The List Is Life

Our Daily Bread Podcast | Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.6 • 955 Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2025

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hunched over a manual typewriter, Itzhak Stern worked through the night, tapping out names—1,098 in all. The names comprised a list of Jewish workers protected from the Nazis by factory owner Oskar Schindler. Clutching the document, Stern declared, “The list is an absolute good. The list is life.” Those named on its pages would survive the Holocaust. In 2012, it was estimated that the descendants of the survivors numbered 8,500.

The Bible contains its share of lists. We tend to skip them. Too many names; too much repetition. We might even say today’s reading is . . . boring. “The descendants of Judah by their clans were: through Shelah, the Shelanite clan; through Perez, the Perezite clan . . .” (Numbers 26:20). Who cares?

God cares! “These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt,” says the historical record (v. 4). Soon the people would inhabit the land promised to them. And one day, Messiah would come from this very clan of Judah. The list is life, not only for the Jewish people but for all who trust in Jesus.

We know of Oskar Schindler’s list from the powerful film Schindler’s List and historical records. We know of God’s great salvation from the story recorded for us in the Bible. As we read, may His Spirit show us the worth of even the lists. They have something to say to us too.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt.
0:04.0	Numbers 26, verse 4.
0:08.4	Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.
0:12.4	The list is Life, was written by Tim Gustafson and read by Stephen Tabor.
0:19.0	Numbers chapter 26, verses 1 through 4, and also verses 20 through 22.
0:26.7	After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and Elieazar, son of Aaron, the priest,
0:31.9	take a census of the whole Israelite community by families, all those 20 years old or more who are able to serve in the
0:39.4	army of Israel.
0:40.9	So on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, across from Jericho, Moses and Eliezer the priest
0:46.9	spoke with them and said, Take a census of the men, 20 years old or more, as the Lord commanded
0:53.8	Moses. These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt.
0:59.0	And now picking up at verse 20. The descendants of Judah by their clans were, through Shella, the Shelenite clan, through Perez, the Parazite clan, Through Zira, the Ziraite clan.
1:13.2	The descendants of Perez were, through Hezran, the Hezranite clan.
1:17.7	Through Hamel, the Hamulite clan.
1:20.4	These were the clans of Judah.
1:22.3	Those numbered were 76,500.
1:27.0	The list is Life, written by Tim Gustafson.
1:32.2	Hunched over a manual typewriter, Itzok Stern worked through the night, tapping out names.
1:38.7	1,098 in all.
1:41.4	The names comprised a list of Jewish workers, protected from the Nazis by factory
1:46.7	owner Oscar Schindler. Clutching the document, Stern declared, The list is an absolute good. The list is
1:55.1	life. Those names on its pages would survive the Holocaust. In 2012, it was estimated that the descendants of the survivors numbered 8,500.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Our Daily Bread Ministries, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Our Daily Bread Ministries and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.