One of my favorite movies is “The Jerk,” starring Steve Martin.  In a scene played with the utmost sincerity, Navin R. Johnson finds his name in the phone book, and rejoices with his realization that he is somebody.  He remarks “Millions of people look at this book everyday…I’m in print…Things are going to start happening to me.”

I couldn’t help but to recall that scene as I read chapters in the Old Testament from I Chronicles, chapters 1 through 8.  Here we see in a very organized list the sons of sons of sons…page after page after page…take a look at one such list…from Chapter 6

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 ¹ The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

² The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

³ The children of Amram:

Aaron, Moses and Miriam.

The sons of Aaron:

Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁴ Eleazar was the father of Phinehas,

Phinehas the father of Abishua,

⁵ Abishua the father of Bukki,

Bukki the father of Uzzi,

⁶ Uzzi the father of Zerahiah,

Zerahiah the father of Meraioth,

⁷ Meraioth the father of Amariah,

Amariah the father of Ahitub,

⁸ Ahitub the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Ahimaaz,

⁹ Ahimaaz the father of Azariah,

Azariah the father of Johanan,

¹⁰ Johanan the father of Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem),

¹¹ Azariah the father of Amariah,

Amariah the father of Ahitub,

¹² Ahitub the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Shallum,

¹³ Shallum the father of Hilkiah,

Hilkiah the father of Azariah,

¹⁴ Azariah the father of Seraiah,

and Seraiah the father of Jozadak.

¹⁵ Jozadak was deported when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

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Can you imagine how it would feel to have your father’s name, followed by your name, followed by your son’s name, in the holy books of the nation of Israel?  These scrolls would be carefully stored, brought out on special days, and read to an assembly.  These scrolls would be memorized by the priests, as part of their training for the priesthood, and recited verbatim.  Your family name would be forever spoken!  In the first fifteen verses, we see 27 generations of men carefully recounted.  That’s over 500 years of history, in only fifteen verses.

In following books in the Old Testament, we see additional lists of names.  Looking ahead, in the book of Ezra, chapter 10, verse 18, we see a name listed there “Joshua son of Jozadak,”  Jozadak!  He received special mention in 1 Chronicles 6:15 as one of the men exiled to Babylon.   The exile to Babylon was a terrible experience for the nation of Israel, and the exile was in fact a judgment from God against the sins of the entire nation.  In Ezra, we read of the return of the Israelites to their land, and the reading of the Book Of The Law to the assembled people.  In response to the reading, the people repented of sin, and endeavored to live according to the commands of God.  Joshua son of Jozadak made what had to be a difficult decision to divorce his wife from another nation.

Think of the pain it would be, to divorce your spouse recognizing how vital it is to obey God’s commands.  But, we have to remember this special time of restoration and the chosen role of Levi and his descendants.  Levi and his sons served God as priests, bringing God’s Holy Word to the nation, leading the festivals, and performing all the acts of sacrificial worship on behalf of the people.  Levi and his sons were forever to serve God, to be holy, and to represent the nation before God.  In one very solemn annual event, the Levites were to ceremonially reestablish a holy relationship between God and the nation on the Day of Atonement.

So, in reading the long lists of names, we can skim over the names as if the list were pages in a huge phone book.  Or, in reading the names, we can pause, if only for a moment, and recognize each name represents a generation who chose to live for themselves, or to live for God.  Each name represents a generation living in shame, or living in holiness.

We all can remember the words of Revelation 21:27, God’s prophecy of a new city where citizens dwell with God in a new Jerusalem…

²⁷ 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.

I can’t help but think we all are going to be just like Navin R. Johnson, excitedly waiting for the new phone book, the “book of life,” flipping pages madly to find our name.  I rejoice that on that day, like Navin, I can exclaim “I’m in print!” Let’s endeavor to lead holy lives, now, as we look ahead to that day when God and man return to full fellowship in the new Jerusalem.