Lesser-known

How many of the tribes of Israel can you name without looking them up? I only remembered ten. I forgot Asher and Zebulun. Two of what might be called the lesser-known tribes, I guess.

The Twelve Sons of Jacob

It’s easy for me to remember Judah. Jesus is the Lion of Judah. Joseph and Benjamin aren’t hard for me, either. They were Rachel’s sons. Then Simeon who planned to rescue Joseph, and Levi the priests. I remember Naphtali and Issachar because I find their names unusual. Gad who, along with Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh, refused to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, and lastly Dan. I guess I can remember Asher and Zebulun are from A to Z. (Brief FYI — I didn’t miscount. Because Joseph stayed in Egypt and didn’t receive land in Israel, his portion was divided between his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.)

What Matters?

Regardless of whether I remember the names of Jacob’s sons or not, isn’t all that important. What is important is the fact God does. In fact, according to the apostle John’s vision in the Book of Revelation, each name of the twelve sons is written on one of the twelve gates in heaven.

Well and Lesser-known

In 2022 many well-known people around the world died. Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pele, Franco Harris, Sidney Poitier, Barbara Walters, Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath, Christine McVie, Angela Lansbury, Loretta Lynn, David McCullough, Bill Russell, Lt. Nyota Uhura; Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek, Wally Cleaver; Tony Dow from Leave it to Beaver, and many more.

However, there is one person who died in 2022 you may not have heard of. A lesser known, as it were. My niece’s husband, Mike. Lesser-known maybe, but no less important.

Regardless of whether we knew these people, or merely knew of them, God knew them. He created them in their mother’s womb. He numbered their days and the hairs on their head.

Your Turn

In a world where influencers, the quest for large numbers of social media followers, and making a name for yourself abounds, it’s wonderful to embrace the fact there are no lesser-known people in God’s eyes. We are all important and loved by the one whose opinion matters most.

Our names may not be on one of the twelve gates in heaven or in a book of Who’s Who, but if we have claimed Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And that’s more than enough. Amen?

How’d you do? Did you name all twelve sons without looking?

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The city had a high and thick wall with twelve gates, and each one of them was guarded by an angel. On each of the gates was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Revelation 21:12 (CEV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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