Don O.’s Journal

"The sons of Judah " In chapter three we read about the lineage of Christ and the sons of David establishing the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus. It is all about Jesus! Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) In chapter 4 we begin with the genealogy of Judah leading up to David. We are still seeing the emphasis is on the Israelites' historical connection with their past. The remnant was returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple because of the promises God had given to David many years before (Ezra 7:10-23). God's promises were still in effect--even though the people had been in exile. These genealogies here point out that the promises to David were founded on God's ancient promises to the patriarchs. God had pledged to Abraham that He would make him the father of a great nation, one through which He would bless the whole earth (Gen. 12:1-3). God had also promised that a king would rule over this special nation (Gen. 17:6). It was revealed to Jacob that the king would descend specifically from Jacob's son Judah (Gen. 49:10). Finally, the genealogy in the Book of Ruth explains the link between the promise and the fulfillment by tracing the line of Judah through his son Perez to King David (Ruth 4:18-22). God, again, had faithfully fulfilled His promise! God will establish His reign upon the earth through David's royal line (17:7-15; Gen. 17:7, 8; 2 Sam. 7). The kings God had promised to Abraham would begin with David and ultimately culminate in the One who would reign forever, Jesus (17:14; Matt. 9:27; 12:23; Mark 10:47, 48; Luke 18:38). God had given the promise to David, and the faithful remnant inherited that same promise. At a time when the Israelites were rebuilding the nation and the temple (Ezra 3:7-13), the chronicler presented a picture of David's kingdom as a kingdom founded on the true worship of God. The tabernacle and temple were the focus of David's kingdom, not the throne. The theme of Chronicles is that God Himself established David's kingdom: "Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, "Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your God said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.'" (1 Chronicles 11:1-2). All of this was done just AS GOD HAD SAID in fulfillment of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promise to Abraham concerning his seed and the land, and the frequent prophecy of Israel's ultimate regathering are part of a larger pattern which always promised a future kingdom to Israel. The first indications of a future kingdom are found in the promises given to Abraham in Genesis 17:6 : "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you." God restates His promise in Genesis 17:16 to Sarah: "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." The promise of a kingdom given to Abraham's seed is later narrowed to the son of promise Isaac, then Jacob, and in Genesis 49:10 is further limited to the tribe of Judah. Jacob in his prophetic summary of the future of Israel prophesied concerning Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; Jacob prophetically limits the throne to Judah and his descendants. It may be concluded therefore that early in Israel's history the concept of a future kingdom shaped Israel's understanding of future events. The promises of a future kingdom given to Israel is contained in the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). God's covenant with David promises (ENSURES) a king and a kingdom specifically from David's lineage. Through the Davidic covenant, David's kingdom itself embodies the promise of the future kingdom whose ruler is the great Son of David, Jesus Christ. The Jews had returned from their 70 years of captivity to a land that was markedly different from the one once ruled by King David and King Solomon. There was no Hebrew king, but rather a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6). There was no security for Jerusalem, so Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall (Neh. 1-7). There was no magnificent temple: "But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon." (Ezra 5:12) Chronicles details the genealogy and history of Israel, stretching from Adam (1 Chronicles 1:1) to the return from Babylon (2 Chronicles 26:23). The purpose was to remind the Jews of GOD'S PROMISES and intentions about the Land, the nation, the Davidic king, the Levitical priests, the temple, and true worship. Not one of the PROMISES of GOD had been revoked because of the Babylonian Exile or the captivity. All of this was done and recorded to remind the Israelites of their spiritual heritage during the difficult times they faced, and to encourage them, and us, to be faithful to a FAITHFUL GOD. The fact that there was a remnant at all was due to the mercies and compassions of God. Even in His wrath, God remembers to be merciful. This brings to mind the words of Jeremiah: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. It is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne? Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. It is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne? Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. It is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne? Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"The sons of Judah " In chapter three we read about the lineage of Christ and the sons of David establishing the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus. It is all about Jesus! Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) In chapter 4 we begin with the genealogy of Judah leading up to David. We are still seeing the emphasis is on the Israelites' historical connection with their past. The remnant was returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple because of the promises God had given to David many years before (Ezra 7:10-23). God's promises were still in effect--even though the people had been in exile. These genealogies here point out that the promises to David were founded on God's ancient promises to the patriarchs. God had pledged to Abraham that He would make him the father of a great nation, one through which He would bless the whole earth (Gen. 12:1-3). God had also promised that a king would rule over this special nation (Gen. 17:6). It was revealed to Jacob that the king would descend specifically from Jacob's son Judah (Gen. 49:10). Finally, the genealogy in the Book of Ruth explains the link between the promise and the fulfillment by tracing the line of Judah through his son Perez to King David (Ruth 4:18-22). God, again, had faithfully fulfilled His promise! God will establish His reign upon the earth through David's royal line (17:7-15; Gen. 17:7, 8; 2 Sam. 7). The kings God had promised to Abraham would begin with David and ultimately culminate in the One who would reign forever, Jesus (17:14; Matt. 9:27; 12:23; Mark 10:47, 48; Luke 18:38). God had given the promise to David, and the faithful remnant inherited that same promise. At a time when the Israelites were rebuilding the nation and the temple (Ezra 3:7-13), the chronicler presented a picture of David's kingdom as a kingdom founded on the true worship of God. The tabernacle and temple were the focus of David's kingdom, not the throne. The theme of Chronicles is that God Himself established David's kingdom: "Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, "Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your God said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.'" (1 Chronicles 11:1-2). All of this was done just AS GOD HAD SAID in fulfillment of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promise to Abraham concerning his seed and the land, and the frequent prophecy of Israel's ultimate regathering are part of a larger pattern which always promised a future kingdom to Israel. The first indications of a future kingdom are found in the promises given to Abraham in Genesis 17:6 : "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you." God restates His promise in Genesis 17:16 to Sarah: "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." The promise of a kingdom given to Abraham's seed is later narrowed to the son of promise Isaac, then Jacob, and in Genesis 49:10 is further limited to the tribe of Judah. Jacob in his prophetic summary of the future of Israel prophesied concerning Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; Jacob prophetically limits the throne to Judah and his descendants. It may be concluded therefore that early in Israel's history the concept of a future kingdom shaped Israel's understanding of future events. The promises of a future kingdom given to Israel is contained in the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). God's covenant with David promises (ENSURES) a king and a kingdom specifically from David's lineage. Through the Davidic covenant, David's kingdom itself embodies the promise of the future kingdom whose ruler is the great Son of David, Jesus Christ. The Jews had returned from their 70 years of captivity to a land that was markedly different from the one once ruled by King David and King Solomon. There was no Hebrew king, but rather a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6). There was no security for Jerusalem, so Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall (Neh. 1-7). There was no magnificent temple: "But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon." (Ezra 5:12) Chronicles details the genealogy and history of Israel, stretching from Adam (1 Chronicles 1:1) to the return from Babylon (2 Chronicles 26:23). The purpose was to remind the Jews of GOD'S PROMISES and intentions about the Land, the nation, the Davidic king, the Levitical priests, the temple, and true worship. Not one of the PROMISES of GOD had been revoked because of the Babylonian Exile or the captivity. All of this was done and recorded to remind the Israelites of their spiritual heritage during the difficult times they faced, and to encourage them, and us, to be faithful to a FAITHFUL GOD. The fact that there was a remnant at all was due to the mercies and compassions of God. Even in His wrath, God remembers to be merciful. This brings to mind the words of Jeremiah: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. It is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne? Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. It is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne? Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"These were THE SONS OF DAVID......." The Sons of David = the Line of Christ. t is all about Jesus! The Bible is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me," (John 5:39). The Bible is the historical narrative of how God worked through history, through Israel, and finally through Christians to bring about the Revelation of Scripture. The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus who is God in flesh. The message of the Bible can best be summed up by saying that it's about Jesus, how he lived, what he did on the cross, and how he will return to claim his church. The chief reason for such detailed genealogies is that they affirm the line of Christ from Adam (Luke 3:38) through Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1), thus emphasizing the kingdom purposes of God in Christ. Zerubbabel here is designated as a son of Pedaiah, but elsewhere (Ezra 3:2, 8, 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:2, 23) as a son of Pedaiah's brother Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). It seems likely that Shealtiel had died while Zerubbabel was young and that the youth was reared by his uncle Pedaiah, being recognized as Pedaiah's son. This relationship may explain Luke's statement that Zerubbabel was "the son of Shealtiel" (Luke 3:27), who was in turn a descendant of David through his son Nathan. We see in the Gospels, the line of Jesus was traced back to David through David's two sons, Solomon and Nathan. Remember that in 1 Chronicles 1:1 the line of Adam's family was through Seth (rather than through Cain et al.) These two lines met in the marriage of Jeconiah's daughter to Shealtiel. Luke traced Jesus' line through Zerubbabel and an otherwise unknown son Rhesa (Luke 3:27). Matthew, whose interest is particularly in Joseph, traced Jesus' ancestry back to Zerubbabel through still another son of Zerubbabel, Abiud (Matt. 1:13). Luke's genealogy is unlike Matthew's, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus' significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.Thus Luke reconstructed Mary's genealogy, Matthew did the same with Joseph's, and Chronicles traced