I have often wondered about the significance of the sections of scripture that detail family lineage. At times I recognize in myself a tendency to read over them quickly, without much thought as to why they are in the scripture. Even in sharing my most recent journey through the Bible with these devotionals I nearly skipped this section in Genesis 11:10-32. I encourage you to read through it and I will summarize some points that God showed me at the end of this devotional.
10 This is the account of Shem’s family.
Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of[c] Arphaxad. 11 After the birth of[d] Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13 After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.[e]
14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15 After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17 After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19 After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21 After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23 After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25 After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27 This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29 Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years[f] and died while still in Haran.
I am sure if I studied it in detail, I could (and likely will in the future) identify a more complete list of why God shares this type of history with us in scripture. However, as I come before the Lord humbly seeking to understand His word I see several important points in this type of scripture.
- These were real people, not fictional characters. Studying the Bible from a literary perspective that means that the sections or books of scripture that contain these detailed family lineage are historical records of actual events, not parables.
- God shows us that the family structure He established for man is important to Him. In other words, family has high significance to God. He further shows us through these lineages how family leaders that had strong faith and obedience before God often set the tone for multiple generations of family to follow. Though notably there are examples where one person rejecting God or turning to follow God can change the direction of the family’s relationship with God.
- God loves each of us as individuals and cares about the details of our lives. Every individual is important. We are not just an easily exchangeable part of a block of people called humanity that God cares about only as a whole.
We each need to take time and consider…
1- Am I applying scripture to my life properly, recognizing that the historical books of the Bible are factual records. (Not all books of the Bible are literal, historical documents but many are. Some use other literary approaches to communicate God’s word to His people as in Revelation.)
2- Am I leading my family to follow God and be different from the world? or letting them blend in with the world? My actions in how I lead or fail to lead may have impacts on multiple generations.
3- Am I living my life truly recognizing how God loves me (and everyone else) as an individual, not just one of many easily exchanagable parts of a whole called humanity?
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