Day 113 – 1 Chronicles 1-2

Talking Points

• Well. That was a lot of names!
• This book is believed to have been written by Ezra, who led a group of Israelite exiles back from Babylon to the Promised Land. It was important for these people of the Promise to know their history and how they were linked to Jacob, Abraham, and Adam. This record is preserved by God so that people throughout time would recognize Jesus the Nazarene as the promised Seed of the woman.
• There is a claim that the Bible is not a historical book, and that it never claims to be. Actually, it is the historical account of God’s working of salvation in the world He created. The Hebrew title for Chronicles translates “words (or affairs) of the days.” It clearly lays out a historical, chronological account of the actual, historical events of the Old Testament. It was originally a single book, and then was split into two when translated into Greek.
• The purpose of a genealogy is to prove the legitimacy of a person by connecting them to someone else who has an accepted position or history.

Thoughts

Are we really supposed to read these genealogies? Are they the Word of God, and if so, are they important? The answer to these questions is, “Yes!” These genealogies, as hard as they are to climb over (much less pronounce!) reveal to us two tremendous truths.

First, they show, name by name, life by life, that God is a God of people. Consider that. He loves people. He knows people. And, in these lists, He remembers people. God is a God intimately acquainted with people.

Second, these lists tell us that God is up to something. As lives come and go, as babies are happily born, as brothers grow up together, and as people sadly pass away, God is faithfully working out His plan. He is also faithful to record its working out, recording the history of people and how He connects them in His plan. And, here’s the best part — His plan is raising up from people and for people, a Savior!