We should not expect to have pleasant, easy, and comfortable lives through faith, and suffering is not a sign of little faith. Indeed, to be like our Lord, we are called to take up our cross and follow Him. But in so doing, we ought to rejoice because just as Christ triumphed through the cross so now does He lead His church to triumph through suffering.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:32-40 ESV

As we come to the conclusion of Hebrews 11 and its marvelous survey of the Old Testament saints who lived and died by faith, we ought to once again ground ourselves in context. Again, the key verse of chapter 11 is actually found at the end of chapter 10, where after citing Habakkuk 2:3-4, the author exhorts: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (10:39). Chapters 3-4 already gave us an example of those who shrank back in fear and were destroyed. The exodus generation of Israelites rebelled against the Yahweh, who proved His might and provision to them over and over again, because they were afraid of the giants within the land of Canaan. On this side of the sermon-letter’s central focus upon the priestly work of Christ, the preacher has been giving us example after example of those who have faith and preserve their souls. He wants to flood his readers with these heroes of the faith because their own faith shall be tested by the crucible of persecution. These were all regular men and women, not superhuman demigods like the pagan heroes, who by looking by faith for the heavenly city that is to come received the greatest prize in all the cosmos: the commendation of their Creator.
And the question that this chapter and the entire sermon-letter sets before us is: Will we do likewise? When push comes to shove, will we shrink back in fear like the exodus generation, or will we have faith and receive the commendation of our Father?
Of Judges, Kings, & Prophets// Verse 32
As we have already seen in 9:5, the author of Hebrews is fully aware of his time constraints. Although he would have enjoyed working through every piece of furnishing in the tabernacle to show how each pointed forward to the coming of Christ, he kept his focus on the goal of his sermon-letter and continued on. A similar point has now been reached in our present chapter. After working his way from Abel to Rahab (skipping already many more examples of faithfulness that could have been told), the author now seems to catch himself from going further, realizing his need to wrap up this discourse on faith:
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets–
Moving on from Joshua, which recorded the events described in verses 30-31, the author now gives a list of six names, four from Judges and two from 1-2 Samuel. He then ends by saying “and the prophets,” which was large number of men who served from the time of David onward.
By faith, Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah were each judges of Israel after the conquest of Canaan and before there was a king in Israel. The Book of Judges is an unpleasant book because it describes the gradual descent of Israel into wickedness as great or even greater than the nations around them. That descent is recorded through downward cycles of sin and rescue. In each cycle, Israel worships false gods, God gives Israel into the hand of an enemy, Israel cries out for rescue, God raises up a judge to deliver them, and the cycle repeats. Thus, each of these men were raised up by God during a time of great crisis and defeat in Israel, and all were given victory over their enemies through the strength of the LORD.
Gideon is probably the best example. He prepared to fight the Midianites with 32,000 men, but Yahweh commanded him to let those who were afraid go home. So 22,000 left. Yet God further whittled those 10,000 down to only 300 so that all would have to confess that victory came from the hand of Yahweh. By faith, Gideon obeyed the commands of God and delivered God’s people from their enemy. The same was also true of Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. They each obtained victories in battle because they believed God’s words to them and responded in obedience.
Of course, the examples of the faith of David and Samuel would be a lengthy list in itself. Samuel was faithful to God’s command even when it meant defying the highly unstable King Saul. David’s devotion to the LORD earned Him the distinction of being called a man after God’s own heart.
Yet as with everyone else in this chapter, these six men were not always faithful. After his victory over the Midianites and after rejecting the people’s demand for him to rule over them, Gideon made a ephod of gold, “and all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family” (Judges 8:27).
Although Barak did conquer kingdoms and put armies to flight by faith, his was a weak faith that was dependent upon Deborah, who was the actual judge of Israel at that time. And because of his wavering faith, the glory of his victory was given to another woman named Jael.
