The Worst Hall of Fame Ever

My sister is part of the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Sarah is a phenomenal athlete who was a stand-out high school athlete in swimming and softball. She went on to play softball for Stanford University, where she batted .350 with 28 home runs over her career and was a three-time All-American, eventually playing on the US Women’s National Team.

Other Tucson greats like Steve Kerr, Lute Olsen, Sean Elliott, Fat Lever, Mike Candrea, Ian Kinsler, JJ Hardy, Dick Tomey, and Jerry Kindall grace the hall of fame. If you’re from Tucson and don’t know some of those names, you should look at their impressive careers.

I haven’t yet received an invitation [drumming fingers]. Maybe they don't hand those out for pick-up ball. Go figure.

Hardcore fans of sports and music argue about whether or not individuals deserve to be in the Hall of Fame or not. Baseball fans will throw down over whether or not Pete Rose and Barry Bonds ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Some Rock and Roll fans are outraged that Stevie Nicks and Percy Sledge are in the Hall of Fame while Tina Turner and Lionel Ritchie are not. Football fans clash over whether Ray Lewis and OJ Simpson ought to be in the Hall of Fame and whether it’s fair Reggie Wayne and Roger Craig aren’t.

You might know that the Bible has a Hall of Fame as well. Tucked away at the end of Hebrews, it contains a list far more controversial than any list in Canton, Cleveland, or Cooperstown.

Here is the list of heroes of faith that the Bible offers:

Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel.

What an interesting list. There are three types in the hall of faith. First are the clear-cut inductees. A surprisingly few members of this Hall of Faith are no-brainers when you stop to consider it. Outside of his childhood pride, Joseph seems like a natural choice. Samuel also lives a reasonably blameless life. Others, such as Abel and Barak, feel like odd choices because their acts of faith seem fairly insubstantial, and we don’t know much about them outside those small acts.

Second are those with a checkered history. Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, and David have quite a rap sheet. While that group has collectively lots of moments of faith, we also find two murders, an attempted murder, abandonment, grave sexual violations, and thievery among the serious sins this group collectively committed.

Third is the group that seems to have no business in the hall. Consider the baffling inclusion of the three judges. Gideon, Samson, and Jephthah are despicable characters. Gideon begins and ends his narrative as an idolater, Samson is a lustful, disobedient, vengeful womanizer, and Jephthah is no better than the worshipers of Molech. Jephthah rashly makes a horrific oath that, in his pride, he refuses to repent of, and instead sacrifices his only child-- a daughter who danced to greet him after God granted the Israelites victory.

It becomes more baffling when one considers that there isn’t a shortage of candidates who could have been included on this list. Consider the impeccable credentials of Deborah, Caleb, Joshua, Ruth, Elisha, Daniel, Job, and Isaiah, for instance.

How can we make sense of the inclusion of those with such egregious sin?

Let’s turn to the beginning of the chapter to answer that question. The author of Hebrews begins, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb 11:1-3). The author goes on to explain that,

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Heb. 11:13-16)

In other words, the faith of those in the Hall of Faith points to the singular truth of what faith is: a trust that God’s invisible kingdom is not of this world and that our hope is for his “better country.” It’s fitting, then, that the author of Hebrews picks out such a motley crew. This isn’t the Hall of Obedience or the Hall of Righteousness. This is the Hall of Faith. And the power of faith is in the object of that faith, not the strength of the one who holds onto that faith. Faith is worthy of praise because of the King who gave it to us and has promised and created a new Kingdom. Faith is worthy of praise because it is from God and is eternal!

The biblical Hall of Fame looks like a mistake. It looks like one-hit-wonders in Cleveland, third-string linebackers in Canton, and middle relievers in Cooperstown. But it’s no mistake. God's chosen Hall of Faith-ers reminds us that, unlike worldly fame, heavenly fame is all about the Creator, not the creature. And he receives great glory through even our faltering and finicky faith. How encouraging is that?

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Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash