Best Supporting Actors of the Bible: Sarah, Enoch, Abel

Instances of faith in three characters stood out when reading Hebrews 11:1-39: Sarah, Enoch, and Abel. They seem obsolete characters sometimes, like Best Supporting Actresses and Actors, not the star of the show, but I picked these characters because I didn't want to write about reappearing Bible figures like Moses. I wanted to learn something about the supporting Bible figures, and I learned more than I ever could have imagined.

Most people know Sarah as the barren wife of Abraham. Do they know that she was also Abraham's half-sister? Marriage alliances in Hebrew times were endogamous, meaning within one's own tribe or social group. Lines of descent are patrilineal, traced through the father instead of the mother. Abraham and Sarah were siblings, born of the same father-different mothers. This is how in Genesis 20:12, Abraham can claim Sarah as his sister to the Egyptians, leaving out their marital status.

Sarah's barrenness is a two-fold problem. First, it represents loss of status in a patriarchal, labor-intensive society with a high mortality rate. A premium is based on women's ability to bear many sons. Second, it is an impediment to the fulfillment of God's promise of descendants to Abraham. One can see why Hebrews chose Sarah as a likely candidate for faith. She is barren and unable to conceive at her old age, yet God has promised her husband many sons.

One can find Sarah in Gen. 11, 12, and 16 when her name was still Sarai. In Gen. 17:15, it was changed to Sarah. In Gen. 12-50, she is at Abraham's side as God promises him land, descendants, a great name and the "correct" wife and mother. In the New Testament, Sarah is seen in Rom. 4:19; her barrenness highlights Abraham's faith in God's promises. In 1 Pet. 3:6, "Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord." She is used to legitimate patriarchy and women's submission to their husbands. Rom. 9:6-9 alludes to conflict between Sarah and Hagar by insisting that not all are children of Abraham simply because they are his descendants. In Gal. 4:21-31, Sarah is "Jerusalem above" who is the "free" mother of the Christian community, compared to Hagar who is enslaved.

Enoch, son of Jared (Gen. 5:18), father of Methuselah (Gen. 5:21) "walked with God". He had a unique relationship with God; some even believe he had an association with angels. Taken by God in Gen. 5:22-24 at the age of 365 years, Enoch had a very short life. In Gen. 4:17, he founded the first city. Gen. 4:23-24 explains that Enoch's life of piety, being seventh in line from Adam contrasts with the seventh in line from Cain, a life of bloodshed. Enoch acquires heavenly wisdom in 1 Enoch and Jude 24 contrasting with the earthly wisdom of Lamech, seventh in line from Cain. In the New Testament, Enoch is portrayed as an individual who possessed faith and pleased God, so that he did not die. He is the author of the recently found books of the Qumran Caves: 1, 2, and 3 Books of Enoch. His prophecy in Jude 14-15 is a quotation from 1 Enoch 1:9.

Abel, second son of Adam and Eve (Gen. 4:2), was a herdsman who gave as a sacrifice to the Lord the firstborn of his flocks and their fat portions. Yahweh's acceptance of this sacrifice and the rejection of Cain's, prompted Cain to murder Abel in a field (Gen. 4:8). The birth of Seth is understood by Eve as a replacement for Abel (Gen.4:25). In the gospels, Jesus assigns the guilt of all righteous blood-from that of Abel to that of Zechariah-to the Pharisees of his generation (Matt. 23:35 and Luke 11:51). Hebrews notes that by faith Abel brought a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain (Heb. 11:4). Hebrews also argues for the superiority of the blood of Jesus to that of Abel (Heb. 12:24). There are three issues on this topic: The question as to why God looked with favor on the offering of Abel; The meaning of the phrase "the blood of Abel" as it is used in the New Testament; and The meaning of the name "Abel" and its usage in Genesis. The first question is not easily answered; even the author of Hebrews does little more than observe the offering as a characteristic of faith. Israelite sacrifices consisted of the first born-representing both that which belongs to God as well as the entirety of the flock. Abel was following Israelite protocol, maybe that's why God chose him over Cain. The answer to the second question is simply the murder of Abel. The third issue, some believe, is explained like this: "Abel" signifies a life cut short, in other words, his name might have been something else, or longer, if he had lived a longer life. The focus of Heb. 11:4 is on the faith of Abel. He represents the first example of the righteous that are put to death for their faithfulness.