Jephthah was not any better. After his victory, he made a vow to offer whatever greeted him upon returning home to the Yahweh, but his daughter came to him rather than any of his animals. Rather than repent of his foolish vow, he offered his daughter as a burnt offering to the LORD, which revealed that he did not know God’s law or else he would have remembered Deuteronomy 12:29-32:
When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?–that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
Samson is perhaps the weakest in faith of the bunch. Although he was used by the LORD to fight back the mighty Philistines, he mostly seems to fight for his own self-interest. Even as he made his final prayer for renewed strength after having his eyes gouged out, he prayed, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28).

David succeeded were Saul failed, both in good and in evil. The LORD was his chief glory and delight, yet the great king still sinned. He committed adultery with the wife of one of his most faithful servants and attempted to cover up his sin by sending Uriah on a suicide mission, just as Saul once tried to do to David.
While we are not told of any explicit sins on Samuel’s part, we do read about his sons that they “did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). Thus, for all of Samuel’s faithfulness, the overt wickedness of his sons would have likely left him unqualified to serve as an elder of a church under the new covenant.
What are we to make of such broken examples of faith?
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During this time of trouble and confusion, our only hope at Tenth Church is to humble ourselves, and in repentance and faith seek the mercy of God through Jesus Christ, and to encourage others who struggle with sin in their lives to do the same. It is only by being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ that we can truly be reconciled to one another in this world. Tenth Church asks for prayers to this end.

Dr. Liam Goligher resigned as Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church on Friday, December 1, 2023. This was following reports on the internet of a citation of personal conduct dating back to 2014 which was previously unknown to Tenth Church. The citation is a matter of public record and cites actions which give the appearance of sin. Our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, has specific processes to review the conduct of its ministers. This matter is being referred to the Philadelphia Presbytery who will conduct an investigation. The process of searching for a new Senior Minister at Tenth will follow the formal dissolution of the pastoral relationship according to the polity of our denomination.

This has been difficult news for the Tenth community, and we are experiencing a wide range of emotions. When the Church is confronted by the appearance of sin, her mission is not to abandon people but to work to seek the truth in the situation and encourage any needed repentance and reconciliation with God and one another. We serve a loving God who came into this sinful world in the Person of Jesus Christ in order to save humankind from its sin. As the Apostle Paul said, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). During this time of trouble and confusion, our only hope at Tenth Church is to humble ourselves, and in repentance and faith seek the mercy of God through Jesus Christ, and to encourage others who struggle with sin in their lives to do the same. It is only by being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ that we can truly be reconciled to one another in this world. Tenth Church asks for prayers to this end.
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The major controversy that surrounds the book is that it contradicts the narrative of identity politics presently dominant in this country. We are told that racial injustice is only a problem with minority groups who are non-white.  White men are, by definition, oppressors.  That is the standard presupposition of identity politics.  Because the book portrays many white people who came from poor and uneducated backgrounds, the book betrays the current narrative of social justice. The book indirectly tells us that whites can be the victims of so-called inequality too.
[Editor’s Note: This book (and movie) review of the Hillbilly Elegy first ran on The Aquila Report on December 29, 2020. Since its author, J.D. Vance, has been chosen as the Republican candidate for Vice-President, we thought it would be timely to post it again.]
Among upper middle-class white suburbanites, at least in their circles, the book Hillbilly Elegy has become a must-read.  As a result, some of them may view it as the standard for understanding the Appalachian culture.  During its early release the popularity among its readers was reinforced by its rise to the top of the New York Times best-sellers list.
While the book may have minimal interest among many Christians, its narrative and especially the modern public reaction to the caricature of poor white Americans in Appalachia should arouse interest in those who seek to apply the Christian faith to the culture in which we live. It is especially important in our days of critical race theory and identity politics. I will discuss this more below.
Recently, it has been made into a Netflix movie directed by Ron Howard.  It is rated R for the language; however, it is void of the typical Netflix nudity and on-screen sexual immorality. The movie review geeks of “Rotten Tomatoes” gave it a 26% favorable rating while it garnered an 86% favorability rating among the average public audience.
If you are offended by hearing bad language, then this is not the movie for you.  However, if you are able to handle the language while seeking to understand the cultural nuances in the movie, then it may be worth reading the book or watching the movie.
