Read 1
Chronicles 1-2 & John
7:32-53
To discover:
As you read consider why the
details in addition to the names are included.
To ponder:
Chronicles begins setting Israel’s
history in its wider context. Israel’s
history is ultimately about world history. We read how the people are descended
from Adam and Abraham with a stress on David’s line. This reminds us that
through Abraham’s royal seed, God is going to bring blessing to the whole
earth, cursed as it is in Adam. It looks the church therefore to its mission to
bring that blessing to others by sharing the gospel of Christ (Gal 3v6-14).
Of course the
genealogies are necessarily selective, being gleaned from Genesis and
elsewhere. Father can mean any male ancestor and son any male descendent. So
there are undoubtedly gaps. The focus is on key individuals. It is also on key
nations, those of the Ancient Near East known to Israel.
Here we might wonder why the descendents of Abraham are paused for the
genealogy of a man called “Seir” (1v38-54) and a list of kings and chiefs of Edom.
Edom was the
nation predominantly linked to Esau. So this may be to distinguish those of the
nation that weren’t from his line. Most probably it anticipates in faith the
day when “Edom,” described as “Seir” and Jacob’s “enemy,” will “be conquered”
by a ruling “star” from Jacob who will also cause Israel to “grow strong” (Num 24v18).
This reflects the author’s confidence that after Israel’s
return from exile, the people can be looking for the coming of their Christ. It
therefore looks us to his final suppression of all evil and the establishment
of his kingdom.
We should also
note the detail that is purposefully made to stand out from the straightforward
lists. It teaches that just as human history includes greatness (1v10) yet also
evil (1v19), so does Israel’s
(2v3, 7, 22). Sometimes the people were therefore blessed, fulfilling God’s
purpose of multiplying and becoming a great nation. Yet sometimes, they seem
not so blessed – perhaps hinted at by the note of those who had no children
(2v30, 32, 34). Whatever the case, we see God’s purposes are worked out through
the good and the bad. So Judah’s
sons were born to a Canaanite wife (2v3) and Sheshan’s daughters to an
Egyptian. All this gently nudges the reader to consider what their legacy might
be and how they might therefore contribute to the fulfilment of God’s purposes.
One might ponder
the apparent prominence of Caleb in chapter 2 (not the Caleb who spied out the
land). In reality, he seems significance because he and his two brothers (2v9) structure
2v3-4v24 in a ‘V’ shape or chiasm. At both ends are Judah,
then an emphasis on David and so Ram’s line, then on Caleb’s, with two lists of
descendents from Jerahmeel in the centre. It is unclear why these three
brothers are used. But the structure sets Judah
apart from the other tribes, with David’s line surrounding the other two.
Praying it home:
Praise God for his concern for all
the peoples of the earth. Pray that you, your children and their children
would serve Christ and contribute well to his purposes.
Thinking further:
To read the NIV Study Bible
introduction to 1 Chronicles, click
here.
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