When reading through scripture, I try not to skip anything. I believe the LORD inspired the writers of the Bible and those who compiled it and pulled it together into one book. Thus, I challenge myself to not skip, but rather pause and reflect on each part of scripture… even the genealogies.
Much of the information in the genealogies that begin 1 Chronicles is repeated from prior books, like the book of Kings. It is, however, summarized and laid out differently which gives it different emphasis. The simple message I keep coming back to is that the family structure is really important to Yahweh. It is how He chose to organize His people. It is part of their identity.
What we also see from reading elsewhere in scripture, is that many of these men who had many wives and many concubines, and thus many children, were not good fathers. They could not possibly dedicate the right amount of time to personally be the father Yahweh intended to each of their children or the husband they are intended to be to their wife. It does us well to remember that Yahweh intended from the beginning that it should be one man and one woman in marriage. It was intended to be Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and Suzy and Sharon and Lisa, etc.
Family of David
1Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second was Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess; 2the third was Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith; 3the fifth was Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth was Ithream, by his wife Eglah. 4Six were born to him in Hebron, and there he reigned seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 5These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four, by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel; 6and Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7Nogah, Nepheg and Japhia, 8Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet, nine. 9All these were the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines; and Tamar was their sister.
10Now Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, and the second was Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son. 17The sons of Jeconiah, the prisoner, were Shealtiel his son, 18and Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah. 19The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; 20and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed, five. 21The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah. 22The descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah, and the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah and Shaphat, six. 23The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah and Azrikam, three. 24The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah and Anani, seven.
I encourage You to read the following article published on Bible.org about marriage and reflect on how God’s purpose for marriage is best reflected in a marriage between one man and one woman.
Foundation One_ God’s Plan For Marriage _ Bible.org
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground… The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’…For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Genesis 1:26-28, 2:18, 24
In this session, we will consider God’s plan for marriage as primarily seen in the Genesis narrative. Most married couples miss God’s best simply because they do not know what God desires for marriage. If you don’t know the purpose of something, it is destined for misuse. Therefore, over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and a large number of those who remain married continue to miss God’s purpose for their union.
To continue reading… click Foundation One_ God’s Plan For Marriage _ Bible.org
Again, I encourage you to click through the link above and read the entire article.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, thank You for Your holy word in the Bible. Let it lead me and guide me. Help me to fully embrace all it contains for me. Let the Spirit guide me in understanding and gaining insight from all scripture, even parts I may be tempted to skip over. Please bless Christian marriages and help them to be a light to the world, glorifying You. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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