Sarah belongs both to the Story of the Law and the Story of the People of God. The Story of the Law is where you can find God revealing his will to people, expecting people to obey him, and forming covenants with some individuals. God forms a covenant with Abraham-promising that he will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. Therefore, he forms a covenant with Sarah promising that for her faith, her barrenness will be no more. Sarah also belongs in the Story of the People of God. This explains who is Israel: descendants of Abraham, those who covenant at Mt. Sinai, those who survived the exile and those who are circumcised. It also tells the relations of the people of God with the gentiles. Sarah has an abusive relationship with Hagar. Sarah is the rightful bearer of Abraham's descendants, but Hagar has his first child (Ishmael). The Story of the People of God tells what happens to/ how Israel was split up among Abraham's descendants-even Ishmael.

Enoch belongs to the Story of the Law (God forming covenants with some individuals). He "walked with God" and was the first individual in the Bible to forgo death. He also belongs in the Story of the Prophets where God reveals his word to a prophet who delivers the word to the people. These words are usually a judgment of not following the commandments, a prediction of the consequences and a call for repentance. Enoch was a model of repentance, purity, obedience and a prophet of the final judgment (death).

Abel belongs to the Story of the Law and could also belong to the Story of the Temple. The Story of the Law includes God making covenants with individuals. Yahweh accepts Abel's sacrifices and forms a loving covenant with him. He could also belong in the Story of the Temple (proper ways to worship God) because his sacrifices are accepted over his brother, Cain's. Abel brings the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. Cain brings the produce of his crops.

The New Interpreter's Bible has much to say about how Sarah, Enoch and Abel depict faith in Hebrews. Heb. 11:4 contains Abel. NIV says that Abel's life is "distilled into a single act, the offering of a sacrifice to God, which, in comparison with his brother's, was 'better' or 'greater'." It is enough that it was offered by faith and that God testified that through that faith Abel was righteous.

Heb. 11:5 was about Enoch. It was the affirmation that "Enoch pleased God" that not only earned him a place on the list of heroes of faith but also provided the author an exegetical base for a general principle regarding faith. If Enoch pleased God, then Enoch was a person of faith, because "without faith it is impossible to please God." NIV says much on the topic of faith. 1.) Anyone approaching God (in worship, in petition) must believe that God exists. This is not a bland and general belief that there is a God but a focused faith that "draws near." 2.) Anyone approaching God (in worship, in petition) must believe that God is a "rewarder" of those who seek after God, an image of persistent trust familiar from devotional texts. God rewards faith in Hebrews.

In Hebrews 11:11, our final subject is Sarah. A brief summary gathers up all the Genesis accounts of Abraham and Sarah: advanced age, sexual inactiveness, and barrenness. 'From Abraham came multitude of descendants.' "This extraordinary consequence flowed from a faith that trusted God as a keeper of promises."

I interpret "faith" to be something that one must have to survive in our hectic world. Faith is not easy to come by in some; easily acquired by others. For myself, faith is difficult, especially faith in God. So many things have happened in my life to make me lose faith in God, not to mention events around the world. I always thought that characters in the Bible were awesome because they had faith no matter what...but it isn't true. This paper has made me realize that even some of the most righteous Bible figures have questioned God. Sarah questioned how she could bear Abraham's descendants. She lost faith, even when her husband was promised, by God, descendants aplenty. She eventually regained her faith in God, but the point is: the future "mother of Jerusalem" lost faith when God told her she would conceive in her old age. I've learned that if even Sarah (mother of Israel) lost faith at one point in the power of God, it is ok if I do the same. Maybe eventually I will regain faith and start going to church again. Before this paper, I believed that some people have faith and others don't, but now I believe that one can acquire it at any point in their life. It doesn't mean being a righteous person like Moses, anyone can have (and lose) faith.