1 Chronicles 1:1-54

content/bible_journal/1chronicles_1:1-54.md

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+title = "1 Chronicles 1:1–54"
+date = "2023-08-27"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles1.1-54)
+
+When I decided to study through 1 and 2 Chronicles, I didn't realize there was
+an enormous genealogy in the first several chapters. But the die has been cast,
+and now I give you a crash course in redemptive history. The first four verses
+cover about 1,500 years of history from the beginning of Creation to the Great
+Flood. The names given are from the line of promise, from which the
+long-awaited Messiah would one day arise to defeat sin and death forever.
+
+Now might be a good time to talk about why this book exists. First and Second
+Chronicles cover a lot of the same material as 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.
+While it strives to be historically accurate in its account, the author is
+choosy about what events are related to the reader. It was written around the
+time the Jewish exiles in Babylon were allowed to return to their homeland
+after 70 years, and the author, probably Ezra the scribe, wanted to remind the
+people of how good God was to their forefathers in the land. He whitewashes
+Israel's history a bit and leaves out or glosses over the disastrous reigns of
+the wicked kings.
+
+From the three sons of Noah we get all of the different people groups we have
+today. Japeth and his sons are listed, then Ham and his sons, and finally the
+line of promise again in Shem. This is the usual pattern in this genealogy;
+siblings are listed with their children, but they are only there to show how
+God's elect fit into history at that time. Verse 24 lists the path from Shem to
+Abram (Abraham).
+
+Pop quiz: how many sons did Father Abraham have? "Two" is a good guess, but
+that's actually the number of times Abraham was married. After Sarah, the
+mother of Isaac, died, he married again to a woman named Keturah who bore him
+six sons. So the total number of sons is eight.
+
+The rest of the chapter traces the family tree of Esau, Israel's brother. His
+descendants are called Edomites, and they had a rocky history with the
+Israelites. That belligerent closeness is probably why these verses were left
+in. Most of the exiles would have known how much the Edomites, so all the
+details were probably for their benefite more than ours.
+
+* * *
+
+Your promises will always be fulfilled, in Your perfect timing.