yet a third line of David. Yet all of these genealogies passed through Zerubbabel and originated in David. Recall Jacob's last words to his sons, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob's prophecy tells us that a royal line would rise from Judah's descendants (the Davidic line). Shiloh is an obscure word, probably meaning the one "To Whom It Belongs." That is, until the One to whom all royal authority belongs comes, the tribe of Judah will always have a lawgiver in its ranks (Is. 9:1-6). Shiloh, like Seed (3:15), is a name for the coming Messiah. Remember God's Covenant with David: "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeconiah, (a.k.a. Coniah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin; see 1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV; Jeremiah 22:24), is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:16. Remember God's curse resulting in no royal descendants from the line of Jeconiah as given by Jeremiah" "Thus says the Lord:
'Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.'" (Jeremiah 22:30). Jeconiah was a descendant in the line of Solomon, so the genealogy in Matthew is tainted with a blood curse from Jeconiah all the way to Joseph. No descendant of Jeconiah could ever qualify as King of Israel. But remember, Joseph was only the legal father of Jesus, not his biological father. This curse on the line of Jeconiah was enforced by God. Jeconiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph's family line (Matthew 1:12). The curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus' right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the "Son of David," would reign forever on Jerusalem's throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah's descendants from assuming David's throne?Even though Jeconiah was in the line of Christ, the Messiah was not a physical child of that line, thereby affirming the curse, yet sustaining the legality of His kingship through Joseph, who was in David's line. His blood birthright came through Mary, who traced her line to David through his son Nathan, not Solomon (Luke 3:31). Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was of David's line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus' legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus. Therefore Jesus was not of the seed of Jeconiah and is fully qualified to be King of Judah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary about her unborn Son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33) More prophesies about THE KING "on the throne of David" are in Zechariah 14:9 and Isaiah 9.7! Jesus admitted to Pilate that He was indeed a King - the King of the Jews:
"Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:3) Jesus was crowned with thorns, but nevertheless He said He was a King - a King of the Jews in the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (aka Jews). The genealogy in Matthew 1:1 confirms that Jesus is a Jew: "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". So there we have it: Jesus' descent is from the tribe of Judah, so He is Jewish. Jesus' lineage traces back to the line of David and so He has the right to sit on David's throne. The world will soon be ruled by a Jewish King from Jerusalem. Remember: Jesus the coming King! God's truth is self-authenticating. Here we can see Our God and Father's sovereign timetable. God's plan and timetable would not permit any deviance from what God had decreed. Life is not random, but operates according to God's sovereign and perfect timing and direction. Knowing God's perfect timing, we realize that no one can do us any harm without the Father's consent: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:29

1 Chronicles begins with the genealogies that reflect the line of Jacob/Israel through his twelve sons. The tribe of Judah understandably leads the list, indicating its importance because of the Davidic line/heritage and Judah appears first in the detailed genealogy because the messianic promise was to be channeled through him (Gen. 49:10). After Judah, Levi receives the most attention, indicating the importance of their priestly role. Joseph (1 Chronicles 2:2) is later mentioned indirectly in his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Interestingly, Dan and Zebulun are not mentioned here, although they both are identified in the millennial distribution of land (Ezek. 48:1-2, 26-27). Compare the order of the sons of Israel (Jacob's Twelve Sons), listed in Genesis 35:22-26: "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram." For these people, newly returned from Exile, and seeking to populate the promised land this "history" was of great importance. It established from God-given records that God had maintained His people through the centuries, had raised up chosen men to fulfill His purposes, and that what God had once done He could do again. God is faithful! It also emphasized the fact that Israel were His chosen people: "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." (Deuteronomy 7:6) Notice that the emphasis in verse 1 is on Jacob whose name was changed to "Israel" ("And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28)). The returning exiles identified with the God-given name of "Israel" (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7). They saw themselves as the God-ordained "the people of Israel". And they also saw themselves as sons of Abraham. The twelve sons of Israel (Jacob) are now listed. The significance of these descriptive genealogies to the new Israel returning after the Exile is important and deserves our attention. These genealogies show how God had expanded the tribes, in this case of Judah, and had fashioned sub-tribes and clans, and had produced over them as their leaders men of faith and power, men who had settled the land and maintained loyalty to the God of Israel. The message was that they should take heart, because what God had done once (the Exodus) God could do again. In addition to being the Creator of the entire universe and the One who had covenanted with Abraham's family, in Exodus, God shows His power as the Savior of the Israelites. He saved them from Egyptian slavery and in the process molded them into a nation, as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. This historical genealogies would serve to