The sons of Judah:

Er, Onan and Shelah. These three were born to him by a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death. Judah’s daughter-in-law Tamar bore Perez and Zerah to Judah. He had five sons in all.
1 Chronicles 2:3-4 (NIV)

Years ago, I received an unexpected message through social media. The person asked if I knew or was related to a certain family member. I was. The relationship was distant. I had no relationship with the family member. Nevertheless, it was family. I communicated that in my response.

The person who contacted me then let me know that they had discovered that they were the biological child of this family member. They had been put up for adoption at birth. They wanted what information they could find about their parent. But I knew for certain that the person I was corresponding with had much deeper questions of heart and soul that were being asked.

Who am I?

Along my life journey, I’ve had the opportunity to walk alongside individuals who were on the same journey. Wendy never knew her biological father, despite a few failed attempts to establish some kind of contact and relationship. A dear friend of ours who was put up for adoption as a baby had a very different experience. They did meet their biological mother and siblings and found out that it wasn’t a family secret. Rather, the family had prayed together yearly for their unknown, adopted child and sibling on their birthday.

Life is messy. Family is messy. Modern DNA testing has opened a Pandora’s Box of family secrets. Many individuals take a DNA test hoping to discover their ancestry. What they discover is that they were not the biological child of a parent or parents. A crisis of identity typically follows. Deep down, we all want to know who we are, where we came from, and where we belong.

Those are the big questions the Chronicler is attempting to answer for the Hebrews who have returned from exile. The long genealogies are not just records. They are history. They are stories. For the contemporary readers for whom the Chronicler was writing, the lists answer questions of identity, purpose, and belonging.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler quickly moves from Abraham to the line of David. Abraham and David are the two figures in Hebrew history through whom God’s relational covenants were made. They are the individuals through whom God promised to bless the entire world. They are the ones on which the Chronicler wants his readers to focus:

“You are part of the promise.”

Amidst the lists and names in today’s chapter, we find both the positive and the troubling. Life is messy, and the Chronicler does not shy away from any of it. Look at Judah’s family tree.

There’s Er, whose wickedness led to his death.
There’s Achan, remembered for bringing trouble upon Israel.
There’s Judah himself, whose moral failures are painfully documented.
There’s Tamar, whose desperate pursuit of justice becomes part of the messianic lineage.
There’s Boaz, whose kindness and integrity bring a foreign widow into the family.
There’s Bezalel, whose artistic gifts and abilities built Solomon’s Temple.
There’s an Egyptian servant whose descendants become members of Judah’s family.
And there’s David, the shepherd boy who becomes king, a man after God’s own heart who will nevertheless commit terrible sins.

What a family. What a story. And God’s purposes are flowing through all of it. This line that produced David will eventually produce Jesus, who will offer redemption to the entire human family.

But something else struck me as I read through the seemingly endless list of names in today’s chapter. Most of the people in this chapter are completely unknown to us. They have no recorded speeches or heroic exploits. No memorable miracles. Many are nothing more than a name. Yet their lives were part of the long unfolding story that ultimately led to David, and will lead to Jesus.

It makes me wonder how many people whose names history has forgotten nevertheless played indispensable roles in God’s purposes. They didn’t know how their lives would matter generations later. Neither do I. The significance of a life isn’t always revealed within the lifetime of the person living it.

Yesterday, the Chronicler reminded us that we are part of a story that began long before we arrived. Today, he reminds us that our lives are connected to people whose stories we didn’t choose and to generations whose stories we may never see. Whether my name appears in anyone’s genealogy or not, my choices will leave their fingerprints on the future.

And in God’s Great Story, even an obscure name in a seemingly endless list can be part of something eternal.

I’m traveling the next two days. Lord willing, I’ll be back on the chapter-a-day trek on Friday. Cheers!

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