The movie traces the life of J.D. Vance as he was raised in an industrial city in Ohio.  His family had its origins in the hill country of Appalachia (Kentucky), and as many industrial workers did back in the latter part of the 20th century, they had to move out of the hill country to find jobs.  Many of them lived in Ohio during the week and drove home (hundreds of miles) every weekend.  Some purchased homes in Ohio.  J.D.’s mother was a drug addict, and his strong-willed, cussing grandmother (Glenn Close) was the stability factor in his family.  In spite of his difficulties of being raised in a highly dysfunctional family, Mr. Vance eventually went off to Yale and became a successful lawyer.  This is partially his autobiography.
The book derives its title from the stereotypical name of “hillbilly” given to those who were raised in Appalachia.  It is also called an elegy (a lament about the past).  Mr. Vance’s life was very hard and he had to endure much stress and embarrassment in regard to his family. He certainly has an interesting and heart-warming story to tell.
There are several take-aways from the book.  First, in my view, it is really not so much a book or movie about Appalachia and its culture, but more about the consequences of sin in any culture. One could take the same story-line and transfer it to any geographic part of the country and there would not be much difference.  However, curiosity about Appalachian culture gives the book an inviting and magnetic drawing power for outsiders (and insiders, too).
Being raised in Appalachia myself (about 40 years before Mr. Vance), I could identify with some of the tidbits in the movie (like pronouncing the word syrup as “surp,” and not knowing which eating utensils to use at a fancy dinner).  I can attest that there was grave poverty among both whites and blacks in the mountains, especially in the coal fields.  I know of both black and white men walking the railroad tracks looking for lumps of coal that may have fallen off the coal trains.  Coal provided heat for the family in the winter time.  This was before the welfare system and EBT food-stamps.  There were no free-loaders, only survivors. In the early 20th century, miners were often treated like slaves by the mine-owners.  Some of them worse than slaves.
Secondly, it is obvious that in Mr. Vance’s immediate family, there was little influence of the Christian faith.  It seems that no one ever goes to church, except for weddings and funerals. Such Christianity may be more harmful and dangerous than an outright denial of the Christian faith.  Nominal Christianity is deceitful and a harmful curse.  It gives a false assurance of being a Christian with little evidence of the new birth.
Contrary to the portrayal of this family, I can attest that there were many dedicated Christians in those hills and valleys.  The Bible had a major impact on the people and its culture.  It permeated the life and morals of the people as a whole.  Marriage between a man and a woman was held in high esteem.  Adultery was scandalous. At least, that was the Appalachia I knew.
Thirdly, as I noted above, the major controversy that surrounds the book is that it contradicts the narrative of identity politics presently dominant in this country. We are told that racial injustice is only a problem with minority groups who are non-white.  White men are, by definition, oppressors.  That is the standard presupposition of identity politics.  Because the book portrays many white people who came from poor and uneducated backgrounds, the book betrays the current narrative of social justice. The book indirectly tells us that whites can be the victims of so-called inequality too.
The idea of a white family being poor and being treated as the outcast in society is not acceptable among the modern purveyors of critical race theory, thus the low rating by “Rotten Tomatoes.”  A coal miner who was treated like an animal in days past does not fit their narrative. White children raised in poverty who made their way out of their circumstances without government aid or help do not fit their narrative either.
The people in Appalachia that I knew would rather die than take a hand-out from some government welfare system or from some redistribution-of-wealth scheme.  They were proud men whose work defined who they were.  They wanted to be independent, and any hand-outs were associated with degradation and shame.  This was part of their Christian culture.
Again, the book is much more than a story about Appalachian culture.  The book and the movie do not pass the evil white man smell-test of modern cultural warriors.  It does not fit their narrative and it challenges their presuppositions.  Therefore, it is a threat to them.
Christians today need to be aware of the philosophies of the world.  Reading books like Hillbilly Elegy can be profitable, not only in seeing how hard life was in days past even for white people, but also in recognizing how our cultural elites react to narratives that do not fit their political hegemony.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
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