Heroes of the Bible

by Frederick Hoehn, copyright 2014, all rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The Bible has many heroes.  We’ll talk about some of them.

Noah is one of the heroes.  If it hadn’t been for Noah, you and I wouldn’t be here.  At the time of Noah, God made a decision to destroy the people of the earth because every imagination of the thoughts of men’s hearts was only evil continually.

But Noah found grace in the sight of God.  So God told Noah to build an ark, and gave him the dimensions.

Everyone on Earth has descended from Adam and his wife, Eve.  But more recently, we’re all descended from Noah and his sons.

Noah and sons and wives totaled eight souls preserved on the ark.  When the ark was ready, God brought the animals, and then God shut the door to the ark.  It started to rain.  It rained forty days and forty nights.  The water covered the tallest mountains.  After the rain, the water started receding.  The ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, and here we are, thanks to Noah’s obeying God.

Abraham was a hero of the Bible.  He and his wife, Sarah, had no children.  But God promised Abraham a son.  Abraham believed God, and God counted it to Abraham as righteousness.

When Abraham was ninety nine, and Sarah was ninety, their son, Isaac, was born.  Abraham is one of the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.

Several generations later, Joseph came along as one of the twelve sons of Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel.

Joseph’s brothers envied him, and some thought to kill him, but they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who took him south, and sold Joseph into Egypt.

God promoted Joseph up to second in command of Egypt.  Only Pharaoh was greater.

There would be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine, God revealed to Joseph.

After the famine started, Joseph’s brothers came to buy corn, but they didn’t recognize Joseph.

On the second trip to buy corn, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and sent them back with wagons to bring Jacob and the families, so that Israel wouldn’t become poverty struck by the famine, and Joseph nourished them.

After the death of Joseph, another Pharaoh arose who hadn’t known Joseph.  Israel became oppressed by the Egyptians.

But God raised up a deliverer, Moses.  Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt after God visited Pharaoh and the Egyptians with great plagues.

Moses also wrote the first five books of the Bible:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.  God gave us the Ten Commandments through Moses.  They are found in Exodus chapter 20.

After the death of Moses, it was Joshua, who had ministered to Moses, who led the Children of Israel into the promised land.  God gave Israel military victories under Joshua.

After the death of Joshua, came the book of Judges.

Here is Judges chapter 1 & 2 from the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version, (Amazon.com)

Chapter 2

___Judges chapter 1

1 Now after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked the Lord, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?"

2 And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up, see, I've delivered the land into his hand."

3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot, so that we can fight against the Canaanites, and I will also go with you into your lot."  So Simeon went with him.

4 And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they killed ten thousand men of them in Bezek.

5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they killed the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7 And Adonibezek said, "Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table, God has repaid me like I have done."  And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that lived in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that lived in Hebron, (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba,) and they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher,

12 And Caleb said, "He that smites Kirjathsepher and takes it, I will give Achsah my daughter to him to be his wife."

13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

14 And when she came to him, she moved him to ask from her father a field, and she dismounted from her animal, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"

15 And she said to him, "Give me a blessing, for you've given me a south land, give me also springs of water."  And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lowermost springs.

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, that lies in the south of Arad, and they went and lived among the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they killed the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and completely destroyed it.  And the name of the city was called Hormah.

18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast of it, and Askelon with the coast of it, and Ekron with the coast of it.

19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but couldn't drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, like Moses said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

21 And the children of Benjamin didn't drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites live with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day.

22 And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel.  (Now previously the name of the city had been Luz.)

24 And the spies saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy."

25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it until this day.

27 Nor did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, but the Canaanites would live in that land.

28 And when Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and didn't completely drive them out.

29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites lived among them, and became tributaries.

31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob,

32 But the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they didn't drive them out.

33 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath, but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries to them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they wouldn't allow them to come down to the valley,

35 But the Amorites would live in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

___Judges chapter 2

1 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land that I promised to your fathers, and I said, I'll never break my covenant with you.

2 And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land, you shall throw down their altars, but you haven't obeyed my voice, why have you done this?

3 So I also said, I won't drive them out from before you, but they'll be like thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."

