Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2022]

In the 1960s TV series, ‘The Prisoner’, Patrick McGoohan played the title role; a former British secret agent who knew too much to be allowed his liberty. He was forcibly removed to a secure location where he became known simply as a number. The successive episodes of the series showed his efforts to regain his liberty and his name, and to be rid of the number. His mantra of “I am not a number, I am a free man” remained untrue on both counts.

In contemporary western society we have all become numbers; our names are just a convenient way of cataloguing our numeric identities. Even in everyday conversation, ‘who’ you are has been superseded by ‘what’ you are. Your name is less important than your status, function or achievements. By contrast, in the Jewish society of Biblical times the records of your family – their names and family links – were part of your heritage. A ‘black sheep’ could blot the family name for generations; a glorious ancestor brought recognition and honour.

Sooner or later, those of us who read the Bible diligently or preach systematically are going to encounter a list of names. Do we regard those passages as fertile ground that deserves further study or do we prefer to skip ahead to the ‘important’ bits?

Nehemiah chapter 3 is a list of names – it records in some detail how each portion of the new wall of Jerusalem was built, which household took responsibility for each section and it gives them eternal credit for their efforts. It also reveals that there were some who declined to get their hands dirty.

Amongst the most familiar lists of names in the Bible are those in the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke. These writers set out the lineage of Jesus in order to verify his claim to be the Messiah. There are gems in these genealogies but there are also those who will be known throughout history simply as someone else’s father. Nevertheless, each one is essential to God’s plan for salvation.

Recently I heard a sermon based on the closing verses of Romans chapter 16. For those who cannot immediately recall the passage it is primarily a list of names; names of people with whom the apostle Paul had worked or names of those that he wanted to greet. Some of them are people that we know a little bit about, for others we can only speculate but all of them have their names recorded for posterity.

In the penultimate chapter of the book of Revelation, the writer John described the new Jerusalem, the city where God will dwell with his people. After describing the glories of the city he adds a warning:

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21 v27 [NIVUK]

We will not get our names in the Bible but we can get them written in the book of life.

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