Tuesday, September 19, 2023

NINE CHAPTERS OF GENEALOGIES OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH

PROCLAMATION

“So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgressions.”  1 Chronicles 9:1 (KJV)


EXPLANATION

The words of this Book of The Bible were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The human author is unknown although Jewish tradition suggests that, and some current Bible scholars attribute, this book was written by Ezra the scribe and priest and historical Bible scholar.  It was written to the Jewish people of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas on their return from 70 years of captivity in Babylon.  In the original Hebrew copies of the scriptures, First and Second Chronicles were both part of one Bible Book, as was Samuel and Kings.  The first nine chapters in the Bible Book of First Chronicles contain Biblical genealogies.  Chapter one begins with Adam and ends with the three dukes of Edom. (1 Chronicles 1:1-54)  Chapter two begins with the sons of Israel and ends with the sons of Salma. (1 Chronicles 2:1-58)  Chapter three begins with the sons of David and ends with the seven sons of Elioenai. (1 Chronicles 3:1-24)  Chapter four begins with the sons of Judah and ends with the sons of Shiphi who smote the Amalekites. (1 Chronicles 4:1-43)  Chapter five begins with the sons of Reuben and includes the sons of Abihail and then states that these are genealogies of Judah and Israel. (1 Chronicles 5:1-17)  Then the author briefly describes the war that the sons of Reuben, and the Gadities, and half of the tribe of Manasseh  made war against the Hagarites, and defeated them and took their flocks and their land. (1 Chronicles 5:18-23)  The heads of the tribes are listed, and these men transgressed against The Lord and sought other gods.  The Lord God caused Pul and Tilgath-pilneser, the kings of Assyria, to rise up against them, defeat them, and carry them away into captivity. (1 Chronicles 5:24-26)  Chapter six includes more genealogies and begins with the sons of Levi and includes how the land was divided up and assigned to each of the tribes. (1 Chronicles 6:1-81)  Chapter seven begins with the sons of Issachar and ends with the sons of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:1-40)  Chapter eight begins with the sons of Benjamin and ends with the sons of Ulam. (1 Chronicles 8:1-40)  Chapter nine records the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, (1 Chronicles 9:1-13), the responsibilities of the Levites, (1 Chronicles 9:14-34) and the family of King Saul. (1 Chronicles 9:35-44)


APPLICATION

There is an old saying which goes, “Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.”  Actually that quote a paraphrase from the original saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana)  Knowing one’s history and one’s ancestry can be important.  Knowing one’s roots can give a person strength of character.  Those who grow up without the knowledge of their genealogy do not know who they really are.  The same is true for knowing how we came to believe in what we believe.


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