Spiritual Lessons from the Genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1-9

I happened upon chapters 1 through 9 of 1 Chronicles during my regular Bible reading, and wondered what possible spiritual significance eight and a half chapters of names could have, so I decided to look at it more carefully.

It is certainly not like John 3:16, one little pithy and powerful verse. This is very different, much more spread out and not so obvious.

In a way, I think it more closely resembles Colossians 3:18-22, rules for various members of the household (wives, husbands, children, slaves). Just as the Colossians passage applies primarily to specific members of a family, so these chapters appear to have been addressed primarily to one group of humanity - the Jews returning from exile in Babylon, probably to reconnect them with their spiritual heritage. They could read this and say, “Hey! That’s my uncle Penuel,” or “my grandmother Naarah.” They could connect with their ancestors and really grasp that they too were among the chosen people. For them these chapters said: You are not starting over; you are linked to generations of God’s people before you.

But just as we may learn something from rules that primarily apply to one member of a family, so I think we can learn from these chapters even though they were mainly for Jews returning from exile.

Here are some of the things I saw:

1 Chron 1:1 starts all the way back with Adam. God is the God of history; he has been here from our very beginning.

In 1:4 Japheth, Ham, Shem, and their offspring represent the major tribes of humanity, the Japhethites, Hamites and Semites. So God is interested in all mankind.

Families are important to God: “The sons of Shem,” “The sons or Aram,” “Arphaxad was the father of,” “Two sons were born to Eber,” and so forth. We should value our families.

God continues to be there, faithful for generation after generation. That's comforting.

God is eternal. People live and die - generation after generation - but God remains constant.

I look at these ages and ages of humanity and think how patient and deliberate God is, never hurrying.

Believers are part of God’s people stretching back through the ages. I find it inspiring that we are part of something so grand, but also humbling; we are all little players in the ages-long plan of God.

We should give thanks for our spiritual ancestors - parents, pastors, friends - those who led us to Christ. We owe gratitude to those believers who went before us. Think of those who have been most helpful in your spiritual walk. Maybe send them a thank you note.

Good and bad people are listed here, though very little is said here about their moral character. Character matters a lot to God, but in these chapters we are shown that God can work through anyone, and human sin and failure doesn’t thwart His plans. God is in control.

Still, there is enough on moral character to remind us that it is important in God’s eyes. In 2:3 it says that Er was wicked so God put him to death (also Genesis 38:6–7), and in 4:9-10 it calls Jabez “more honorable than his brothers.” Interesting that both the wicked Er and the honorable Jabez are almost completely unknown.

God uses - and remembers - people others might think are insignificant. The most obscure people are listed right alongside the most notable. God uses both. Do we treat seemingly unimportant people with the respect we give to notable people? Can we live happily being obscure?

Many of these obscure probably led quiet godly lives - perhaps some of them would have been great if there had been the need for them to be so, but perhaps by living in quiet times it was not necessary. To us they are virtually unknown, but God remembers and honors them, placing them side by side with the great.

So, in these chapters great men are brought down and the obscure are raised up. For example, let’s look at Moses, one of the most famous people in the Old Testament.

I Chronicles 6:3 says, “The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.”

That’s it! There he is, the great lawgiver, with not a word about him except his name.

We also see that God chooses some people as his special instruments, just as Jesus chose 12 to be his special inner team, so here God chose the people of Israel. In chapter 1 we see that the scope narrow from all of humanity to Abraham and his children, then in chapter 2 through chapter 9, to Israel proper, with each tribe getting its genealogy. But the main focus is on Judah (for about two-and-a-half chapters, and specifically on David’s royal line), then on the priestly tribe of Levi for all of the long chapter 6.

So the focus here is not on the law (As I mentioned, Moses, the great lawgiver, is almost ignored); it is on the people of God, the tribes of Israel, and particularly on David’s kingly line, and on the priesthood. All of this foreshadows the church and its king and priest, Jesus.

But while God has chosen Israel that doesn’t mean he has excluded others. Just as in the New Testament, where gentiles were woven in to the church, so here gentiles are woven into the body of God’s people (e.g., A Canaanite woman in 2:3; one of David’s wives, who was the daughter of the king of Geshur; an Egyptian slave who married a Jewish woman in 2:34–35; a daughter of Pharaoh marrying a Jewish man in 4:18; an Ishmaelite married to a Jewish woman in 2:17). So, even though God chose Israel, his plan always included the nations.

Jesus in our midst

19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It almost seems verse 19 promises too much - that if two or more agree on something it will be done, but perhaps verse 20 gives the solution, that Jesus is in their midst and that any agreement must be in agreement with him, who is one of the group. 

Naming of Fathers in the Bible

“Now the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 1:5a

I wonder if the reason the names of the father and grandfather of Bezalel are given is because they raised Bezalel and thus indirectly share in the credit for what he did. 

Perhaps this is true in other cases where fathers are named. It is a testimony God wants to give of their wisdom in raising their children, or, in cases of disreputable children, it is an admonition.

Not true, of course, in all cases, as some sons of good parents may go bad. 

Depend on God

Covet to live a life of daily dependence upon God. Oh, it is a sweet and holy life! It saves from many a desponding feeling, from many a corroding care, from many an anxious thought, from many a sleepless night, from many a tearful eye, and from many an imprudent and sinful scheme... You may confide children, friends, calling, yourself, to the Lord's care, in the fullest assurance that all their times and yours are in His hand.

Octavius Winslow, Jan. 26, Morning and Evening Thoughts

The Trinity - An Old Analogy with a Twist

There is an old explanation for the Trinity that compares it to water. Just as a unit of water can be in three forms, liquid, solid, or vapor, so can God be in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, that unit of water cannot be in these three forms at the same time, which is a weakness in this analogy. However, God created time; he is beyond time, outside of time, therefore this objection is not valid in the case of God. He can be all three at the same time.

Great Thoughts: Heaven and Earth

Our duty as Christians ... is always to keep heaven in our eye and the earth under our feet.

Matthew Henry, commenting on Genesis 1. 

Hypocrisy as a Tribute

An interesting observation:

“Wherever there is genuine coin, it will be likely to be counterfeited; and the fact of a counterfeit is always a tribute to the intrinsic worth of the coin - for who would be at the pains to counterfeit that which is worthless? The fact that there are hypocrites in the church, is an involuntary tribute to the excellency of religion.”

FB Meyer in his book, John the Baptist