Dear Friend,              

I was reading the delightful Book of Nehemiah and when I reached the seventh chapter, I saw that it is mostly a long list of names… names, names and more names!

Names such as, “Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah)…” Nehemiah7:7

The Bible has many such lists of names… Genesis 10; I Chronicles 1-9;Matthew 1, Luke 3, Romans 16, and so on.

My question for you is this: when you come upon such a list, do you read it?

I used to skip those lists. They seem boring and the names are tough to pronounce.

Then I was led to consider why our Lord would take up valuable space inHoly Scripture with lists of names. Why not just say, “and the descendants ofNoah” or “the people in exile” or “the ancestors of Jesus?”

The answer is obvious. God cares about persons. No matter how large the group may be, our Lord knows every one of us by name.

Now, whenever I come across a list of names in Scripture, I read it slowly, focusing on every single name, knowing each name is significant to God.

God is focusing on you, loving you, and thinking of you this very moment. God knows your name and loves you more than you love your own next breath!

Joy to you – E. Stanley Ott

© Copyright 2019E. Stanley Ott

*Scripture from the ESV

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1. What has your practice been when you come across a long list of names in the Bible? Do you read it or skip it?
2. How might the reality that God cares for every person and knows us all by name change your approach to such lists?
3. How might this change how you regard other lists of names that you may come across - such as lists of students in your child's class or in a group you are a member of - or even difficult lists to read such as to those who died in a military action or a school shooting? Are they "just lists" or are they the names of individuals, each loved by others?
4. A practice that takes patiences but helps you receive "people eyes," the eyes of Jesus for people, is to pray over such lists name by name!