Do you remember the cartoon movie “Robin Hood” from the early 1970s? Even all these years later, I find this movie fun to watch. It’s humorous, clever, the kids love it, and it has great music. One particular scene makes me laugh, and it even sheds a little light on our passage from Jeremiah 23. Night is beginning to fall and the Sheriff of Nottingham is hoping to get some sleep, but he does not want to miss an opportunity to nab the wily fox Robin Hood. So, he did what any of us would do: he set up a night watch system. Nutsy, a vulture that is a little, well, “nuts,” paces back and forth keeping watch while the Sheriff of Nottingham tries to get some sleep Every hour, Nutsy announces the hour and whether or not the coast is clear. In one particularly funny scene, Nutsy shouts out, “One o’clock and all’s well!” The Sheriff is quite aggravated at being kept up all night and tells Nutsy it is actually three o’clock in the morning. Nutsy doesn’t quite understand why the Sheriff is so upset, to which the Sheriff of Nottingham replies, “Nutsy, how am I supposed to sleep with you yelling, ‘all’s well’ all the time?”

In Israel, the prophets were much like the night watchmen. They were supposed to be listening to God and giving Israel warning so that they would be safe. Oftentimes the word that God had for the people was unpleasant or even frightening. Prophets were charged with telling the people to repent, turn back to God, or face the consequences. Very rarely did the prophets receive the message of “all’s well” to give to the people, and so the people quickly grew tired of hearing prophecies of doom and destruction. So, what did they do? They did what a lot of business executives do, and honestly, what a lot of us do. They surrounded themselves with false prophets who would tell them the happy messages they wanted to hear. They chose some “yes men,” if we want to use a concept familiar to our day, to give them the comfort of thinking everything was just fine. Just prior to our passage for this morning, in verse 16 we read this: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to all who stubbornly follow their own hearts, “No calamity shall come upon you.”’” The people of Israel were weary of hearing that they needed to change their ways, and so they set up false prophets who would tell them, “All’s well.” If they didn’t think anything was wrong, maybe they would be able to sleep a little easier at night.

Prophets who dared to speak the truth were punished. They were killed, exiled, or silenced in some other way. Some of the false prophets probably did what they did because they wanted a way into the king’s inner circle. They wanted power and influence. Others probably said what they said because they were afraid to speak the truth. If they told the king that God had a word of warning, they would be punished for speaking out of turn.

The prophet Jeremiah warns about false prophets, and then he says this: “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord.” If God has given you a dream, tell it. If God has given you a word, speak it faithfully. Don’t just say what itching ears want to hear. Don’t make up stories just to tickle the fancy of the king. Speak the truth with faithfulness. The Lord uses the image of straw and wheat. On the surface, straw and wheat look similar enough. They both can be useful, but for very different things. And yet, if what you’re looking for is nourishment, the wheat is what you want. As Shauna Hannan, Associate Professor of Homiletics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, put it, “In verse 29, the competing words (that is, God’s and those of false prophets) are as distinct as straw and wheat. Whereas the words of false prophets are like chaff, God’s words are like food that nourishes. The obvious answer to the question, ‘What has straw in common with wheat?’ is, ‘Nothing.’ While God’s word nourishes, it is no schmaltzy, accommodating, feel-good word. God’s word is like fire…”

In the book of Jeremiah, we discover a crisis of faithlessness. Some people are more interested in getting more power or influence than they are with following God. On the flipside, some people knew better, but were too afraid to do the right thing. God calls them to move forward with faithfulness–sharing the dreams they are given by God and speaking God’s word even if it has consequences. This sounds convicting and inspiring. It’s a word the people needed in Jeremiah’s day, and it’s a word we still need today. And yet, if you’re like me, you wonder, “That sounds great, but how do I do that? How do I receive God’s word and speak it even when it might have consequences for me?”

To help us, we have our reading from the book of Hebrews. This section of Hebrews is sometimes called the Hall of Faith, and even though it includes names we might expect, it also includes people we least expect. And yet, all of these people, from the most famous to the least known of them, lived lives of faithfulness in the throes of uncertain times. Let’s take a look at a few of these stories.

