By Kristen Entwistle

At the end of Hebrews 11 we find the most comprehensive list of all that God accomplished through these heroes of faith.  The Israelites and their leaders conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised – a land of their own and so much more.  God shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel, and quenched the fury of the flames in the fire for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Countless stories in the Old Testament tell of those whose weakness was turned to strength, becoming powerful in battle and overtaking their enemies, including some that we have studied, including David and Gideon.

There are certainly many more people in the Old Testament whose lives are full of faith: Aaron, Moses’ brother, who became the first of the Levitical priesthood; Joshua and Caleb, who alone of the twelve spies came back to Moses and Aaron believing that they could conquer the land with God’s blessing; Ruth, who left her home and her family to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to her homeland and to the Israelite God; Solomon, the wisest king ever to live, who was wise only because he asked God for wisdom; Nehemiah, who rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem despite much opposition; Esther, who went before the king unsummoned to save her people; Job, who endured persecution and hardship at the hand of Satan but never turned away from God; the prophets, who do not get mentioned by name in Hebrews 11, but who nonetheless make up many of the books in our Canon – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, not to mention Elijah, Elisha, Nathan, and many, many others.

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