Ordinary People — Extraordinary Heroes
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesIn the book of Judges, we read an account of God’s people descending into spiritual indifference and rebellion. After the death of Joshua and his peers, we read that the next generation “forsook the Lord God of their fathers …. and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them” (Judges 2:12).
This dismal record of wavering allegiance hardly seems the place to find spiritual heroes, yet four people are mentioned in the book of Judges — Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah (cf. Judges Chapters 4-16). They are specifically named in Hebrews 11:32 along with Noah, Abraham, Moses and other notables mentioned in Hebrews 11:1-40, commending them for their faith.
The writer of Judges presents these men as flawed people who nevertheless responded to God’s call during a time of spiritual darkness in their culture. The Bible honors them for their faith — not for their perfection. They were recipients of God’s grace as surely as Christians are today (cf. Genesis 6:8 ; Exodus 33:12-14; Ephesians 2:4-8; 2 Timothy 1:8-11).
In every generation, God preserves people who are true to Him and to His Word (cf. Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:20; Isaiah 10:21-22; Jeremiah 23:3; Haggai 1:12; Romans 9:27; Romans 11:5). The measure of their lives and ours, is not the absence of failure, but the presence of God’s gracious forgiveness and the faith to obey His will (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Jeremiah 33:7-8; Micah 7:18-19; Matthew 7:21; John 20:24-31; Romans 2:13; James 1:22-25).
All of God’s faithful people may be considered ordinary in the eyes of the world (Acts 4:13; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:20-27), but they are extraordinary heroes in the eyes of God (2 Timothy 4:5-8; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
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