Be Part of the Community
1st Chronicles 2
Names, names and more names. Remember the author of Chronicles wanted the reader to know history. I wonder what it would have been like coming from Babylon and starting Israel back up as a country. They must have had identity issues as well as a negative outlook. They just came from the biggest nation at that time the world would have seen. They probably had their doubts if they were God’s people. So here the author wants to reader, a Jew living in Israel to be connected and part of the community and God’s chosen people. The author was showing them that they truly were not cut-off and if they would just look at their history they could see what God had for their future.
Jacob’s line of family
We see that the author mentions the sons of Jacob but focuses on the line of Judah. We see from Judah to his daughter in law, Tamar bore Perez. Perez had Hezron. Hezron was father to Ram and Ram fathered Amminadab. From him was Nahshon who was the father of Salmon. We then see Boaz (from the book of Ruth) who is the great-grandfather of David. It is important for us to know that God does have a special purpose to brig about the line of David.
In Matthew 1 we see that Jesus Christ will come from the line of David. We have read from 2nd Samuel through 1st and 2nd Kings that God will not get rid of the line of David. The line of Judah needed to continue for the true King to come, Jesus Christ.
We Have our part in the Community
The author intended for the reader to realize their ancestry and to feel part of the big master plan. We need to realize that we too are part of God’s master plan, the save us from our sin. We read in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We can read that workmanship can also mean masterpiece. God knew before the foundations of the world that we would need a savior because of our free will and of sin. We are part of the community and we have something in common. We are all sinners. We are all in need of salvation. Jesus came to die for the whole world. Those that have received Christ and asked for forgiveness are forgiven. How should this motivate us to share the Good News to the people we know? How can we know that we are part of God’s plan?
