geneology – Be Still…

1 Chronicles 6:1-81 – The Priestly Line

Read 1 Chronicles 6:1-81

By now, you are probably wondering when we will be done with all the genealogies. Soon, very soon. We’ll have a couple of long readings over the next couple days, and then we’ll get into the historical account from the priestly viewpoint of Chronicles.

Again, we encounter a lot of names, most of them hard to pronounce, all descending from Jacob’s son, Levi. We are given a lot of information in this chapter about Levi’s descendants, some of whom became priests. We’ll likely encounter some of these names again when we read the historical accounts of the kings. It’s good for us to keep in mind that the priests served right alongside the kings leading the people in matters of faith and obedience to God’s laws.

1 Chronicles 4:1-43 – Who is Jabez?

Read 1 Chronicles 4:1-43

In this passage, we have a little more history thrown in for good measure. It’s always interesting to see what little tidbits the Chronicler inserts in these long lists of hard to pronounce names! Because I had a hard time following all the relations, what struck me most was the mention of Jabez starting in verse 9.

I assume Jabez must be a descendant of Judah because of the placement in our text. Do you remember when the book “The Prayer of Jabez” was published by Bruce Wilkinson and received so much attention back in the early 2000’s? My search for my copy in David’s library was unsuccessful, but I do remember being impacted by the example Jabez sets for us.

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.

Nehemiah 7 – What’s Next?

Read Nehemiah 7

What’s next? The construction project was done, and it was time for Nehemiah to move the people into their new, safer reality. However, the powers of evil had not been eliminated, and the threats and intimidation were still fresh. Nehemiah deemed it necessary to set up some unusual security precautions.

From what we’ve learned so far in Nehemiah, the walls and towers may have been constructed for protection, but it is really God’s protection that shines through. God is the only one we can truly count on to keep us safe.