what's with all the names?

Anyone reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament, becomes aware that many names, numbers, genealogies, and locations have been recorded in Scripture. How tempting to skip over these in our reading. How many small group participants have dreaded being called on to read one of these passages filled with hard-to-pronounce names!

These names and listings are important for several reasons:

1) The Old Testament, specifically, is the national archive of Israel's history. All the names, places, numbers, and genealogies remind us that we are reading real history, sometimes in much detail, even down to the number of camels! (Ezra 2:67)

2) The covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David -- and especially the promises regarding the coming of Messiah -- take place along the lines of clearly-marked family descent. It was important to preserve not only the prophecies, but also God's providence over unfolding history, to assure us of the correct identification of the Messiah when he came. (See Matthew 1 and Luke 3, for example.)

3) To be a part of the covenant community of God, people needed to know, and be able to show, where they fit in those genealogies. This was an important part of their identity as the people of God and allowed access to the temple for worship (Nehemiah 7:61). Of course, in the New Testament, membership in the covenant community is validated by the seal of the Holy Spirit, rather than by family lineage. (Ezekiel 36:26-28; 2 Corinthians 1:22)

4) The importance of the individual and his/her name. This is a very key reason that the Bible is filled with names. God is relational. He knows and relates to people as individuals. He calls people by name, and gives his own name to them that they might know him and call upon him. (Isaiah 44:5; John 17:6) At the end of history, at the final judgment, God will open a book filled with names. (Revelation 20:15) Ponder the following verses...

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1b ESV)

"Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20 ESV)

"To him [the Good Shepherd] the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3 ESV)

"...who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." (Philippians 4:3 ESV)

"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14-15 ESV)

Here's a suggestion: every time you come to a list of names in the Bible, stop and remind yourself that God knows you by name. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, rejoice that your name is written in his book of life! Take time to thank God that the Good Shepherd knows you and calls you by name.

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

sword and trowel

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

my burg

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