Scripture Reading: 1 Chron. 1; 1 Chron. 2; 1 Chron. 3; 1 Chron. 4; 1 Chron. 5; 1 Chron. 6; 1 Chron. 7; 1 Chron. 8; 1 Chron. 9
In this message we will consider the genealogy from Adam to the twelve tribes of Israel. This genealogy is covered in the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles.
In 1 Chron. 1:1-27 we have the genealogy from Adam to Abraham. The main characters in this genealogy are Adam, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah.
Verses 1 Chron. 1:28-34 speak of the genealogy of Abraham. The main characters here are Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.
The genealogy of Esau (1 Chron. 1:35-54) is not in the lineage of the genealogy of Christ as recorded in Matt. 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38.
Chapters two through nine are a record of the genealogy of Israel. Israel had twelve sons. All the twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes. The following chapters through chapter nine are the genealogies of these twelve tribes.
First Chronicles 2:3—4:23 is the genealogy of Judah.
The main characters in this genealogy are Judah, Caleb, Boaz, Jesse, David, and Solomon.
The tribe of Judah is the royal tribe (5:2a), producing kings from David to Christ. Hence, the genealogy of Judah, among the twelve genealogies of the twelve tribes, is the only one that is counted as the lineage of the genealogy of Christ as recorded in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.
In Judah’s genealogy the striking matter is that Judah begot Pherez of his daughter-in-law Tamar (2:4). The Bible is honest in recording this matter.
In 4:10 we have a particular prayer offered by one of the descendants of Judah: “Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that You would richly bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand would be with me, and that You would so keep me from evil that it would not grieve me!” God caused what Jabez had requested to come to pass. I hope that all of us would have such a prayer, a prayer that God would enlarge the border of the enjoyment of the good land; that is, enlarge the border of our enjoyment of Christ. We all need to pray, “O God, enlarge my border in the gaining of Christ and in the enjoyment of Christ.”
The genealogy of Judah includes the genealogy of David and the genealogy of Solomon.
The genealogy of David is recorded in 3:1-9. David had six sons born during his reign in Hebron for seven and a half years. Thirteen sons of David were born during his reign in Jerusalem for thirty-three years, including Solomon, born of Bath-shua (Bath-sheba). In addition, David had a daughter, Tamar, and also sons born of his concubines.
The main characters in the genealogy of Solomon (vv. 10-24) are Solomon, Asa, Hezekiah, and Zerubbabel.
The genealogy of Simeon is recorded in 4:24-43. The remarkable thing concerning this tribe is that they had rich and good pasture, spacious, quiet, and peaceful, and that they defeated the Amalekites. We today should also have such a rich and spacious pasture. This means that our enjoyment of Christ as our good land should be spacious, quiet, and peaceful.
Next we have the genealogy of Reuben (5:1-10). Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel. Because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the two sons of Joseph for the inheritance of the double portion of the good land as the two tribes (vv. 1-2). This should be a warning to us that the birthright of enjoying Christ can be lost because of our failure.
The genealogy of Gad is recorded in verses 11 through 17.
Verses 18 through 26 are an insertion.
The children of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh defeated their enemies and possessed their land by the help of God, for they cried out to God in the battle and trusted in Him (vv. 18-23). This is a good example for us today. We should cry out to God, telling Him that we want to gain more of Christ, possess more of Christ, and enjoy more of Christ.
The children of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh trespassed against God and went as harlots after the gods of the peoples of Canaan. Then the God of Israel stirred up the kings of Assyria to come to capture them and bring them away from their land (vv. 25-26).
In chapter six we have the genealogy of Levi, the priestly tribe.
One of the sons of Levi was Kohath, one of the sons of Kohath was Amram, and Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses, and his daughter was Miriam (vv. 1-3). This is the genealogy of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
A descendant of Aaron, Jehozadak, was captured to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (v. 15). It was most unfortunate that even a descendant of the priestly tribe was taken away into captivity in Babylon.
The prophet Samuel was a descendant of the great rebel Korah, who was a descendant of Kohath, the son of Levi (vv. 16-27); and the grandson of Samuel, Heman, was a singer in the temple and a psalmist (v. 33; Psa. 88, title). Korah, the forefather, was a great rebel, yet one of his descendants was Samuel and another was Heman. This indicates that God’s mercy and grace are unlimited.
After the ark of testimony was given rest by David, David set the descendants of Kohath over the service of song in the house of Jehovah, and they ministered before the tabernacle with singing until Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. They attended to their office, and their brothers the Levites were given to all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God (1 Chron. 6:31-48). In typology this signifies the church service, in which everything must be set in order by the arrangement of the Spirit.
Aaron and his sons were the priests, dwelling in thirteen cities (vv. 49-60).
In verses 61 through 81 we are told that the Levites dwelt in the cities among the tribes.
In 7:1-5 we have the genealogy of Issachar. The families of Issachar were famous in having mighty men of valor. They were excellent warriors.
The genealogy of Benjamin is found in 7:6-12 and 8:1-40. The main characters are Saul and Jonathan (8:33). The sons of Benjamin were warlike (7:9, 11; 8:40) and dwelt near Jerusalem.
First Chronicles 7:13 records the genealogy of Naphtali.
Verses 14 through 19 are concerned with the genealogy of Manasseh.
The genealogy of Ephraim is given in verses 20 through 29. The people of Ephraim dwelt around Bethel.
In the genealogy of Asher (vv. 30-40), we are told that the tribe of Asher had mighty men of valor and were warlike (v. 40).
In 9:1-34 we have the genealogy of the returned children of Israel. The first ones who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim, who were the servants, or the caretakers, of the temple (v. 2). Those who dwelt in Jerusalem were some of the children of Judah, some of the children of Benjamin, and some of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh (vv. 3-9). The priests (vv. 10-13) and the Levites (vv. 14-34) dwelt in Jerusalem. Among the serving Levites were the descendants of Korah, the great rebel against God and Moses (vv. 19, 31; Num. 16).
Finally, in 1 Chronicles 9:35-44 we have the genealogy of the house of Saul who dwelt in Gibeon.
In this message we have presented simply a general idea of the genealogy from Adam to the twelve tribes of Israel. I believe that if you read these chapters carefully, the Spirit will show you the spiritual significance of the things covered here.
