The Hall of Faith
Our faith is extremely valuable to God. It is the instrument God chooses to orchestrate his saving and enabling grace. In other words, it is impossible to partner with God if our trust isn’t in him (Eph 2:8, Heb 11:6). The Scriptures paint many examples of men and women with tremendous faith. Hebrews 11 lists some of these people in what many now call “The Hall of Faith”. Unlike the Hall of Fame, entry into the Hall of Faith is characterised not by what these people achieved but by their faith in God.
Among those listed in Hebrews 11 was Gideon. Gideon was an incredible man of Faith.
As a military commander, Gideon had 32,000 men at his disposal, but God told him to send most of them home and to keep 300 instead (Judges 7:1-8). To carry out an instruction like that in the face of a highly intimidating and ruthless opponent is telling of the volume of faith Gideon had.
Like King David, who wrote, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psa 20:7), Gideon understood something. Rather than staking his victory on men, it made more sense to place his trust in the unwavering faithfulness and limitless ability of the God of his ancestors. Ironically, in obeying the command to weaken his forces, Gideon didn’t just improve his odds; he guaranteed the Israelite victory.
Victory wasn’t found in the 32,000. Nor was it in the 300. Victory was found when Gideon entirely abandoned his faith in the fortress of strategical wit and instead sought refuge in the Lord.
Faith was the deciding factor.
Faith was the line between life and death.
By faith, Gideon accessed God’s enabling grace.
By faith, Gideon’s name will forever be listed in the Hall of Faith.
In exercising faith, we put our full weight of worry into God’s hands. What safer place is there to entrust our lives than into the care of the shepherd and overseer of our souls? (1 Peter 2:25). Jim Elliot once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”.
What piqued my interest in the Hall of Faith was that there was nothing extraordinary about its members. Some were rich, others poor. Some were strong, others timid. Yet, though most had much less access to God than we do today, they all, in some way, exercised a faith that was more precious than Gold (1 Peter 1:7).
I imagine if it were an official thing, that the Hall of Faith would include many unremarkable, forgotten members of society who, in faith, relied solely on God for instruction, purpose and direction. Men and women whose faith resulted in many accomplishments, as well as those whose faith resulted in persecution and hardship.
What accomplishment can compare to having your name written in that heavenly hall? If membership is by faith, and “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), then we ought to follow the blueprint laid out for us in the next chapter by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
