Open up your Bible or Bible app, and turn to take a glance at these passages.

• • Matthew 1:1-16 These verses trace Jesus’ lineage starting with Abraham. They carefully work their way through each successive generation until Jesus’ birth. 
  • Luke 3:23-38 This is another genealogy passage, but this time it starts with Jesus, the Son of God, and traces his family line all the way back to Adam, the (lowercase s) son of God. 
  • Joshua 13-19 Nearly seven entire chapters of Joshua are dedicated to a detailed description of how the promised land was split up and divided out amongst tribes after Israel crossed into Canaan. We read explanations of exactly how boundary lines were drawn and which previously established cities existed within each territory.  These records are so specific that you’ll see things like this: The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan: Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. -Joshua 19:32-33
  • Numbers 33:1-49 Here we have a detailed record of the Israelites’ exact path from Egypt to the promised land. At God’s command, Moses carefully and faithfully recorded each stage in their journey. 
  • Exodus 25-31 These chapters in Exodus lay out God’s specific instructions for building His tabernacle and everything that went with it. From exact measurements to specific kinds of tree wood that were commanded to be used for constructing various items and parts of the tabernacle, God left nothing up for debate.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of every single genealogy or set of instructions found in the Bible, but it represents a few, at least. And while it’s certainly tempting to look past chapters like these, I’d argue that we can learn valuable things about God from the careful inclusion of these less stimulating chapters in the Holy Bible. I even encourage you to read them carefully! Word for word. Before, after or while you read, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you can learn about God from the chapters and verses that are tempting to skip. 

Here are two things I’ve learned about God from carefully reading the “boring” Bible passages: 

God is a God of order. 

He is not a God of chaos and confusion! Remember when Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish? Before the disciples started passing out the food, Jesus directed the people to sit down. He wanted the massive group of hungry people to be contained and under control. Furthermore, when the story is told in the gospel of Mark, an additional detail is included. Mark says Jesus had the people sit in groups of hundreds and fifties. He is a God of order.

When my teacher brain thinks about a classroom that is “in order,” it is peaceful and organized. There’s a consistent, fair system of discipline/management that allows students to relax. They can take comfort in knowing there will be no surprises. They know exactly what to expect from their teacher and the classroom atmosphere the teacher has created and nurtured. God operates on the same kind of system. When we submit to His will, we can breathe a sigh of relief and trust in the order He has and will set into place. The Israelites didn’t have to wonder about their borderlines in Canaan, and we don’t have to wonder about things, either. God spells out in the Bible exactly how we should seek Him and live fruitful, faithful lives. No guessing required! He gave specific instructions to the people living in Bible times, and He does the same today. When we embrace His sovereign order and control, we can receive a deep sense of peace and calm, no matter what may be happening in our lives. 

God cares about the details. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says all Scripture is God-breathed, and all Scripture is useful. That means the details about whose father was whose, whose son was whose, what cities the Israelites traveled to in what order, and how many cubits high/long/wide the altar of burnt offering was—all of these details are in the Bible on purpose. There weren’t any chapters that accidentally slipped through the final edits and made it onto the pages of God’s Word. Every single verse found in Scripture is there because God wants it to be there. He cares about the details, and He wanted those details included in His Holy Word. 

How does it make you feel knowing that the Creator of the entire universe cares about tiny little details, too? He cares about the details of your life. He doesn’t zero in on your tithing and church attendance and then leave everything else for you to figure out and decide on your own. God wants to be a part of every little detail! There’s a familiar saying that states, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Have you heard it before? One of the best pieces of advice I received as a new teacher was the exact opposite of that mantra. “SWEAT the small stuff.” As a teacher, when I show my students that I care about the little things, the bigger things end up being impacted positively, as well. For example, when I taught lower elementary, I made a big deal of coloring inside the lines and not leaving any blank white space on coloring pages. Small little details! Inconsequential? Perhaps to some. But by training my students to work carefully even on coloring pages, they learned to carry their careful work habits over to other assignments and exams. The details matter! And God cares about them. Let His care for the details in your life make you feel loved, seen, valued and understood. 

So the next time you come upon a passage you’d rather skip or skim, challenge yourself to take a deep breath, slow down, and carefully read each word. Thank God for being a God of order, and thank Him for caring about the details that most people would carelessly dismiss. Our God is like no other!