Tag Archives: 1 Chronicles 2

Genealogical Lessons

May 22, 2024 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

These were the sons of Israel:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

The sons of Judah:
1 Chronicles 2:1-3a (NIV)

I have been the closest thing my family has to a genealogist. I’m not great at it because I don’t have the time and energy it takes to do it well, but I’ve learned a lot digging into my family history on both my mother’s and father’s sides of the family.

Our daughter Taylor works for a software company that does really cool things recording family stories for subsequent generations so she recently found herself repping their service at a giant conference on genealogy. Upon her return, we had a lot of fun digging into the tools she discovered and swapping tidbits we gleaned on family history. It had always been rumored that we were related to George Washington in some way, and I was excited to be able to firmly establish that I am George Washinton’s first cousin, ten generations removed. Taylor said she was more stoked by learning she was an 11th cousin of Grace Kelly. I guess we get excited about different things. I acknowledged to her that Cousin Grace is much easier on the eyes than Cousin George.

Genealogy has also provided me with some interesting situations. A while back I received a random message from a stranger online. The person was looking for information on an individual and based on their online search they thought I might possibly be related. It turns out they were correct. This individual was a child of the family member. It was one of those family secrets that no one knew about. Now, decades later, this individual was in the precarious position of wanting to know more about this biological parent they never knew, but not being sure if they wanted the truth to be known and open the proverbial can of worms. The situation led to me learning a lot more about some of my family than I ever knew before.

Family is messy. It always has been. It always will be. Genealogy taught me to embrace this truth along with graciously embracing my messy family and its members with love.

Today’s chapter continues the Chronicler’s genealogy. I realize most people skip over these lists, but there are little tidbits in any genealogy that have lessons for me if I’m willing to observe. When reading these genealogies I always look for things that interrupt the order and flow. Why did the author choose to suddenly provide details about this one person when every other person in the family was simply named? Why is a woman named when this is clearly a patriarchal genealogy with 99.9% male family members listed? Why did things switch to a person I can’t connect to anyone just previously mentioned?

There’s actually a handful of these anomalies in the Chronicler’s genealogy in today’s chapter. He had hundreds of years more history to draw from and far more sources at his disposal. He had to make choices about what to include, what to leave out, and how to present it.

What struck me immediately in today’s chapter was the listing of the 12 sons of Jacob (aka Israel). As a patriarchal society that always favored the firstborn son, the natural thing to do would be to start with the firstborn (Reuben) and his descendants and then proceed in order.

The Chronicler cuts directly to the fourth-born, Judah. Judah was the forefather of David. The Chronicler is writing as a Jewish subject of the Persian empire. His generation has returned from exile. They have rebuilt their city and their temple from rubble. He is looking back at his people, his history, and his faith. He is trying to make sense of it all. And who is the most pivotal and celebrated historical figure in the minds of the Chronicler and his contemporaries?

King David. The giant-slayer. The man after God’s own heart. The general. The conqueror who established a great, united kingdom. The psalmist. The priestly king who envisioned the Temple. The man through whom the prophets declared a Messiah would someday come.

The Chronicler is establishing his priorities. The history he is going to revisit to try and make sense of where he and his people now fit into God’s Great Story is going to center on David, the key historical figure in that Story.

In the quiet this morning, this has me thinking about key figures in my family and my family’s story. I can quickly name key figures for good, and key figures for ill. What lasting consequences did these figures have on the family? How do those consequences connect to my story? I also can’t help but think about my life and my story as I consider Milo, Sylvie, and MJ. I sit in the quiet and envision their children and their children’s children. How can I channel God’s love in such a way that it positively impacts their stories?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Connected Stories

June 5, 2014 Tom Vander Well 4 Comments

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. 4 Judah’s daughter-in-law Tamar bore Perez and Zerah to Judah. He had five sons in all.
1 Chronicles 2:3 (NIV)

The first section of the record that the scribe penned was following the family line from Adam through Noah to Abraham and Israel. Now the scribe lists out the twelve tribes of Israel, but notice that the scribe immediately moves to the tribe of Judah and ignores the other eleven tribes. Judah was David’s tribe. It was the tribe from which God established His throne.

Often in reading the chapter each day and writing these blog posts I find myself focused in on the micro details of something in the chapter. There’s some little word, phrase, detail or nuance that resonates with me that morning and with where I find myself on life’s road. When reading the long lists and genealogies I also pay attention to the small details that the scribe inserts about certain individuals. I ask myself, “Why did he mention that little detail when he said nothing about all these other people?” Today, however, I found myself thinking about this family tree on the macro level:

The long line of descendants tie the stories together. When reading God’s Message we often think about the stories and characters from different eras and ages to be disconnected as if they are random snapshots from different times in history, but when you step back and look at them through time and family line we see that they are all connected. It’s all one storyline and one family. We read the book of Ruth and the touching story of her marriage to Boaz, but we forget that Ruth was Kind David’s great-grandmother.
Because God told David that his throne would be established forever, the subsequent generations knew that Messiah would come from David’s line and from the tribe of Judah. When Matthew and Luke write their biographies of Jesus and make claim that Jesus was the Messiah, they knew that their Jewish readers would immediately question Jesus’ claim based on his family tree. That’s why Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ pedigree back to David, and why the Christmas story of the census that sent Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem was so critical to the larger storyline. Bethlehem was the “City of David” and Jesus, the Messiah, was born in David’s home town. The story of Jesus is intricately woven into to the story of David.
There were eleven tribes left out of this list. Siblings don’t abide favorites and the fact that the tribe of Judah was getting the better end of this monarchy thing was not lost on the other tribes. Keep in mind that Judah made David their king long before the rest of the tribes signed on. Keep in mind that Absalom’s rebellion was rooted in powerful individuals from the other tribes while it appears that those of the tribe of Judah maintained their steadfast support of David. Keep in mind that once David’s grandson takes the throne the nation will split in two along these same tribal lines and years of civil war will follow.

Even in our own stories, it is sometimes good to step back and look at things at a macro level. What’s the story of my life? How, if I can see it, does my story connect with the Great Story? What are the overarching theme’s of my story? Who are the main characters of my life epic? Can I see individuals in my story (family, friends, teachers, mentors, spouses, children) who fit classic archetypes?:

Innocent
Orphan
Hero
Caregiver
Explorer
Rebel
Lover
Creator
Jester/Fool
Sage
Magician
Ruler

Today, I’m thinking about my story on a macro level and musing on the larger, connected story being told through my journey. I hope you’ll think about yours. Perhaps over a cup of coffee, a good meal, or a pint we can swap stories.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Chronicles 2

June 24, 2010 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

Er, Judah's firstborn, was so bad before God that God killed him. 1 Chronicles 2:3b (MSG)

Many years ago I was preparing a message about the sinfulness of man. As an illustration, I began thinking through my own family. I not only thought about my immediate family, but also thought through the previous generations I knew about and cousins and second cousins and third cousins. I then listed all of the "sins" and sinful consequences I knew about. It was a long list. Drug use, imprisonment, depression, suicide, divorce, etc., etc., and etc.

The point was that we can all find black sheep in our families. There isn't one of us who isn't touched and affected by sin. It is what it is. The reality is that Er is a part of Jesus family tree. Jesus was born in the lineage of David and Judah. Even Jesus was related to a lot of Black Sheep.

We don't get to choose our family tree, but we can all choose to bloom where we are planted.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and h-k-d