…And Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber…(1 Chronicles 1:18)
When we are committed to reading our Bibles through, all the way through, not skipping a word, we are tempted to wonder why God saw fit to include some things. Like the genealogies, and the details of travels, why are these in the Bible at all?
Well, you can be sure they are there for a reason, and perhaps we won’t know all of the richness of why in this life, but let me give you some things to think about. When we study we find out certain things have their rightful place in being included. For instance, notice that the two different genealogies in Matthew and Luke point to the two different lines of Jesus through Mary and Joseph, but both have roots in David. So these seem a necessity, in a sense.
What about those seemingly endless genealogies in the OT books, what are they there for? Well, when we see those endless names, think about the fact that God cared enough to put them there. Then think about this. When you are nothing but a name to everyone else, you are still important to God, important enough to be included even if no one else thinks you are worth the time. When you see where the Bible talks about the travels of the old timers and said they pitched a tent here or there, and then here or there again, and so on, think about the fact that when no one else cares where you are God knows exactly where you are, and He does care, every step of the way. God is interested in individuals.
When we see the personal greetings of Paul to certain individuals, think about the fact that although we don’t have much more information than their name, they were important to Paul, and they got their names in the Bible; don’t you wish that were you! Beside the Book of Life, that Bible is the one book I would want to get a recommendation in, it is better and more prestigious than any who’s who list you will ever get on this earth!
When someone takes an interest in you and your details, whether they know it or not, they are acting like Jesus. He has your hairs numbered, and even if you're bald, He counted each one as it fell off your head. Use your head, and realize that those words in the Bible, they mean something. You may not care but God does. I may not ever know what all those names mean, but I know this, God wanted them included, and He wants you included, so be glad that God wants your name included when no one else thinks you're worth the time. That means something to me.
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This was originally posted 1-2-07, and reposted 6-5-09, but it didn't have the audio portion archived at SermonAudio...
In other words, although we are mixing new posts with old posts, the old ones now have an audio, which also includes more information and discussion. You can hear these archived at SermonAudio, as well as at voiceofvision.org.
God bless you…
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