Letter to the Hebrews Volume 153

 Overcoming Faith Part 11

Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; KJV

In many of these Satanic acts of barbarian cruelty, we find some of the ordinary men and women who became the Prophets and Prophetesses of the Lord God/Elohim/Adonai/Jehovah/YAHWEH/Jesus Christ our Lord who were recipients of the demonic/devilish acts of violence against them because of their believing in, being one with, and belonging to Jehovah, as it is written, "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;" (Hebrews 11:37) (KJV). Another one of those Prophets was a man named Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the Priest who spoke these words to the king by the Spirit of the Lord, but the result of his speaking the truth was this, "And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the Priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, He hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD." (2 Chronicles 24:20-21) (KJV). Isaiah the Prophet the son of Amoz served the Lord God mostly during the time that Hezekiah reigned as king in Judah, however, when Manasseh his son reigned he did not hearken or listen to the Word of the Lord from the Prophet Isaiah, instead he did very much evil in the sight of the Lord God as it is written here, "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger." (2 Kings 21:2-6) (KJV). Although, Isaiah is not named as the Prophet that was 'sawn asunder' in Hebrews 11:37, it has been recorded according to Hebrew/Jewish tradition that the Prophet Isaiah was indeed executed in this very manner being tied standing between two trees and sawn in half at the order of the king of Judah at the time Manasseh and according to the documentation of Scripture above of all the evil things that were done under his reign, there is little doubt in the minds of many Hebrew and non-Hebrew Historians that this act of evil against the Prophet of Elohim Isaiah (who was honored by his father king Hezekiah) is indeed true.

During the reign of King Ahab over Jerusalem, his wicked wife (the witch Jezebel) had slain many of the Prophets of the Lord God, as it is written, "And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the Prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred Prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)" (1 Kings 18:3-4) (KJV). Also, another Prophet who prophesied in the name of the Lord God and was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremiah were both about to face death at the hand of Jehoiakim the king, as it is written, "And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death." (Jeremiah 26:20-24) (KJV). When the writer of Hebrews declares that 'they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins', he means that they had not resources enough to buy for themselves clothing in the towns or villages, so instead they used the skins of the animals perhaps offered to them from other faithful Hebrew families to use to cloth themselves. 'Being destitute, afflicted, tormented' as declared by the writer of Hebrews meant that they were men and women always on the move or run to protect themselves from being killed by the purveyors of evil doing the devil's bidding, for all of this was done to them and against them to get them to renounce their faith in YAHWEH and to stop them from speaking the truth of His Word. The Apostle Paul captured the reality of his state since his conversion and his words surely speak of many of the Prophets from the Old Testament, as it is written, "For I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." (1 Corinthians 4:9-13) (KJV). Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of Hebrews 11:37, "They were stripped of the conveniences of life, and turned out of house and harbour. They had not raiment to put on, but were forced to cover themselves with the skins of slain beasts. They were driven out of all human society, and forced to converse with the beasts of the field, to hide themselves in dens and caves, and make their complaint to rocks and rivers, not more obdurate than their enemies. Such sufferings as these they endured then for their faith; and such they endured through the power of the grace of faith: and which shall we most admire, the wickedness of human nature, that is capable of perpetrating such cruelties on fellow creatures, or the excellency of divine grace, that is able to bear up the faithful under such cruelties, and to carry them safely through all?"

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…