GEMS IN GENEALOGY (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

To Noah’s Sons

Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.

The sons of Noah:

Shem, Ham and Japheth.

The Japhethites

The sons of Japheth:

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer:

Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

The sons of Javan:

Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.

The Hamites

The sons of Ham:

Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteka.

The sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on earth.

Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.

The Semites

The sons of Shem:

Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

The sons of Aram:

Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.

Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. Two sons were born to Eber:

One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah and Abram (that is, Abraham).

The Family of Abraham

The sons of Abraham:

Isaac and Ishmael.

Descendants of Hagar

These were their descendants:

Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

Descendants of Keturah

The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine:

Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

The sons of Jokshan:

Sheba and Dedan.

The sons of Midian:

Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah.

All these were descendants of Keturah.

Descendants of Sarah

Abraham was the father of Isaac.

The sons of Isaac:

Esau and Israel.

Esau’s Sons

The sons of Esau:

Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

The sons of Eliphaz:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz; by Timna: Amalek.

The sons of Reuel:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.

The People of Seir in Edom

The sons of Seir:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.

The sons of Lotan:

Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.

The sons of Shobal:

Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.

The sons of Zibeon:

Aiah and Anah.

The son of Anah:

Dishon.

The sons of Dishon:

Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.

The sons of Ezer:

Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.

The sons of Dishan:

Uz and Aran.

The Rulers of Edom

These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned: Bela son of Beor, whose city was named Dinhabah. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king. When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king. When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king. When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king. When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. Hadad also died.

The chiefs of Edom were:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

1 Chronicles 1

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today starts the study across the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Chronicles.

Originally one work, these two books fall underneath the historical books of the Old Testament and as will see, there are four distinct sections within the two books. First, we’ll look at the genealogy of Israel from the dawn of mankind (Adam) through the kings that reigned. Second, we’ll look at the life and reign of King David. This will be followed by a study of the reign of David’s son, Solomon, and we’ll conclude by looking at the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah and their subsequent exile.

For the next nine days, we’ll focus in on these fascinating genealogical lists and the gems contained within. I think we’ll find that we can learn from lists that most believers skim over or even bypass when they read their Bibles. Let’s start with Chapter 1.

GEM 1

Note something right away in verse 1. After Adam, we find that the next man mentioned is Seth. Was Seth the firstborn of Adam and Eve? Go back to Genesis, Chapter 4 and you’ll see that he wasn’t. The first child born of Adam and Eve was Cain who was followed by Abel. We remember what happened after that right? After Abel brought an offering that was favored more by the Lord than his brother’s, Cain lured Abel out into a field and murdered him. As a result, Cain suffered terrible judgment from the Lord and as we can see lost his place in the genealogy of his father.

Can we learn a lot from this? I sure hope so. For we can either be known and remembered for all the right reasons or we can choose to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. We should all strive to leave a positive, lasting legacy behind when our life on earth is through.

GEM 2

Look down the list a little ways from Adam and you’ll find Noah and his sons. Go back to Genesis, Chapter 5 and you’ll be reminded that Noah was 500 years old when he bore his three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth who would all marry and then join Noah and their mother in the ark the Lord commanded Noah to build. They would live onboard for a 150 days while waters flooded the earth, wiping out every living thing (Genesis 7). The Lord would cause the waters to recede and eventually, Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives were permitted to depart the ark and begin to multiply. In other words, creation started again all over again with Noah and his wife as well as his sons and their wives. We tend to forget about this.

GEM 2a

One other thing to remember as we recall the story of Noah. The rainbow was established by God as a sign of his covenant made between Him and mankind, a covenant where God guaranteed that He would never again destroy every living thing by way of a flood. Rainbows are fascinating enough on their own but their magnificence becomes exponentially greater when we remember the reason why God created it and places it in the sky for our view as His appointed time and place.

GEM 3

Look under the sons of Abram and you won’t find Isaac alone. No you find Ishmael right there with him. Two boys born to different mothers.

You’ll recall that Abram became concerned because of the advanced age that he and Sarai had reached. Worried that Sarai would not be able to bear a child, Abram decided to take matters into his own hands instead of trusting God and laid down with Hagar, Sarai’s servant. The end result of their tryst was a son who was named Ishmael. And although Abram would redeem his error in judgment and rely on God to grant him and Sarai a son who they named Isaac, Ishmael was not left off the list as being an offspring of the man who has been revered as the father of the Jewish nation. In fact, we see that all of Hagar’s descendants are mentioned.

GEM 4

Fast forward now as Abraham (name change from Abram in Genesis 17) was given the ultimate faith challenge by God when he was told to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22). When he was Abram, he chose to rely on himself and his wisdom but now Abraham was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to remain obedient to God. And so he took the only son he was able to bear with Sarah, bound him up, and placed him on an altar on top of wood where he would be sacrificed and burned. You’ll recall that at the very moment that Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord stopped him and offered up a nearby ram as a replacement sacrifice. Abraham had passed God’s test, showing that he had learned from his past error and was fully ready to trust God in all things.

GEM 5

Note that Isaac, spared from sacrifice from God, would go on to have two sons. Also note that the sons listed here are Esau and Israel.

But wait a minute. Weren’t Isaac’s two sons named Jacob and Esau? Didn’t Jacob, the younger, deceive his father Isaac to take Esau’s rightful birthright away with some help from his mother Rebekah who the scriptures tells us favored Jacob (Genesis 25:28)?

So why didn’t the list say Israel instead of Jacob?

You need to look ahead in the scriptures to the 32nd Chapter of Genesis where Jacob encountered and wrestled with God, suffering a hip injury in the process. It was after that struggle that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel because he had “struggled with God and with humans” and overcame them (Genesis 32:28).

Friends, this has been a fun retrospective look back into the scriptures as we discover these gems of genealogy. Come back tomorrow and let’s see what Chapter 2 has to offer us.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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