family tree – Be Still…

1 Chronicles 3:1-24 – David’s Family

Read 1 Chronicles 3:1-24

Our last reading identified that King David descended from Judah, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Today’s reading gives us a snapshot of David’s family. He was quite the fruitful one, bearing 19 children. But only seven of the moms are listed here, and this number doesn’t even account for sons born to concubines! And only one daughter, Tamar, is named. That was quite a household!

The Chronicler doesn’t follow every offshoot of David’s family line here. That would be exhausting. The names he did include were meaningful, displaying the Davidic line. The Chronicler spends more time on David’s family because this was the royal dynasty that will never end.

1 Chronicles 2:1-55 – More Familiar

Read 1 Chronicles 2:1-55

In Spanish, the word “familiar” is often used to identify a family connection. So, it makes sense we’d be more familiar with our family. Here, the Chronicler is giving us another piece of the family history of Jesus, our brother.

When you think of it like that, you want to pay attention. You may have recognized more of the names in this reading. Although there are plenty that seem totally foreign. I wonder if any of those names still exist in those Middle Eastern countries or not. It’s always neat when you run across one that we have in a culture that’s more familiar to us.

1 Chronicles 1:1-54 – Don’t Get Stuck

Read 1 Chronicles 1:1-54

The first section in 1^st Chronicles will deal with many genealogies. How fascinating that we have such detail about people who lived so long ago. We often rush past such lists, but this time take time to cherish the information that has forever been recorded. How far back can you trace your own family?

As we get deeper into 1^st Chronicles, we’ll begin to see a parallel history to what we see in other books of the bible (1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2^nd Kings). Because the author of Chronicles did not write those other books, we can’t expect the two histories to be the same. Look instead for the meaning of each passage letting the Holy Spirit guide you.