First Chronicles 1:34

The Bible says in First Chronicles 1:34-42, “And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel.[35] The sons of Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.[36] The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek.[37] The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.[38] And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan.[39] And the sons of Lothan; Hori, and Homam: and Timna was Lotan's sister.[40] The sons of Shobal; Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah, and Anah.[41] The sons of Anah; Dishon. And the sons of Dishon; Amram, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.[42] The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Zavan, and Jakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz, and Aran.” Isaac had two sons: Esau and Israel. Israel’s original name was Jacob. His name was changed by God in order to demonstrate that God could take a sinner and make something better out of him. Jacob wrestled with God which demonstrated that he wanted God greatly and did not want to let go. Everyone who serves the Lord must make that type of choice to seek Jesus. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. In other words, he ruined his future in order to meet the physical need of the moment. It is a very sad thing, but many young people have done that. But Esau still had a life to live, and because he was one of the sons of Isaac, God blessed him in many ways, especially in regards to the peoples that came from him. These also were in the lineage of Abraham.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 1:43-54, “Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.[44] And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.[45] And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead.[46] And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, which smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.[47] And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.[48] And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.[49] And when Shaul was dead, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.[50] And when Baal-hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.[51] Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were; duke Timnah, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth,[52] Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,[53] Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,[54] Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.” These verses are an emphasis on the fact that the descendants of Esau started having kings to rule over them. That was not a good idea. That was an increase in authoritarian control over citizens. That always happens. For some reason human government always seeks to control more and to dominate more and thus to take away freedoms. Having kings also creates an elite. A few individuals live above the law and are not limited by the controls they put on everyone else. The challenge will always be in this life: how to create and maintain a human government that does not lend itself to elite authoritarians, but instead always protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other basic freedoms. God gives freedom. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Eventually, the nation of Israel also asked for a king and most of the kings failed miserably. Interesting that Jesus Messiah came in the lineage of King David, and eventually Jesus will be king over all the earth. This demonstrates how God can take the mistakes of man and turn them into good. God only should be king. Jesus is the Son of God, which means God the Son. That is why He qualifies to be the King of kiings.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 2:1-4, “These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,[2] Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.[3] The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.[4] And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.” After listing the sons of Jacob (Israel,) some detail is mentioned about Judah. Of course, King David and King Solomon came in the lineage of Judah. Jesus the Messiah came in the lineage of Judah. A great prophesy was pronounced about Judah. It is one of the great prophecies from the Old Testament about the Messiah. Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49:10, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Shiloh means peace and refers to the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. Judah, the man, was a sinner. In several ways he was despicable, especially regarding his daughter-in-law Tamar. But we are all sinners. God uses sinners. God’s plan on this earth is fulfilled through sinners. Jesus came to save sinners. Judah is an example of God’s grace and God’s calling. God has a plan for everyone. In spite of Judah’s failures, Judah was still part of God’s plan. King David came through Judah, and the Messiah came through Judah. That was God’s plan, and therefore it happened. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts made it happen in spite of the failures of man. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 2:5-15, “The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.[6] And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.[7] And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.[8] And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.[9] The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.[10] And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;[11] And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,[12] And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,[13] And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,[14] Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,[15] Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:” That would not be a good thing to have your failures recorded in the Bible or anywhere else. That is exactly what happened with Achan, who is called Achar in verse seven. His sin was so bad that he brought trouble upon the whole nation of Israel. That is one of the reasons to be afraid of sin: it can not only hurt you, but it can hurt many other people. Of course, God knows everything and so He knows all of our sins. It is amazing and wonderful that God has a plan to save everyone from their sins or we would have all been like Achan. We see part of God’s amazing plan unfolding in the lineage of these verses: Boaz, Obed, and Jesse the father of David. That wonderful story is told in the book of Ruth. What a mighty God we have. He has a plan.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 2:16-35, “Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.[17] And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.[18] And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.[19] And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.[20] And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.[21] And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub.[22] And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead.[23] And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.[24] And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.[25] And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah.[26] Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.[27] And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker.[28] And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur.[29] And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid.[30] And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children.[31] And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.[32] And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.[33] And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.[34] Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.[35] And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai.” We see in these verses that women are mentioned prominently, not just men. We see sisters, and a daughter, and mothers, and wives. We could not have a human lineage about women. That is one of the basic arguments against homosexuality from a biological standpoint. Men and women get married and have children. Without that happening, there would be no human race.

Notice also verses thirty-four and thirty-five. Sheshan had no sons. He only had daughters. Sheshan elevated a servant from his own household. Not only was Jarha a servant, but also Jarha was not a Hebrew by birth: he was an Egyptian. Jarha must have been an excellent servant. We can imagine that Jarha was a great servant: faithful, hard-working, respectful, and devoted. We can also imagine that he became a believer in the one true God. This servant was lifted up and made a part of the family. There is always room for anyone to leave the way they were raised and to become a part of the family of God through faith in Christ.

The list of the names in these genealogies continues for the rest of chapter two, and then the Bible says in First Chronicles 3:1-9, “Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:[2] The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:[3] The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.[4] These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.[5] And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel:[6] Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet,[7] And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,[8] And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.[9] These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.” With all of these wives and all of these children that David had, we must point out that three of David’s sons met violent deaths, and Tamar was raped by one of her half brothers and for the rest of her life lived an isolated life. Obviously, these wives and these children did not live as one family. David had many great and wonderful qualities, but as many people in the Old Testament he had a weakness with women. God’s plan is one woman and one man united for life. Not many have fulfilled that plan. But God is merciful and knows that we are made of clay. Of all the children who are listed here, Solomon was made king after David, and Solomon was in the lineage of Christ. And Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother. God is merciful. Turn to Jesus and He will have mercy on you too.

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