Examples of heroes in the Bible
A hero is a person who is greatly admired for his courage, outstanding achievement, or noble quality. We have a lot of such persons in the Bible who can be rightfully called heroes. However, in this article, we focus on those who saved the day. I mean those heroes who restored lives and in one way or the other brought some form of victory or deliverance to the people.
1. Noah
The first example of heroes in the Bible is Noah. Noah lived in a generation where every other person was depraved. When God intended to destroy the world with a flood, he chose to spare Noah and made him build an ark. Noah built an ark according to God’s instructions. He gathered his family and pairs of animals, including birds, mammals, and reptiles. They entered the ark, which had three levels and compartments for different types of animals. Noah stored enough food and water for everyone and waited for the floodwaters to subside. After the rain stopped, they safely disembarked from the ark and repopulated the earth. Noah becomes the first hero; by his righteousness and his ark, God saved a remnant of both animals and humans. Reference Genesis 6, 7, 8.
2. Nimrod
Nimrod was the son of Cush. He was a hero, the first warrior, and the first mighty man to walk the earth. At that time, Nimrod united the people of the world and put them in the cities he built. The cities he built include Babylon, Uruk, and Akkad. It is believed that he led the people to begin building the great tower of Babel which came to a halt because God changed the languages of the people and they could not understand one another. Bible Reference Ge 10:9-12; Ge 11:1-9
3. Abraham
Abraham was living in Harran when God called him and told him to leave for an unknown destination. Abraham took his wife, servants, and all his possessions on the Lord’s command and left. His nephew Lot and his family also came along with him. They came to live in the land of Canaan and Lot’s settlement was near Sodom and Gomorrah. Along the line, war broke out on the land. An alliance of four kings waged war, defeated, and looted Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies, taking away people and property. It was reported to Abraham that his nephew Lot was among the captives.
Without hesitation, Abraham gathered a small force of 318 trained servants, and with the help of other allies, he pursued the enemies, hoping to rescue Lot and his family. When they caught up with them, he attacked them by night, routed and chased the enemies away. Lot, his family, and other captives were saved. It was no small joy to Lot, his family, and the other captives when they were rescued and brought back home. Abraham saved the day when he rescued Lot and others. Therefore, he has established his name as one of the ancient heroes. Bible Reference Genesis 14:1-17
4. Joseph
Joseph was a man of wisdom who played a key role in saving Egypt and his family through a tough time when there was famine and drought in the Levant. It all began when Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt to Potiphar. While serving Potipha, he was falsely accused and sent to prison. Some years later, Pharaoh had a dream and Joseph was called upon to tell the meaning of the dream. He said Egypt would have seven good years with lots of food, followed by seven bad years of drought.
Knowing this, Joseph came up with a plan to save some extra grain during the good years to use during the bad ones. Thanks to his plan, Egypt made it through the tough times and even had enough food to sell to other countries. During the drought, Joseph had his family, the house of Jacob, come to live in Egypt to escape the perils of the drought. This made Joseph a hero to the Egyptians, his own family, and the nations that came to Egypt for help. Bible Reference Ge 41:1-36; Ge 41:37-57
5. Moses
Moses was the man through whom God saved the Israelites from Egypt. He was the younger brother of both Aaron and Mariam and their father was Amram. To begin with, Moses had a very deep love for Israel to the extent that, at age 40, he killed an Egyptian who was maltreating an Israelite. When this murder was discovered, he fled justice to Midian. When he was 80 years old in Midian, God called him and sent him back to Egypt to Pharaoh with the message ‘Let my people’.
Moses struggled so much and was so frustrated because Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the people go. By the power of God, he inflicted 10 plagues on Egypt, the last of which induced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Aside from delivering them from Egypt, Moses led them through the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s pursuing army. And on the way to the Promised Land, Moses led the people through times of hunger, thirst, war, and plagues. He is the most revered and the greatest of the heroes of Israel to date. Bible Reference Exodus 2:11-25; Exodus 3
6. Joshua
Moses the leader who brought the Israelites from Egypt died when they were almost in the Promised Land. Then his servant Joshua was installed as the leader in Moses’ stead. As the successor to Moses, he led the Israelites to successfully cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land west of Jordan (Joshua 3). To possess and settle on the land, they had to eliminate the powerful inhabitants of the land which comprised Amorites, Jebushites, Hittites, and the Anakims.
