The little word “and” appears 51, 708 times in the King James Bible. In certain verses it shows up over and over again. In fact, it appears one hundred times in the thirty-one verses of the very first chapter of the Bible!
As a former teacher, the general rule of thumb I taught my students for using conjunctions was if you have too many it indicates you have created a run on sentence. You would need to construct those sentences differently.
But we know God’s Word is perfect, translated during a time period known as “The Golden Age of English Literature,” so what could be the reason for using the word “and” so often in verses such as:
“And Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: they brought them unto the valley of Achor.” Joshua 7:24 Twelve times in one verse!
The uninspired New International Version has it this way in Joshua 7:24:
“Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.”
Only three “ands,” reading rather like a to-do list.
At the risk of boring you by giving a quick grammar lesson-the repetition of the conjunction “and” in close succession is a deliberate literary style used to place emphasis on each listed word or phrase. It is known as polysyndeton. Its intentional use is designed to get us to pause. It is a literary device the Holy Spirit employs to slow us down and compel us to meditate on what is being said as we read through all of these verses which list things. To stop at each point and weigh each matter as it is presented to us.
Consider the tender story of the surrendered Abraham obeying God to the place of parting with his only son:
“And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood:” Gen. 22:9
Breaks your heart as you slowly read and consider each step, doesn’t it? As a Christian it makes me thoughtfully consider every action of Abraham’s. Steps he had taken many times before when he would sacrifice an animal to God. But this time each step of complete obedience brought him closer to the slaying of his beloved son. How heavy the wood must have been to him! How surreal it must have felt to bind the hands and feet of Isaac!
Contemplate with me how the Lord wants us to be aware of his complete love and acceptance for the repentant sinner as we consider the words and actions of the Prodigal’s father in Luke 15:22-24
“The father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe; and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”
When you pause and contemplate each command of the father you can vividly picture that broken boy standing there, weeping, famished, humiliated, clothed in rags and so very overwhelmed as his father held him and continually kissed him over and over and over again. Just beautiful.
We may be assured of the perfect security of those who put their faith in Christ alone, regardless of all of the characteristics associated with the storms of life as we carefully read: “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” Matthew 7:25
Thoughtfully consider the terrifying description of the Day of the Lord; a list not to be taken lightly, or God would not have placed it is his Word: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days The sun shall be darkened, (This alone would be terrifying!) and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great sound and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31
How the Spirit of God wants us to stop and contemplate the display of beautiful devotion of a forgiven sinner: “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” Luke 7:38
And, and, and!
You see, the Holy Spirit is telling us to slow down-to not be in such a hurry as we read through all of the items, or all of the steps listed in these various lists.
And equally interesting, there are some verses which do not use “and” where it seems as though it would likely be used. Okay-now just bear with me. There are rules in grammar, as you well know. Sometimes, in order to attract the attention of the reader, a writer may either use MANY ANDS or NO ANDS at all! Famous literary figures have often applied this technique. Jane Austen, for example, chose to use many ands when she wrote in Pride and Prejudice: “Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so—but still they admired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet girl, and one whom they would not object to know more of.” Julius Caesar, on the other hand, omitted the use of any conjunctions when he famously wrote, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Picture how much less powerful-even juvenile that would sound if he had said, “I came and then I saw and then I conquered!”
Moreover, on a wholly exalted level, the Holy Spirit only uses words in all perfection, which requires us to carefully note whatever He calls our attention to. When He uses no “ands,” He does not ask us to linger over the distinct items or particulars in a list, but to look ahead for some crowning point, some significant, even critical fact forthcoming.
Consider this in Luke 17:27
“They did eat,—they drank,—they married wives,—they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the Flood came, and destroyed them.”
Note in 1 Cor. 3:12, 13, the Apostle Paul informs us what foundation he has laid as the basis of all of his labors for the Lord. Those who hold to the truth of the Word of God build their lives with things that will stand the test of fire. Those who build with their own ideas and doctrines will not stand the test. They are saved, nevertheless, they undervalue the Word of God and do not strive lawfully. The truth of this portion of Scripture is that there is a time coming for the Christian when all of our works for the Lord will be put to the test: “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold,—silver, — precious stones,—wood,—hay,—stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
After a beautiful explanation all throughout the entire chapter of I Corinthians 13 defining true charity, that Christ like love, the Holy Spirit concludes with:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.”
A famous preacher once said, “I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible.” 2023 stretches out before us like a road we have previously never traveled. We have some idea of what we think is ahead, expectations and presumptions. We will each take our place and fulfill our various roles and responsibilities. We will make our plans. We will try, by God’s grace, to add inestimable value to the lives of our loved ones and to be assets to the Lord’s Church. We have high hopes the road will be smooth with straightforward signs and guideposts all along the way. Nonetheless, if you have experienced even a few decades of life, you know there will be hellos and goodbyes; for unexpected joys travel the same road as unforeseen heartaches. Days that are just ordinary and days we wish were. Tears and smiles. Celebrations and triumphs. Significant changes and big decisions. Should we determine to be diligent students of the Scriptures, we will find them to be a source of strength, stability, and great grace all along the way. For any day, filled with the knowledge of God’s Word will be of more value to us than a thousand days on our own without it.
The Lord’s richest blessings on you my friends as you begin the new year, thank you so much for reading!
Liz
