A WORD FOR TODAY, November 14, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, November 14, 2025
“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:29-32, WEB
I have been reading the bible along with a theologian who posts daily texts and a video that expounds on something we have read. The reading plan has not followed the books from Genesis to Revelation. We have skipped around the Bible, completing each book in a few days (or a day for the short ones, and two months for the Psalms). Sometimes we’ve read a few chapters from just the Old Testament, and other days have included a New Testament chapter. I have read through the entire Bible several times, using different reading plans, and I have enjoyed this one because of the additional devotional materials that have been provided.
Reading through the Bible is not easy. There are long sections that are just not very interesting. Most of us love to read the book of John, or to use the Psalms for our daily devotion time. Some books are particularly difficult, like Leviticus or the book of Hebrews. We read most of the Bible as tidbits in our daily devotions, a verse or chapter at a time, which allows us to skip the boring sections. We can’t avoid those chapters when we are reading through the whole Bible. I confess, however, that I often skim some of the chapters, particularly the long sections of genealogy. It seems unimportant to hear that so-and-so begat so-and-so and so forth.
We began the book of 1 Chronicles a few days ago, and the chapters have been this type of writing. This information was important to the Jews. They needed to know their family tree to know where they belonged in the kingdom of Israel. Which tribe is their heritage? Which patriarchs were their fathers? I have been skimming the texts during my reading the last few days, although I realized as I went that there are brief but important mentions among the genealogy. You may have heard of Jabez from the book that was written a few years ago about his prayer. His story is two small verses in 1 Chronicles 4. In chapter 9, we learn about a man named Mattithiah who made flat bread for the temple.
One of the people I read about this week is Sheerah. Her story is found 1 Chronicles 7. She is covered in just one verse, “His daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth Horon the lower and the upper, and Uzzen Sheerah.” She was a descendant of Ephraim, and I stopped when I was reading that chapter, wondering about this woman. Women were not often mentioned in the Bible, rarely named or described with such an important job. Sadly, she’s not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. We don’t even know much about the towns she built. How is it that a woman had the power and authority to build three cities? She is the type of role model that many modern female bible teachers want to emphasize. Yet, we have nothing more to say. What does this mean for us?
We are reminded by these one or two verse stores, not only in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles, but throughout the Bible, that even those unknown people were important enough to God to mention them in the scriptures. Jabez, Mattithiah, and Sheerah are even mentioned by name. There are many others who are mentioned, sometimes unnamed, that teach us lessons about faith or obedience. They aren’t always faithful or obedient, but they are worth considering for a moment. If they weren’t important, they would not have ended up in the scriptures.
“What does that have to do with me?” you might ask. After all, your name will never be written in the Bible. You might be remembered for a generation or two, but in a hundred years it will be difficult to find any evidence of your life. We can look at Jabez and realize that God remembers our prayers and Mattithiah and know that God honors even our most humble work. We can look at Sheerah and know that God sees us even when we do not fit societal expectations.
We skim over those long lists of names but buried within are people who quietly served God just like you and me. He calls us to live our life of faith and obedience to His glory whether we will ever be recognized for it. He knows every hair on our head. He hears every word we say or think. He knows our hearts and loves us so much that He has done everything necessary to accomplish His work in our lives. He remembers us in His book, not just a tidbit but whole chapters of the ways we have quietly served Him and His people, glorifying Him in simple and ordinary ways.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.