Under his command, the Israelites scored victories upon victories against their enemies – the five kings of the Amorites, the city of Jericho, and other cities and kings. Under Joshua’s supervision, the Promised Land was shared among the twelve tribes of Israel. In short, Joshua was no small hero in Israel for he saved and made a profound contribution to building the nation of Israel. Bible Reference Joshua 3,6,7
7. The Judges of Israel
- Othniel: He saved the Israelites from 8 years of servitude to Cushan-rishathaim the king of Mesopotamia, bringing 40 years of peace to Israel. (Jos 15:13-17; Judges 1:9-21; 3:1-11; 1Ch 4:13
- Ehud: He delivered the Israelites from 18 years of servitude to Eglon the king of Moab, bringing 80 years of peace to Israel. (Judges 3:12-30)
- Shamgar: He killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad to defend Israel. (Judges 3:31; Jg 5:6)
- Deborah/Barak: Deborah and her general, Barak, delivered Israel from 20 years of oppression by defeating Sisera, the general of the army of the Canaanite king called Jabin of Hazor at the Battle of Kishon and brought 40 years of peace to Israel. (Judges 4:1-5:31; 1Sa 12:11; Heb 11:32)
- Gideon: He saved Israel from 7 years of oppression by the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the East and brought 40 years of peace to Israel. (Judges 6:1-8:32; Heb 11:32)
- Tola: He saved Israel and was their judge for 23 years. (Judges 10:1-2)
- Jair: He judged Israel for 22 years. (Judges 10:3-5)
- Jephthah: He delivered Israel from 18 years of oppression by the Ammonites and brought 6 years of peace to Israel. (Judges 10-11; Heb 11:32)
- Ibzan: He judged Israel for 7 years. (Joshua 19:15; Judges 12:8-10)
- Elon: He judged Israel for 10 years. (Judges 12:11-12)
- Abdon: He judged Israel for 8 years. (Judges 12:13-15)
- Samson: He delivered Israel from 40 years of oppression by the Philistines and brought 20 years of peace. (Judges 13:1-16:31; Heb 11:32)
8. Saul
King Saul, despite his flaws, was a hero who saved the Israelites on many occasions. An Ammonite leader called Nahash attacked Jabesh-gilead and the people asked for a peace deal. Nahash agreed, but only if he could blind their right eyes as a sign of humiliation. The people of Jabesh asked for a week to see if anyone could save them. When Saul heard of it, he sent messengers throughout Israel. Saul gathered 330,000 soldiers and then divided them into three groups. They attacked the Ammonites and defeated them badly. Those who weren’t killed ran away in fear, leaving no two enemies together. This victory saved the Israelites in Jabesh-gilead. Bible Reference 1 Samuel 11:1-11
9. Jonathan
Jonathan, the son of Saul, was a great hero and warrior from the tribe of Benjamin. During his time, the Philistines and the Israelites were arch-enemies and were at each other’s throats often. Saul being king, was to lead the Israelites against the Philistines. Saul’s forces were divided between him and Jonathan. He fought in many battles with his father and helped bring victory. One of his notable achievements in the war was his defeat of the Philistine garrison at Geba and the Philistine army at Michmash. Jonathan’s bravery was well acknowledged among the troops of King Saul. Bible Reference 1 Samuel 14
10. King David
One of the Bible’s famous characters was David. He was the son of Jesse and was the youngest of his father’s sons. God chose him to be the second king of Israel after Saul. Before David became king, there came a time when the Israelites and the Philistines were at war. However, to make the war simple and less bloody, the Philistines suggested a duel between the champion of Israel and that of the Philistines. If Israel’s champion loses, the Israelites would become servants of the Philistines and vice versa.
The Philistines brought out Goliath the giant as their champion. When all the men of Israel, including King Saul, were afraid to duel with Goliath, David volunteered to go and face him in battle. Despite Goliath’s intimidating stature, armour, and threats, a single shot from David’s sling brought him down dead. David had triumphed and Israel was saved. David’s victory boosted the Israeli forces to destroy the rest of the Philistine army. David went on to fight and score more victories for Israel in the years ahead and, by virtue of his victories, expanded the boundaries of Israel. Bible Reference 1 Samuel 17:41-57
11. Jesus Christ
The greatest hero of men is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His parents were Mary and Joseph. And aside from His twelve and many other disciples, He had many biological brothers and sisters. Jesus started his ministry at age 30 and the people marveled at the authority with which He taught for He was unlike what they have seen before. The things he taught like love, kindness, and mercy have inspired an uncountable number of people across the ages.
Aside from His life-changing teachings, He was a heroic figure because he did many miracles like healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, and so on. The ultimate act of heroism came when Jesus willingly allowed His enemies to arrest Him, torture Him, and kill Him on the cross for mankind’s sake. Through His sacrificial death all mankind can be saved to inherit eternal life. Bible Reference Matthew 27:32-44; Mt 27:45-56
Conclusion
It is for such people we sing the hymn “Now praise we great and famous men. The fathers named in story. And praise the Lord who now as then reveals in man His glory.” It is incumbent on us believers of today to emulate these ancient heroes to bring a positive change to the corner where we find ourselves such as the workplace, school, home, and even the playground.