Hunched over a manual typewriter, Itzhak Stern worked through the night, tapping out names—1,098 in all. The names comprised a list of Jewish workers protected from the Nazis by factory owner Oskar Schindler. Clutching the document, Stern declared, “The list is an absolute good. The list is life.” Those named on its pages would survive the Holocaust. In 2012, it was estimated that the descendants of the survivors numbered 8,500.
The Bible contains its share of lists. We tend to skip them. Too many names; too much repetition. We might even say today’s reading is . . . boring. “The descendants of Judah by their clans were: through Shelah, the Shelanite clan; through Perez, the Perezite clan . . .” (Numbers 26:20). Who cares?
God cares! “These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt,” says the historical record (v. 4). Soon the people would inhabit the land promised to them. And one day, Messiah would come from this very clan of Judah. The list is life, not only for the Jewish people but for all who trust in Jesus.
We know of Oskar Schindler’s list from the powerful film Schindler’s List and historical records. We know of God’s great salvation from the story recorded for us in the Bible. As we read the Scriptures, may His Spirit show us the worth of even the lists. They have something to say to us too.
What portions of the Bible are the most boring to you? How might you read even these sections with new eyes?
Dear God, please help me read the Bible carefully. May Your Spirit guide me to see the value in each verse.
Gain the tools necessary to study any part of the Bible carefully.
The Bible contains a variety of lists, including several genealogies. But rather than being boring data, they provide relevant information. Jewish genealogies typically don’t include women, but five are included in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1: Mary, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba). In addition, all except Mary were most likely gentiles. Some had histories that could have made them unmentionable in such a list. For example, Tamar slept with her father-in-law, Judah (Genesis 38), and Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1). Yet by their inclusion, we see that God used imperfect, sinful people to fulfill His purposes. It’s not surprising that we learn much from such lists, for 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
