Verse 29 says that by faith the sons of Israel “passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians attempting to do were swallowed up.” Nothing is mentioned in this chapter of the forty years during which the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, since during that time they did nothing by faith; rather, in those years they provoked God by their unbelief (3:16-18). Even their crossing of the Jordan River is not accounted here, because that crossing was due to the delay caused by their unbelief. It would not have been needed if they had not had the unbelief which disabled them from entering the good land at Kadesh-barnea (Deut. 1:19-46), just a short time after they left Mount Sinai (Deut. 1:2). If they had had faith at Kadesh-barnea, they could have entered the good land thirty-eight years earlier than they did. Although they eventually crossed the Jordan River by faith, the Holy Spirit here made no record of it because it was not pleasing in the eyes of God.
Verse 30, passing over the years of wandering in the wilderness, says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, having been encircled during seven days.” The Israelites did not have the best weapons when they encircled the walls of Jericho. They did this by faith, doing what God had told them to do, and He honored their faith.
“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the obstinate, having received the spies with peace” (v. 31). When I was young, I liked to use this story in the preaching of the gospel. Rahab let down a scarlet cord which signifies the flowing blood of Jesus (Josh. 2:18; 6:23). By faith, she was saved from the destruction which the Canaanites suffered.
By faith Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets did many marvelous things (vv. 32-39). Although they did marvelous things, many of them also suffered martyrdom. God performed miracles for some of them, but He did not do such things for all of them. Do not think that if you have faith God will always do something for you. Many times the exercise of our faith will only bring us the enjoyment of God’s silence. Perhaps when some are being stoned to death, they would pray, “O Lord, save me from these stones.” Instead, the Lord may give them a peaceful silence, not doing anything to rescue them. When Stephen was being martyred, the Lord did not rescue him but gave him such a sweet silence (Acts 7:54-60). To suffer persecution without any rescue coming from the Lord requires great faith.
God’s silence is greater than His miracles. Which do you prefer to have—God’s miracles or His silence? If we would be honest, most of us would say that we prefer God’s miracles. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, the mockers said to Him, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross,” and, “If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matt. 27:40, 42). For at least three of the six hours while the Lord was on the cross, there was silence in the universe. It seemed that there was no God, and the mockers and the blasphemers said whatever they wanted. It was their world and they were the gods at that time. God will remain silent much more often than He will perform miracles. At times, we all must enjoy God’s silence by faith.
Many martyrs have testified that they enjoyed God’s silence by faith. I can never forget that in the 1930’s two missionaries were martyred in China. On the day of their martyrdom, one of them said, “Every martyr’s face is like the face of an angel.” The other said, “If I had another life to live, I would also give it to be martyred for the Lord.” God allowed them to be martyred there in China, doing nothing to rescue them. They enjoyed God’s silence by faith. As we read the history of faith recorded in this chapter, we see that it is not just a record of miracles, but also a record of God’s silence. He did not always act to help His saints outwardly, but often enabled them to enjoy His silence inwardly.
Verse 35 says, “Others were beaten to death, not accepting deliverance, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection.” The better resurrection is not only “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4-6), “the resurrection of life” (John 5:28-29), but also “the out-resurrection” (Phil. 3:11, Gk.), the extra-resurrection, the resurrection in which the Lord’s overcomers will receive the reward (v. 26) of the kingdom, after which the Apostle Paul sought. Verse 38, speaking of those who endured such affliction by faith, says that the world was not worthy of them. These faith people are an extra-people, of the highest estate, of whom the corrupted world is not worthy. Only the holy city of God, New Jerusalem, is worthy of having them.