Lesson 9, November 23–29
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Ezra 1:9-11; Dan. 1:1, 2; Daniel 5; Deuteronomy 30:1-6; Ezra 8:1-23; Nehemiah 11:1, 2; 12:1-26.
Memory Text: “These joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes.” Nehemiah 10:29
We usually skip genealogies and long lists of items in the Bible. But the Lord has them included there for a reason. The biblical Lord is the God of details. He notices the particulars, and this assures us that we are never forgotten by Him.
These few examples of genealogies proclaim that God knows all about our families, and the lists of things tell us that God cares even for what others might deem “insignificant”. Jesus stated that God takes care of sparrows and even counts our hairs: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6, 7). The God who cares about these details cares about us as well, and He knows even the details of all the things that trouble us.
Thus, we can have full confidence, cultivate trust, and rest in assurance that the Lord cares about every area of our lives. While that’s comforting, as it should be, it should also tell us that we need to care about every area, as well.
