In
1896, a candy store owner in New York named Leo Hirshfield developed an oblong
piece of chewy chocolate candy that he individually wrapped. He called it a “Tootsie
Roll” after his five-year-old daughter. He sold the candy for a penny and it became
a favorite with his customers.
Then
he had the idea of putting the Tootsie Roll inside another of his customer’s
favorites – a round lollipop. And so was born the Tootsie Roll Pop. There were
originally five flavors – chocolate, orange, cherry, raspberry and grape. Some
people – who must have nothing better to do – have calculated how many licks it
takes to get to the center. The average is 285.
That
is hardly the most important piece of information you will hear today. Well,
here is another – it has been calculated that there are 31,174 verses in the
Bible. That being the case, then the 15,587th and the 15,588th
are the middle verses. They are found in Psalm 118, which makes it the middle
of the Bible.
Wait
– there’s more! It so happens that the Psalm before, 117, is the shortest
chapter in the Bible – it is only 2 verses. And the following Psalm, 119, with
176 verses, is the longest. So, the middle of the Bible is flanked by the
shortest and longest chapters in the Bible. That is an interesting coincidence
– but that is all it is. Because whether this is actually the middle of the Bible
depends upon which version of the Bible you are using. And, so what?
Sadly,
this kind of thing causes some people to spend years searching Scripture for
coded messages buried within the text. They use what is called “equal distant
interval” letter searches. This amounts to nothing more than superstition. To
study the Bible for this kind of information is about as relevant to
understanding its real message as knowing how many licks it takes to reach the
center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.
It
causes you to totally miss the point – like those Pharisees who were warned by
Jesus, “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll
find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These
Scriptures are all about me!
And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive
from me the life you say you want” (John 5:39-40 Message Bible).
Don’t lose sight of the fact
that Jesus is the ultimate, final, definitive word of God. He is the living Bible,
and its true center. Don’t waste your time licking around the edges.