Our passage begins, “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.”  By faith, the people–even though they must have been terrified–followed God’s call to walk through the parted sea. I love that this story is included because I also know the people had many times when they complained, times when they questioned the plan, times when they told Moses they resented being on the journey through the wilderness at all. And yet, these same people, troubled as they were, took a risk and walked through the sea. I think the writer of Hebrews included the part about the sea closing over the Egyptians to remind us of how dangerous of a decision it was for the people of Israel to step into that sea. They did not know how long the waters would be parted or if they would be spared. They only knew that God told them to trust him and enter the sea. 

I imagine the people looked back first. They saw the approaching Egyptian army, but they also saw back to the life they were leaving. If they kept moving forward, life as they knew it would be over. Everything would change. Where in your life is God calling you to change? What habits or decisions have been holding you back? What might it look like to step forward into a future where you don’t have all the answers but have faith that God is going with you?

After this story, the author of Hebrews talks about the story of the walls of Jericho falling down. And then he zeroes in on the story of Rahab. The people of Israel were near the promised land. The land was inhabited by other people, and Joshua (the one chosen to lead the people into the land after Moses) decides to send spies into the land to scout it out. They come to the city of Jericho, and they sneak into a home in the wall around the city. This home belonged to Rahab. The scriptures identify Rahab as a prostitute, but it also seems she is a business owner. While the spies are there, word gets out that they are there, and the king of Jericho sends Rahab a message to bring out the spies. Instead of doing what the king wanted, she took the spies up onto her room, and she buried them in the flax she had drying on the roof. This flax was likely drying so that it could be made into textiles. When the coast is clear, she tells the spies how to sneak out without being discovered. In exchange for her courage and faithfulness, the spies tell her they will spare her when the armies of Israel attack Jericho. 

Rahab, a woman who was already on the margins of society–quite literally, with her home inside the city wall, and her profession, took a risk to do what she thought was right. As we embark upon this new educational year, and as we consider the unique places we each have in our society, what is God whispering to us to do? Just like Rahab protected the spies, what good are we called to take a risk for? What are we called to protect? How are we called to be more like Rahab?

The rest of the names in the Hebrews Hall of Faith are interesting, both because their stories are inspiring, as because not a single one of them were perfect. Samson was consumed with lust, Gideon questioned God’s call, Barak was too afraid to go into battle without the protection of Deborah the judge, Jephthah made a rash vow, and David didn’t go out to war when the men did, which led to a series of terrible choices and consequences. And yet, these same flawed people encourage us to follow God’s call with faithfulness. Just like the prophet Jeremiah called people to dream their dreams and speak God’s word with faithfulness, these faithful sisters and brothers in the book of Hebrews call us to be faithful, too. 

They call us to step forward into an unknown future. They call us to take risks and do what is right. They tell us God can and does work through imperfect and flawed people, and they show us how much God can accomplish through broken people who want to follow God.

Who would you add to your own personal Hall of Faith? Who has inspired you to follow Jesus by the way they lived their lives? Go ahead… say their names out loud.

My grandma – my dad’s mom – taught me about radical hospitality. She showed me how to make homemade egg noodles on her cutting board that pulled out from the counter. She always had cookies in the cookie jar, and she always had the “sick blanket” ready for you if you weren’t feeling well. But, on top of all her hospitality, her love, and her care, she also never missed a Sunday at church. And she always had a word of wisdom for you just when she needed it. My faith is stronger because of her encouragement, her example, and her love. She also whistled exactly like Bing Crosby – just like a songbird.

My mother-in-law taught me about faithfulness and love. When you talked to her, she listened deeply. She rejoiced with me when good things were happening, and she mourned with me during times of difficulty. She saw a future of bright and hopeful things for my life, and she never stopped believing that the God who was calling me would see me through. My faith is stronger because of her faith, her love, and her hopefulness.

The end of our passage from Hebrews – the beginning of chapter 12 – says this: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…” This cloud of witnesses surrounds us and encourages us as we walk through times of joy and times of hardship. This cloud of witnesses is made up of the people who spoke hard truth to us when we needed it, and of people who lifted us up when we were weary. 

Whether all is well, or all is a struggle, God calls us to live as people of faithfulness, and to be encouraged by people of faithfulness. May we receive the strength and encouragement we need from the Lord – both directly from his hand and from the cloud of witnesses he gives us, and may we live as people of faith: taking the first step into the parted sea, even when we are afraid, and taking risks for the sake of what’s good.