4 And when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel all went to their inheritances to possess the land.

7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all of that generation were gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them that didn't know the Lord, nor the works that he had done for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim,

12 And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were around them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them, and they were greatly distressed.

16 But the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those who spoiled them.

17 And yet they wouldn't listen to their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them, they turned quickly out of the way that their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord, but they didn't do it.

18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for the Lord had some regret because of their groanings because of those who oppressed them and vexed them.

19 And when the judge was dead, they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them, they didn't stop from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he said, "Because these people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers, and haven't listened to my voice,

21 I also, from now on, won't drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died,

22 So that through them I can test Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it, like their fathers kept it, or not.

23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily, nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

Chapter 3

After Joshua, and before Israel had kings, they had judges.  God would raise up a deliverer for Israel, and he would become a judge.  A typical term of office was forty years.  But the judge, Samson, ruled for only twenty years because his life was cut short due to his involvement with Delilah, a woman not of Israel.

God raised up Ehud to be a deliverer, who struck the king of Moab, enemy of Israel.  Israel killed ten thousand Moabites.

Then Israel sinned against God again, and were oppressed by Jabin, king of Canaan.

Then the Prophetess Deborah told Barak to go against the enemy.  He did, and God gave the victory.

Israel sinned again, and was oppressed by the Midianites.  Then God raised up Gideon, who is mentioned also in Hebrews chapter 11.

But God told Gideon to reduce the size of his army to a certain three hundred so that Israel wouldn’t think they hadn’t gotten the victory on their own strength.  And God gave Gideon and his people the victory.

At one point, during the oppression of Israel, God said to Israel, “You’ve forsaken me, and chosen other gods.  Now ask those gods to deliver you out of your troubles.”  But, of course, those other gods were no help at all.

But God raised up Jephthah to deliver Israel from their enemies.

After Jephthah, God raised up Samson.

David was the hero who conquered the giant, Goliath, and won other military victories for Israel.

Because of the sins of Solomon, God split Israel into two kingdoms:  Israel and Judah.

There were some notable kings such as Jehoshaphat.

But the greatest hero of the Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from his glory in heaven to do his earthly ministry of teaching the people, healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons from people.

As someone who never sinned, he became the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world by dying on the cross for us.

On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead, and He was seen by his disciples, and by more than five hundred Christians.

Jesus returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, and on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus gave us the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues.

The way before Jesus was prepared on earth by the Prophet, John the Baptist.  (There was another John, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, also called John the Beloved.)

Later, the Apostle Paul would suffer hardships for Jesus.  He was formerly Saul of Tarsus, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, before his conversion on the road to Damascus, as seen in the Book of Acts.

He was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians.  The Lord knocked him down.  The Lord said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you’re persecuting.  It is hard for you to kick against the sharp points.”

So, Saul became a Christian, Paul, the Apostle, preaching the Jesus that he had been persecuting.  Paul also wrote more than half the number of books in the New Testament.

But I regard every author of a book of the Bible as a hero, and hope to meet all of them in heaven.

___James chapter 1

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are dispersed around, greetings.

2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations,

3 Knowing this, that the testing of your faith works patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, so you'll be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God for it, who gives to all men liberally, and won't find fault, and it shall be given to him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.

7 For let that man not think that he'll receive anything from the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted,

10 But the rich, in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he'll pass away.

11 For the sun has no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and the flower of it falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes, so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for after he's been tested, he'll receive the crown of life, that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted with evil, nor does he tempt any man,

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust has conceived, it produces sin, and sin when it's finished, produces death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brothers.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.

18 He chose to father us with the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

19 So, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

20 For the anger of man doesn't accomplish the righteousness of God.

21 So, lay apart all filthiness and the unnecessary naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man seeing his natural face in a mirror,

24 For he sees himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seems to be religious, and doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is for nothing.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

___James chapter 2

1 My brothers, don't have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

2 For if a man with a gold ring comes to your assembly in fancy clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes comes in also,

3 And you have respect to him that wears the fancy clothes, and say to him, "Sit here in a good place," and say to the poor, "Stand there, or sit here under my footstool,"

4 Aren't you then partial in yourselves, and have become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, hasn't God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have despised the poor.  Don't rich men oppress you, and bring you before the judgment seats?

