Daily reading assignment – 1 Chronicles 3-5
1 Chronicles 3 – A Royal Lineage
The sons of King David and their descendants are recorded in 1 Chronicles 3:1-9. Solomon’s sons and their lineages are noted in 1 Chronicles 3:10-16. 1 Chronicles 3:17-24 chronicles the births of the royal lineage who were born during the Babylonian captivity (3:17-24).
1 Chronicles 4 – The Genealogical Records of Judah, the Royal Tribe, and the Tribe of Simeon.
Five sons of the lineage of Judah are noted in 1 Chronicles 4:1. Pharez, however, is the only son of Judah mentioned, and the others were most likely grandchildren or relatives whose lineages follow (4:2-23).
The lineage of Simeon, the second son of Jacob (i.e. Israel), is recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:24-43 and includes that tribe’s inheritance in the land as well as the cities and villages assigned to it (4:28-43).
1 Chronicles 5 – The Tribe of Reuben: The Generational Consequences of a Father’s Sin
The descendants of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had settled on the east side of the Jordan River, and at the threshold of Canaan. Their lineages are recorded in 1 Chronicles 5:1-17.
Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel (i.e. Jacob); however, he was disinherited as the principal successor of his father when he sinned in lying with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Genesis 35:22; 49:3-4). The consequence of Reuben’s sin was that his inheritance passed to the sons of Joseph (1 Chronicles 5:1). The privilege of Reuben’s birthright as the firstborn of Jacob, passed to Judah (5:2).
The sons and descendants of Gad are named in 1 Chronicles 5:11-17.
The men of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh were distinguished in battle and described as “valiant men, men able to bear buckler (a small shield) and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war” (5:18). Their achievements in warring with their Gentile neighbors are detailed in 1 Chronicles 5:19-22.
Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, though distinguished in battle as “mighty men of valour, famous men,” (5:24), were the first tribes to be defeated and carried away captive by the Assyrians (5:23-26). They had “transgressed against the God of their fathers, went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land,” (5:25) and the LORD delivered them over to their adversaries.
Copyright 2020 – Travis D. Smith