Are you a list maker? I know I am – or at least, I do; I’d make lists of things I’d like to accomplish at some point in my life.
Imagine my surprise to notice that there are also lists in the scriptures. Perhaps this should not have come as a surprise to me. And maybe it does not surprise you. But it surprised me!
For example, can you think of one list that is so well-known that most English speakers know of it? Yes. You guessed right! The Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were given as a list to Moses from the Lord. Moses‘ assignment from God was then to relay those Ten Commandments to the children of Israel (the children of Israel were descendents of Jacob who was the grandson of Abraham in the Bible. Jacob’s name was changed at one point to Israel – which is why then his descendents were eventually called the children of Israel. Cool, huh!).
Well, flash forward a number of years (actually a lot of years) and we now have the children of Israel who have fled miraculously from Pharaoh’s presence (think parting-of-the-Red-Sea and all that). The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness – eventually to wander for 40 years in a fairly small territory! As a side note, did you know that they could have entered their “promised land” after only one year in the wilderness, but due to very poor choices on their part, they had to wander for essentially 39 more years!
During this time of wandering, the Lord gave a list of commandments. It was these commandments that most people now call The Ten Commandments.
These commandments were straightforward and fairly easy to remember. “No other Gods but God Himself.” “Keep the Sabbath Day holy.” “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” And so forth.
But it came in the form of a list! Isn’t that cool?
The Beatitudes are also given essentially in the form of a list. These, too, are fairly familiar to most people:
Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Blessed are they that mourn…
Blessed are the meek…
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness…
Blessed are the merciful…
Blessed are the pure in heart…
Blessed are the peacemakers…
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you…
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven
(Matthew 5:2-12)
Why do I bring all this up? Because when you begin noticing “lists” in the scriptures, your mind can take in the information a little bit easier. Because, after all, sometimes scripture language can seem a little flowery or formal. So by noticing lists in the scriptures, the scriptures become that much easier and more enjoyable to read.
Why not try looking for lists in the scriptures today?!
