Focus

Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.
1 Chronicles 8:33 (NIV)

I often get asked if I play golf. Our house sits nestled in a neighborhood on a golf course with the clubhouse just a couple of blocks away, so it’s a natural question for people to ask. My answer is that I’m a once-a-year charity best-ball tournament golfer. My goal in this once-a-year charity best ball tournament is to have ONE of my shots over 18 holes be the “best ball” of our foursome. If I do that. I consider it a win.

I do know a lot of people who are avid golfers, and I know it can be addicting for some people. Along my life journey, I’ve met a person or two who were obsessed. It was all they talked about and it was where all of their time and money went. I remember one person whose marriage was on the rocks because his wife considered herself a “golf widow.” Yikes!

I’ve observed along life’s road that you can tell a lot about a person by observing where they invest their time and energy, and what they like to talk about.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler turns his genealogical focus on the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. What’s odd about this is that he already listed the tribe of Benjamin in yesterday’s chapter seven (7:6-12) squeezed between the tribes of Issachar and Naphtali. Now he circles back to give a much more extensive look at Benjamin. Why?

The Chronicler is sitting in the rebuilt Jerusalem where the rebuilt Temple stands. He is among many former citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah who have returned from exile in Babylon. As he writes this retrospective history of his people, he is trying to make sense of where he and his people stand at this moment of their Great Story and their relationship with God. We learn a lot about where his mind is focused based on where he spends his genealogical time and energy.

For example, the Chronicler chose to begin his vast genealogical research focused on the tribe of Judah, even though Judah was the fourth oldest of Jacob’s sons. Judah was the largest tribe, made up the majority of the southern kingdom of Judah, and was the tribe from which King David came. He now focuses on Benjamin because when the kingdom split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin stuck with Judah. It was from the tribe of Benjamin that Israel’s first king, Saul, emerged as well as Saul’s son Jonathan who played a large role in David’s story as David’s best friend. Many of the exiles returning from Babylon were from the tribe of Benjamin, perhaps even the Chronicler himself.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on focus. I’m not an obsessed golfer, but that’s not to say I don’t have other obsessions. I still make daily choices about where I spend my time, attention, and resources. What are they? What do they reflect about me and my life priorities?