith. The writer then goes on to talk about the faith of the Patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, emphasizing the faith of Abraham, the pioneer and ancestor of faith. (v8-22) These were all men of faith as well whose faith pleased God. After that the writer commends the faith of Moses' parents and goes on to describe the faith of the man Moses in reverent adulation. Moses was indeed a great man, not because he was raised as a prince in Egypt, but because "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward" (v26) Because of his decision of faith to deny himself the pleasures of life in order to live a life of faith before God, God used him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt into the freedom of the promised land. But Moses would not have fulfilled his mission from God if his parents did not defy the death sentence imposed on the children of the day by the godless culture, and offered him to the sovereignty of God. They did so by faith. May God have mercy on the parents of our generation to offer their children to God and to his glorious work rather than to drown them in the river of cultural consensus.
This passage (v29-40) is the fourth part of this great chapter of Hebrews 11. At the same time it offers a clear division of God's history, as related in Hebrews chapter 11, bordering with the Red Sea. In other words, the author moves on in this part to reveal a panorama of Israel's history, beginning with the crossing of the Red Sea to the conquest of the promised land and beyond. This too is the story of the men and women of faith whose faith made it possible for God to fulfill his plan in molding a useless slave nation, Israel, into a royal priesthood and the instrument of God to bring the gospel of salvation to all peoples. In other words, here are men and women who fought the good fight of faith regardless of human circumstances and so accomplished the work of God in a fallen world. Their stories are remarkable and their faith speaks to us even now telling us time and again that nothing pleases God more than a man or woman who engage their faith to do the work of God, whose work is done only by faith. (1Tim. 1:4 ) Let's consider this passage then prayerfully and grow in the faith which pleases God.
Look at verse 29. "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." During the final days of their slavery in Egypt, God informed Moses of the last miraculous act he would perform in Egypt that would finally cause Pharaoh to set God's people free. When the people obeyed God by faith and sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their door-posts the angel of death passed over them not harming their first born. And so Pharaoh capitulated and set the people free. Moses then led the people out of Egypt and into the desert with God's mighty hand. But now they faced another obstacle in their holy pilgrimage to the promised land. Now the Red Sea lay ahead of them and the Egyptian army was chasing them. It was a twice hopeless situation for an already fear-ridden people. Some were already talking about returning to Egypt rather than to die in the desert or drown in the sea. They had already forgotten the miraculous hand of God which saved them from Egyptian oppression. From a human point of view, Moses surely could do nothing but despair in the face of this faithless people and this hopeless situation. But the man of faith Moses, instead of looking at himself, looked instead at God and remembered God's promises (Ex. 3:12a). When God's word of promise was in his heart, nothing seemed impossible to overcome. So Moses challenged the people to have faith: "Do not be afraid." he said to them, "Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today." (Ex. 14:13a) Because of Moses' faith, the people were also ready to struggle to have faith. Then, when they decided by faith to trust God who delivers them, faith grew in their hearts, their fears subsided and what was impossible seemed absolutely possible in God. Because of one man Moses' influence of faith, helpless people began to open their hearts to God's word. It was the beginning of their act of faith, and it was the beginning point of victory.
Moses then, full of faith in God, raised his staff and stretched out his hand over the sea as the Lord had commanded, and the water divided. It was a glorious miracle-- the awesome hand of God dividing a great Sea. But still it was not easy for them to cross it. Satan was still saying to some of them: "What will you do if the water falls down on you while you are crossing? See, you are never out of danger." Therefore, we see then that from beginning to end they had to cross the Sea by faith. Step by step they had to overcome their inner fear, and by faith would pass through it as on dry land.
But why did God, who loved his people so much, put them in such a difficult situation at the onset of their pilgrimage? Wouldn't a trouble-free exit from Egypt be kinder to an already suffering people? No it wouldn't! God loved them enough to help them become strong and powerful. They would become so only if they learned how to overcome their adverse human conditions and many difficulties of life by faith. So, God wanted them to experience the power of God working in and through their lives. So God brought them to the Red Sea to face this impossible situation and to overcome it by faith. God did not want them to remain a helpless people and the victims of dire circumstances. He wanted them to know through personal experience that nothing is impossible for those who believe in him. (Luke 1:37; Php. 4:13) How wonderful is God who had such great hope for these hopeless and useless people to make them a royal priesthood-- a people who pray-- a people of faith and mission. For that reason, God was determined to train them until they could personally experience the power of God.
Let's look at verse 29b. "...but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." Why? Because a "red sea" cannot be crossed by human ability nor by skill nor by imitation, but can be crossed only by faith in God. God so ordained that all the impossible situations of life must involve personal faith. Therefore, only men and women of faith are enabled to overcome and so win the spiritual victories in life.
There is a "red sea" in each person's life. Life is full of difficulties and dangers for those who venture to live by faith. So what do we do when we face the "red seas" in our pilgrimage? If we have a habit of despairing when we face an impossible "red sea", and we have no learning mind, we certainly remain in our fear; we remain helplessly despairing. And we cannot please God. But if, by faith, we decide to cross our own "red sea", God enables us and blesses our faith to mature until we can cross every "red sea" to become a useful instrument of God in world salvation.