encourage the returnees from the Babylonian Exile as they considered how God had built up His people in the past and had established powerful men among them. It would give them hope of what He was going to do in the future as God had promised. Ezra's purpose was to stress the continuity of God's way of life and promises, and to inspire those who had returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem. This explains why the two books of Chronicles focus on David's lineage (from which the Messiah would come) and the planning, preparation and building of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. With so many seemingly endless lists of unfamiliar names, and so little narrative, we may be tempted to give up and turn to a more familiar passage. We need to also realize and remember that each name listed in this book represents someone's story. We can learn some of the details later, but we must remember that only God can know the whole story ("Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." Psalm 147:5.) We should also be encouraged because these lists of individual names show us that the God who made us is also the God who knows us. He knows us by name and is familiar with every detail of our lives. I recall Psalm 139:13-16, "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them." The God whose actions are described along with the names listed in this book is the God of their history and of ours. This is especially true of Jesus Christ, who "calls his own sheep by name and leads them out" (John 10:3). Even though our circumstances may not be identical, or even similar to theirs, if we know Jesus Christ as Savior, we have become part of this story. This list of names in Chronicles is more than a genealogy. It is a kind of faith history. Moses said, "Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the FAITHFUL GOD who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;" (Deuteronomy 7:9) We should also remember the discipline that God exercised against the disobedient Israelites and let it serve notice to Christians that God will punish His people's sin. To learn from the Old Testament we need to remember Paul's words, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1 Corinthians 10:11) These genealogies, reflecting the FAITHFULNESS of our loving God, should encourage us: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is FAITHFUL." (Hebrews 10:23)

The people who had come back from Babylonian exile needed to rediscover their origins as God's people. They needed to connect again with their past as the nation called Israel. The record of these genealogies assist them in re-discovering their roots. Here are the records of the history of their families. Starting at the beginning with Adam, the first man. Then the list of the ten names from Adam to Noah. It is the same as the list in Genesis chapter 5. This was the peculiar glory of the Jewish nation, that they alone were able to trace their pedigree from the first man that God created, which no other nation can document. Israel's kingdom would be safe because God was looking after it. In time, God would establish it again. Our God rules all of history! This list tells us the Patriarchs of the whole earth (Compare with Genesis chapter 5. It is interesting that the first four verses exactly agree with the account of the pre-flood patriarchs in Genesis 5:1). God has created from one blood all the nations of men. At the Areopagus in Athens, Paul made it clear: "And He has made FROM ONE BLOOD every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings," (Acts 17:26) According to Jewish tradition Ezra compiled the Books of The Chronicles. Theses genealogies link our present with their past. God's grace and love for the restored community did not begin with David or the conquest or the exodus -- God's love for His chosen people (Jew and Gentile) began BEFORE creation! God's people were chosen before "the beginning"- before "God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) Consider the words of Paul," just as He chose us in Him BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will," (Ephesians 1:4-5) Yes, these seemingly meaningless and sometimes boring genealogies are for us, too. We are all descended from one Adam and one Noah. Their offspring had perished in the biblical flood, none remaining of the Adamic family except Noah, his wife, Noah's three sons and their three wives; and from these ALL THE NATIONS of the earth sprang: "and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;" (2 Peter 2:5). It is not just about those with Hebrew parents: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; ...." (Romans 2:28-29); "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all" (Romans 4:16) The power of our justification is GOD'S GREAT GRACE, not man's faith. "those who are of the law" are believing Jews. "those who are of the faith of Abraham" are believing Gentiles. Abraham is the father of us all who have "believed God". "just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." (Galatians 3:6-8 ) Paul compares Gentiles to a "wild branch":"And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree," (Romans 11:17) The wild olive tree is the Gentile Christians. The olive tree refers to Israel, those who inherited the promises of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:1, 2; 17:7, 8; Hos. 14:6). Paul intentionally stretches the analogy of grafting in order to make the point that Gentiles have been supernaturally connected to the family of God. Gentiles, who have been "grafted into" the Abrahamic covenant and therefore become recipients of God's blessing. God told Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3) It all points to Jesus! Jesus says, "You search THE SCRIPTURES, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which TESTIFY OF ME." (John 5:39) And we are ALL ONE IN CHRIST: "so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." (Romans 12:5) "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13) "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) "where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:11) The history of the Bible was not designed as a history of the world, but as a history of God's people, and of the sacred promise of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). It all points to Jesus!