1 Chronicles 2:1-17

content/bible_journal/1chronicles_2:1-17.md

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+title = "1 Chronicles 2:1–17"
+date = "2023-08-30"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles2.1-17)
+
+The genealogy continues with the sons of Israel. However the Chronicler's focus
+is the line of David, so only Judah's sons are listed afterwards. Let me just
+say, the Bible doesn't pull any punches when it talks about how bad people are,
+and the patriarchs aren't very good role models. Judah's most important sons in
+this record are actually by his daughter-in-law Tamar. She tricked him into it,
+but it worked because he thought she was a prostitute, which doesn't make him
+sound any better.
+
+Of the two sons of Tamar, Perez and his son Hezron are part of David's line, so
+Zerah and his descendants are detailed first. The most famous of the Zerahites
+was Achan, who took things from Jericho that were supposed to be devoted to the
+Lord.
+
+The sons of Hezron are given next, and this time David's ancestors come first.
+From here, we aren't given any names besides direct decendants from Ram all the
+way down to Jesse, the father of David. We also learn the names of David's
+brothers, when we only get three of them in 1 Samuel. But there's a problem.
+David is listed as the seventh son born to Jesse, but 1 Samuel mentions a few
+times that David was the youngest of _eight_ sons. This is especially strange
+because 1 Chronicles 27 mentions Elihu, David's brother, who isn't in this
+list. How do we reconcile this while maintaining the truthfulness and inerrancy
+of the inspired word of God? By splitting hairs and saying Elihu was Jesse's
+son but not begotten by him. In other words, Elihu was adopted. He was would
+have older than David, but maybe joined the family after David was born. When
+Samuel journeyed to Bethlehem to anoint a new king, Jesse brought out seven
+sons, including Elihu, but not David who was out tending the sheep.
+
+No one ever talks about David's sisters, but apparently he had two. I learned
+today that the commander of David's armies, Joab the son of Zeruiah, was thus
+David's nephew. That puts a new color on all of their interactions in 2 Samuel,
+particularly the incidents with Uriah and Absalom.
+
+And you thought genealogies were boring.
+
+* * *
+
+Your goodness is so amazing that it can take our colossal screw-ups and make
+them work into Your plan.