7 Don't they blaspheme that worthy name by which you're called?

8 If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor like yourself," you do well,

9 But if you have respect of persons, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as sinners.

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

11 For he that said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not kill."  Now if you don't commit adultery, yet if you kill, you've become a breaker of the law.

12 Speak in such a way, and do, as those who'll be judged by the law of liberty.

13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy, and mercy rejoices against judgment.

14 What does it profit, my brothers, though a man says he has faith, and doesn't have works?  Can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister needs clothes, and lacks daily food,

16 And one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you don't give them the things that are needed for the body, what good is that?

17 Even so faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yes, a man could say, "You have faith, and I have works, show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works."

19 You believe that there is one God, you do well, the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But don't you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22 Do you see how faith worked with his deeds, and by works faith was made perfect?

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God."

24 You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise also wasn't Rahab the prostitute justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

26 For like the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

___James chapter 3

1 My brothers, don't be many masters, knowing that we'll receive the greater condemnation.

2 For in many things we offend all.  If any man doesn't offend in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

3 See, we put bits in the horses' mouths, so they'll obey us, and we turn around their whole bodies.

4 Look also at the ships, which though they're so large, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they're turned around by a very small helm, wherever the captain wants.

5 Even so, the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things.  See how great a matter a little fire kindles!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of sin, so is the tongue among our members that it makes dirty the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.

7 For every kind of animals, and of birds, and of snakes, and of things in the sea, gets tamed, and has been tamed by mankind,

8 But no man can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless God, the Father, and with it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be.

11 Does a fountain send out at the same place sweet water and bitter?

12 Can the fig tree, my brothers, produce olive berries?  Or a vine, figs?  So no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh.

13 Who is a wise man, possessing knowledge among you?  Let him show out of a good lifestyle his works with meekness of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, don't glory, and don't lie against the truth.

15 This wisdom doesn't descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be reasoned with, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

18 And the fruit of righteousness is planted in peace by those who make peace.

___James chapter 4

1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from?  Don't they come from your lusts that war in your members?

2 You lust, and don't have, you kill, and desire to have, and can't obtain, you fight and war, yet you don't have, because you don't ask.

3 You ask, and don't receive, because you ask wrongly, so you can consume it on your lusts.

4 You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God.

5 Do you think that the scripture says for nothing, "The spirit that lives in us lusts to envy?"

6 But he gives more grace.  So he says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he'll run away from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and cry, let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he'll lift you up.

11 Don't speak evil about each other, brothers.  He that speaks evil about his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil about the law, and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy, who are you that judges someone else?

13 Go on now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we'll go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and make a profit,"

14 Actually, you don't know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is a puff of steam, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.

15 For you ought to say, "Lord willing, we'll live, and do this, or that."

16 But now you rejoice in your boastings, all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knows to do good, and doesn't do it, to him it is sin.

___James chapter 5

1 Go on now, you rich men, cry and howl for your miseries that shall come on you.

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your clothes are moth eaten.

3 Your gold and silver are rusted, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire.  You've heaped treasure together for the last days.

4 See, the wages of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which you've kept back by fraud, shouts, and the shouts of those who've reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath.

5 You've lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton, you've nourished your hearts, like in a day of slaughter.

6 You've condemned and killed the just, and he doesn't resist you.

7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.

8 You also be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is getting near.

9 Don't grudge against each other, brothers, so you won't be condemned, see, the judge stands at the door.

10 Take, my brothers, the prophets, who've spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

11 See, we count them happy that endure.  You've heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

12 But above all things, my brothers, don't swear, not by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath, but let your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you don't fall into condemnation.

13 Is anyone among you afflicted?  Let him pray.  Is anyone merry?  Let him sing psalms.

14 Is anyone sick among you?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he'll be forgiven.

16 Confess your faults to each other, and pray for each other so you'll be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man is does a lot of good.

17 Elijah was a man subject to the same kind of passions that we are, and he prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19 Brothers, if any of you strays from the truth, and someone converts him,

20 Let him know, that he that converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.