Sermon - Audio1 Chronicles 3-5 - Audio
1 Chronicles 3-5 - Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
Biblical literacy tests given to Christians over the past several years show
the alarming trend that there is a lack of basic biblical knowledge. Even
though many in the church use the Bible on a regular basis, few seem to know
the stories. Small wonder that the genealogies of Chronicles are considered
boring rather than a theology of hope for Christians. If we want to know
where the community of faith is headed, we need to know where it has been.
Chapter 3:
Chapter 3 contains the genealogies of David broken into three sections: v.
1-9 are David¹s children, v. 10-16 are Solomon and the kings of Judah, and
v. 17-24 are the generations after the exile. David¹s descendants are placed
at the center of the genealogy of Judah as the focus of hope and
expectation.
v. 9 The Tamar listed here is not to be confused with the Tamar from
Genesis 38. Tamar (listed here) refers to David¹s daughter who we will read
about in 2 Samuel 13.
Chapter 4:
v. 9-10 The Prayer of Jabez The author inserts an example of the
extraordinary piety of Jabez. Blessing through prayerful reliance on God is
a major theme in Chronicles.
v. 18 Pharaoh¹s daughter Bithiah. Mered¹s marriage to Pharaoh¹s daughter
is otherwise unknown. It suggests a time when Israelites were prominent in
Egypt, possibly during the days of Joseph.
v. 21-23 These records from before the exile indicate that certain
Israelite clans acted as guilds, specializing in particular trades or crafts
such as linen work and pottery.
v. 39-43 The theme of pastureland for the Simeonites¹ flocks and herds is
repeated three times. The author¹s language here is similar to that of those
Psalms that identify the Israelites as the sheep of God¹s pasture.
Chapter 5:
v. 1 See Genesis 35:22 ³Reuben went in and slept with his father¹s
concubine Bilhah.²
v. 2 The author explains why Reuben, the first born, was given so little
prominence among the tribes. The author affirmed instead that Joseph
received Reuben¹s double portion when his sons Ephriam and Manasseh were
treated as separate tribes.
v. 7-10 The Hagrites were linked with the Moabites and were understood to
be descendants of Hagar (Gen 16).
v. 18-22 The author has given us a military census and battle report
concerning the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan. He expresses that
God answers His people and grants them victory when they cry out to him in
trusting prayer.
v. 25-26 Because they rejected God, the tribes east of the Jordan were
invaded by Assyria.
4 comments:
I get the point about the genealogies being a theology of hope, but when I read them, they are still mostly a list of names that I don't recognize and can't pronounce. Sometimes the text then talks about someone I can't even find in the genealogy listing (i.e. Jabez). Is there a way to read this part without being utterly confused?
A Couple of more thoughts from this passage which is less than engaging reading, but at the same time teaches a lot.
3.1-9: It is interesting that in each place where he has sons, the number of sons born to David is one short of perfection. He has 6 sons, while 7 is a number of perfection. He has 4 sons, while five represents both the Torah and ½ of 10 which is a number of completeness. Finally he has 9 sons, while 10 is the number of completeness. At each
turn David’s family is just a bit short of being what it should be. Since numbers are so important it is possible that the writer of Chronicles was conveying just such a message about both David and his descendants.
4.9-10: Jabez’s prayer is a covenant prayer. It is a promise that when God brings people into your life who are empty and struggling that you will do your best to bring them from emptiness to fullness. Jabez’ request that God enlarge his territory has the ring of the words of Isaiah in Isaiah 54. 2“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. According to the way hospitality works in Palestine, if a person in need was making his way through the desert he would stop at whatever tent encampment he saw. He would stand outside the main tent and shake the tent stake letting the people know that he was there. When he did that it obligated the people in the tent to care for him, this was such a common occurrence that most tent communities in the desert kept empty tents available for needy travelers. When we ask God to enlarge our territory, we are asking God to send people to shake our tent stakes and when they do we need to keep the promise we made to God to help fill those people up, whether it be spiritually, physically, emotionally.
A little bit more:
4.21-23: Shelah is the only surviving son of Judah from his marriage. We discover that this son’s descendants worked in linen, pottery, and served a king--all of which makes us wonder about the bigger story behind these words. The words also bring to mind that there were connections between the people of Israel and the other peoples. They were not cut off from the world, rather they were engaged in commerce and the service of a king.
• 5.9: “Livestock had multiplied” Again, more hope of restoration by giving a picture of the past. The Euphrates River was the ancient boundary that God had given for the kingdom of Israel.
5.20: The good news is: When the people trust in God he fights for them. This was true in the day of the Transjordan tribes and it is true for the returning exiles.
Hi Kris,
I think the best way to not get lost in the genealogies is to have notes (whether the ones we write or from a study Bible) alongside of the Bible when you read these lists of names. These notes help keep the focus.
When you say you can't find the person in the genealogy are you speaking of not finding them in the Chronicles genealogy or another one?
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