“The temple servants; the sons of Ziha, the sons Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.” + Ezra 2v43-54
If you’re looking for a list of popular baby names for 2017, you probably won’t find it in Ezra 2v43-54. Not only will your child be unable to pronounce or spell his name, you won’t be able to either. Ezra 2 serves us up a list of tongue-twisters. Genealogies and lists of names such as these are often joked about today as being too tedious to read. Some would even admit to as much without a joking tone. We often compare lists of names, particularly in the Old Testament, to that of sitting down and reading through a phonebook. Or to others, these lists of names are akin to staring at endless mathematical equations. Still to others, these lists might as well be ancient Hebrew (oh, wait…).
But of course the various lists of names throughout the Bible are far from meaningless. In fact, as mathematical equations do, they have great importance. Reasons why these lists of names are important abound. If we believe that all Scripture is profitable, that must apply to lists of names as well. I will not get into the many reasons lists are important here, except for one Bible reading principle that we can glean from such lists. Try reading Ezra 2v43-54 five times fast. Can’t do it, can you? The names of the Old Testament require us to slow down, if we are to read them. Thus the names of the Old Testament teach us to read our Bibles slowly and carefully. This is a wise principle we could use more of in 2017.
Many of us speed-read through our Bibles like Roadrunner trying to meet those Bible reading goals we’ve set. Believe me, I’m all for Bible reading goals and reading lots of Scripture each day. But unfortunately, if we haven’t dedicated ourselves to reading our Bibles slowly and carefully, the dust from our speed-reading covers up precious diamonds and nuggets of gold. Let us learn to walk through Scripture, maintaining awareness to our surroundings as we go. Let us sometimes even stop and gaze; or stoop to marvel at a flower along the way. If we learn this principle, we will gain much more from our Bible reading this year.
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