Hebrews 11:29-40
11:29
Crossing
the
Moses
parted the sea for them but the people followed and are given credit for faith
The
Lord’s victory is recorded in Ex. 15:1 and is similar to his victory over the
forces of chaos in Isaiah 51:9-11
Why
did the Sea part?
Why
did the Egyptians drown?
No
more recording of deeds of faith in the wilderness for forty years
11:30
The
walls of
11:31
Rahab
in Joshua 2:11
“zonah”
in Joshua 2:1 means “a secular harlot” and not a temple prostitute.
11:32
Notice:
Barak and Gideon are out of order as are Jephthah and Samson and Samuel and
David.
11:33
11:34-37
Some
escaped death by the sword like Elijah others died by the sword.
If
they lived or they died they did so by faith
In
Acts James dies by sword and Peter escapes sword
11:38
11:39
The
all accepted and believed the promise but none of them received the promise.
They
died looking for something that was not on this earth
11:40
“Be
made perfect”
Judith
-The Book of Judith is a vivid story relating how, in a grave crisis, God
delivered the Jewish people through the instrumentality of a woman
2
Maccabees 6
1 But not long after the king sent a certain old man of
2 And to defile the temple that was in
3 And very bad was this invasion of evils
and grievous to all.
4 For the temple was full of the riot and
revellings of the Gentiles: and of men lying with lewd women. And women thrust
themselves of their accord into the holy places, and brought in things that
were not lawful.
5 The altar also was filled with unlawful
things, which were forbidden by the laws.
6 And neither were the sabbaths kept, nor
the solemn days of the fathers observed, neither did any man plainly profess
himself to be a Jew.
7 But they were led by bitter constraint
on the king's birthday to the sacrifices: and when the feast of Bacchus was
kept, they wore compelled to go about crowned with ivy in honour of Bacchus.
8 And there went out a decree into the
neighbouring cities of the Gentiles, by the suggestion of the Ptolemeans, that
they also should act in like manner against the Jews, to oblige them to
sacrifice:
9 And whosoever would not conform
themselves to the ways of the Gentiles, should be put to death: then was misery
to be seen.
10 For two women were accused to have
circumcised their children: whom, when they had openly led about through the
city with the infants hanging at their breasts, they threw down headlong from
the walls.
11 And others that had met together in
caves that were near, and were keeping the sabbath day privately, being
discovered by Philip, were burnt with fire, because they made a conscience to
help themselves with their hands, by reason of the religious observance of the
day.
12 Now I beseech those that shall read
this book, that they be not shocked at these calamities, but that they consider
the things that happened, not as being for the destruction, but for the
correction of our nation.
13 For it is a token of great goodness
when sinners are not suffered to go on in their ways for a long time, but are
presently punished.
14 For, not as with other nations (whom
the Lord patiently expecteth, that when the day of judgment shall come, he may
punish them in the fulness of their sins:)
15 Doth he also deal with us, so as to
suffer our sins to come to their height, and then take vengeance on us.
16 And therefore he never withdraweth his
mercy from us: but though he chastise his people with adversity, he forsaketh
them not.
17 But let this suffice in a few words
for a warning to the readers. And now we must come to the narration.
18 Eleazar one of the chief of the
scribes, a man advanced in years, and of a comely countenance, was pressed to
open his mouth to eat swine's flesh.
19 But he, choosing rather a most
glorious death than a hateful life, went forward voluntarily to the torment.
20 And considering in what manner he was
come to ii;, patiently bearing, he determined not to do any unlawful things for
the love of life.
21 But they that stood by, being moved
with wicked pity, for the old friendship they had with the man, taking him
aside, desired that flesh might be brought, which it was lawful for him to eat,
that he might make as if he had eaten, as the king had commanded of the flesh
of the sacrifice:
22 That by so doing he might be delivered
from death: and for the sake of their old friendship with the man they did him
this courtesy.
23 But he began to consider the dignity
of his age, and his ancient years, and the inbred honour of his grey head, and his
good life and conversation from a child: and he answered without delay,
according to the ordinances of the holy law made by God, saying, that he would
rather be sent into the other world.
24 For it doth not become our age, said
he, to dissemble: whereby many young persons might think that Eleazar, at the
age of fourscore and ten years, was gone over to the life of the heathens:
25 And so they, through my dissimulation,
and for a little time of a corruptible life, should be deceived, end hereby I
should bring a stain and a curse upon my old age.
26 For though, for the present time, I
should be delivered from the punishments of men, yet should I not escape the
hand of the Almighty neither alive nor dead.
27 Wherefore by departing manfully out of
this life, I shall shew myself worthy of my old age:
28 And I shall leave an example of
fortitude to young men, if with a ready mind and constancy I suffer an
honourable death, for the most venerable and most holy laws. And having spoken
thus, he was forthwith carried to execution.
29 And they that led him, and had been a
little before more mild, were changed to wrath for the words he had spoken,
which they thought were uttered out of arrogancy.
30 But when he was now ready to die with
the stripes, he groaned, and said: O Lord, who hast the holy knowledge, thou
knowest manifestly that whereas I might be delivered from death, I suffer
grevious pains in body: but in soul am well content to suffer these things be-
cause I fear thee.
31 Thus did this man die, leaving not
only to young men, but also to the whole nation, the memory of his death for an
example of virtue and fortitude.
2 Maccabees 7 –
1 It also happened
that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and
scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law.
2 One of the
brothers, speaking for the others, said: "What do you expect to achieve by
questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors."
3 At that the king,
in a fury, gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated.
4 While they were
being quickly heated, he commanded his executioners to cut out the tongue of
the one who had spoken for the others, to scalp him and cut off his hands and
feet, while the rest of his brothers and his mother looked on.
5 When he was
completely maimed but still breathing, the king ordered them to carry him to
the fire and fry him. As a cloud of smoke spread from the pan, the brothers and
their mother encouraged one another to die bravely, saying such words as these:
6 "The Lord God
is looking on, and he truly has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his
canticle, when he protested openly with the words, 'And he will have pity on
his servants.'"
7 When the first
brother had died in this manner, they brought the second to be made sport of.
After tearing off the skin and hair of his head, they asked him, "Will you
eat the pork rather than have your body tortured limb by limb?"
8 Answering in the
language of his forefathers, he said, "Never!" So he too in turn
suffered the same tortures as the first.
9 At the point of
death he said: "You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present
life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is
for his laws that we are dying."
10 After him the
third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do
so, and bravely held out his hands,
11 as he spoke these
noble words: "It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of
his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again."
12 Even the king and
his attendants marveled at the young man's courage, because he regarded his
sufferings as nothing.
13 After he had died,
they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
14 When he was near
death, he said, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the
God-given hope of being restored to life by him; but for you, there will be no
resurrection to life."