Literal or Symbolic Interpretation Part 1 of 3

HEROES OF FAITH HEARD GOD’S VOICE
Most people would agree that the main reason they read the Bible is to acquire knowledge about God, know his ways and how he relates to his people. They do this because their cultures value and encourage reading and study for gaining knowledge of all kinds — including knowledge of religion and God. In general, it can be said, then, that reading and study are critical skills for acquiring knowledge in culture and religion.

When it comes to knowledge of God, however, we must look at the examples of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses who are considered to be God-followers and patriarchs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham in particular, is considered to be the father of Judaism and Christianity, even though he nor his sons had anything written from which they could learn about God.

Given that these well-known God followers did not learn about God from any written documents (i.e. Bible), must ask the question: “How could these and other men and women of faith learn about God and be held up as models of faith without the Bible or anything written to teach them?”

The simple answer to the question is this: They had faith which is the substance of things not seen. But, we must then ask, if they didn’t learn about God from something written that they could see, what did they have other than faith? The simple answer to the question is this: Faith is all that they needed.

But the question still remains about the object of the faith of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. In other words, what exactly was it that they had faith in? Here are a few  facts to consider:

  • Because they did not have written Bibles or manuscripts, we know that their faith was not in literal words written on pages.
  • Since they did not have pastors, priests or prophets, we know that their faith was not built on the teachings of religious leaders or prophets.
  • Because there is no mention in scripture about expectations the heroes of faith might have had about going to heaven after they died, their faith was not in their eternal salvation.
  • Since Jesus the man was not alive when any of them lived, their faith was not in Jesus.
  • Since all of the heroes of faith experienced much conflict and heartache, their faith was not in the expectation that God would give them an easy, prosperous life.

If these heroes of faith didn’t have Bibles or teachers to teach them about faith, what is left for them to have faith in? Here is a brief summary of what we can learn from Hebrews 11:

When we boil these common traits down, what we are left with is this: The object of their faith was in the ability to hear the spoken word of God. Their faith was not in what they read, not in their religion, and not even in the person Jesus. It was all about hearing God’s voice and acting on what they heard.

If faith in the ability to hear God’s spoken voice was what made these models of faith heroes in God’s eyes, it is reasonable and logical to say that faith that we can hear God’s word (i.e. his spoken voice) is all that we in these modern times need also.

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