I have a Bible question -- from the scripture below - could we say each of these people had "Rhema" direction which they followed.
Meaning was their faith based on them being directed personally by God?





The Meaning of Faith
1Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about[a] and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.[b] 2By faith our ancestors won approval.

3By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.

4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did,[c] and by faith[d] he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith[e] he continues to speak, even though he is dead.

5By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God. 6Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith[f] he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who also inherited the same promise, 10because he was waiting for the city with permanent foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Sarah, even though she was old and barren, received the strength to conceive, because she was convinced that the one who had made the promise was faithful. 12Abraham[g] was as good as dead, yet from this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth. 14For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son[h] in sacrifice, 18about whom it had been said, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.”[i] 19Abraham[j] was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac[k] back in this way.

20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons “and worshiped while leaning[l] on the top of his staff.”

22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave them instructions about bury­ing[m] his bones.

23By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the king's order.

24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25because he preferred being mistreated with God's people to enjoying the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He thought that being insulted for the sake of the Messiah was of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

27By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king's anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.

28By faith he established the Passover and the sprinkling of blood to keep the destroyer of the firstborn from touching the people.[n]

29By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with a greeting of[o] peace.

32And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34put out raging fires, escaped death by[p] the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies. 35Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated. 38The world wasn’t worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and from caves to holes in the ground.

39All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised, 40since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

Hi LoT: Ah, Hebrew 11, the “Faith Hall of Fame”. Yes, the author of Hebrews definitely wants us to conclude that these examples were lead by their faith to do the things they did.

It’s interesting to me that Daniel and Job are NOT mentioned. How can you talk about faith and NOT talk about Job? “though he (god) slay me, yet shall I praise him?”

Anyway, if you believe these stories, aren’t you restricted to those where god actually “tells” an individual or group to do something?

And then there is that strange summary verse in Heb 11:39 which states that the “Hall of Fame” inductees DIDN”T receive that which was promised”? What? According to all of these examples, most, if not all, received what they were promised or expecting. And then there is that weird reference to “us” being (somehow) involved with the process of making “them” perfect? Some have tried to explain this reference as looking forward to Christ. So is there a mystical promise of Christ that these guys had that we are not told about? It still looks like the author of Hebrews or the translators got their pronouns mixed up or assumed that the reader would know a lot more than what can be deduced from the text.

In His Love, John (still confused after all these years)

John,

What I am tring to do is write about how "Faith" only comes by first HEARING - meaning God spacifically telling you.... not some that YOU want and so you have faith for it.
Do you know what I mean?

So I want to be able to KNOW - that each one of these examplaes - people - had gotten RHEMA not something of their own making.

A side not - I like you dont really care about what Scripture says - but when I write to christianity 101 - I have to back it up

Hmm… ok, the theme is faith comes by hearing, right? (Rom10:17) If so, it still seems to me that we are restricted to the examples in the Bible in which we are told that God directly spoke to the folks listed in Heb 11. But I don’t think you can make the case that ALL had Rhema revelations. I don’t think you can know that all did.

Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Joseph, Jacob, Joshua, Jephthah, David, Samuel, in fact, all the prophets, by definition, received direct revelation from God according to the Bible.

Gideon saw angels. Does that count?

Sara received no direct Rhema, but Abraham did and it was very obvious that she knew of it and believed Abraham. Does that count?

Note that Cain received a direct Promise from God , however, his example is cited as a negative one. But, no doubt Cain would have been encouraged by God’s promise. Also it is interesting that Cain did not die for the 1st Degree Murder of Able – a violation of Mosaic Law.

But, back on topic:

I see NO hard proof of Rhema for Barak, Samson, Abel, Enoch and Rahab. Do you? I can’t find it. Where does it say that God told these anything directly?

Job, although not mentioned, had the ultimate case of blind faith on record! The only thing Job got from God was a Four-Chapter rebuke in the middle of ALL his sorrow. And even though Job was restored at the end of the story, he was NOT promised this at all.

So, my question is, where did Job’s faith come from especially before the rebuke?

Can’t we describe the spirit lead life as a kind of “Rhema”? I think Romans 8:14 says it best, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God!”

Sorry! I don’t know if any of this helps or hurts.

In His Love, John

Hey John,

Thanks! I think you confirmed what I thought.
The truth is... there are those who have faith for SOMETHING THEY WANT
and those who say Not my will but thy - and have faith for only that which God places in vision.
Unfortunately we have most Christians not ever know what being led by the spirit means