Look at verse 30. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days." God's training to his beloved people didn't stop after the Red Sea. There were many obstacles ahead of them to strengthen their faith. The city of Jericho, which God commanded them to capture, was well fortified and invincible. It was again easy to despair and grumble and give up the fight of faith. These people were not disciplined in battle. They had no military skills nor means to fell the walls of Jericho. From a human point of view they could not do it. But God wanted them to experience spiritual victory. And there was one way to do so! It was through faith. They needed to believe and obey the word of God. And God gave them specific instructions to follow if they were to turn the impossible situation into something entirely possible. But God's instructions were unreasonable-- non-military-- and downright ridiculous.
It is incredible that Joshua and all the fighting men did not question God's strange instructions, but obeyed them exactly. Then the walls of Jericho fell. Victory was theirs when they obeyed God's command. Indeed, the greatest act of faith is to obey God's word in an impossible situation and experience God's victory. The fall of Jericho then became the stepping stone to the conquest of the promised land.
We cannot ignore, however, one person whose faith made the conquest of Jericho possible. Read verse 31. "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient." Rahab was a godless prostitute who lived among God's enemies. But when she heard about God, she believed. She believed that the God of Israel is the God of all the earth whom she should worship and stand with. So she decided to abandon her culture and heritage and ally herself with God. Rahab then unintentionally planted faith in God's people's hearts that God would certainly give them victory. In that sense, she had faith-- the faith that pleases God. And God recognized her faith and spared her life including her name in the hall of faith. Rahab's act of faith to stand on God's side at a historical moment became legendary.
In verses 32-40, the author emphasizes the great works God had done in and through men of faith down through history. The question is, how could simple ordinary men do the great works of God? And, according to the author of Hebrews the answer is simple! It was the power of faith at work in their hearts. Read verse 32. "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets..." These were the heroes of faith who emerged at times when God's people were in great difficulty and spiritual darkness, and had drifted away from God to culture. So God raised up these men of faith to deliver God's people from their sin and from destruction. These men of God had one thing in common. They were all ordinary men with ordinary, and petty human desires. But their weaknesses were turned to strength through faith.
For example, Gideon was an ordinary man-- a farmer who was harassed by the enemy. The Lord said to him: "Am I not sending you to fight against the Midianites?" And Gideon said, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest. I am the least in my family." He realized he was too weak to do the work of God. But he did not remain in his weakness. He wanted to obey God's call to mission by faith. Then the power of faith began to work in his heart, and he was changed by the power of faith into a powerful man of God. He could then defeat the enemies of God who outnumbered him. It was an act of faith.
Another man, Samson, was a macho man of muscle and strength. His biggest problem was his lustful desires. They were simply too overwhelming. He gave in to them and fell to the seduction of a foxy woman, Delilah. And he became a prisoner of Satan. His eyes were put out and he was confined to prison. God, who wanted him to serve his purpose in a critical time, grieved. But somehow Samson still wanted to please God, even one time, even in his hopeless situation. It was impossible to serve God's purpose. But Samson found a way. It was by faith. It was the faith that prays in a desperate situations. He prayed, "O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, strengthen me just once more..." (Jdg. 16:16,17,28) When he repented and prayed to God for help, God gave him the power to overcome his enemies and the enemies of God.
In all, these people were too weak to do anything. But when they depended on God Almighty, their weakness was turned to strength. They became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. They conquered enemies and kingdoms. Indeed, the power of faith makes the weak into strong men and women. We must not remain in our weaknesses. Those who dwell in weakness must repent and depend on God and experience the power of faith to accomplish the great and mighty things of God.
Read verses 35-38. The faith of the men and women of faith listed in these verses seems be in contrast to those listed in v32-34. Their faith did not conquer kingdoms and subdue enemies nor lead armies. In other words, their faith did not lead to outward manifestation of the great power and work of God. Instead, their faith seems to be that glorious faith which overcomes the inner person. It is the faith which endures and perseveres in personal trials and sufferings. It is the faith which stands in the storms of life against doubts, fears, temptations and all things that assail the soul. Indeed one of the greatest battles we have to fight as Christians is the fight to overcome ourselves-- our selfishness-- our ingratitude-- our indifference-- our weakness to the worldly desires, instead to devote ourselves to imitating our Lord Jesus and growing in his likeness. So, the Apostle Paul's admonition to the saints is forever to "Fight the good fight of the faith." But through these verses we see that it is worthwhile to struggle to grow in faith and to overcome all things by faith. Indeed, the power of faith is stronger than anything else, even stronger than death. The power of faith is stronger than the world. It is stronger than the sinful nature that captivates and enslaves people to this perishing world. So we must have faith. And we must render the glory to God through our faith. And by his grace and mercy, our names will appear among those who are listed in the hall of faith in the courts of our great God. May God bless us to grow in faith this year-- faith that pleases God. Read verse 6.