History in a Bottle

1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Psalm 3; Proverbs 18:14-15

 

I used to hate genealogies. Honestly. Think about it. You’re reading through the Scriptures, enjoying some fantastic stories and vivid descriptions. But all of a sudden, you run into this mess of names and lists of who begat whom and who succeeded whom. It slows you down! My temptation was always to speed through so that I could get on to the good stuff again. And then I realized that genealogies are supposed to slow you down.

 

It’s easy to get caught up in the fascinating details of stories. Adventures, conflicts, trials, romances, wars, pictures of loyalty and betrayal – they’re all so intriguing. But while we’re reading stories, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Genealogies give us time to remember where we are in the overall story and why the smaller stories that we love so much actually matter.

 

Here at the beginning of 1 Chronicles we find nine – yes, nine! – chapters of genealogical material. It seems boring. If we hurry through it, it will be boring, because we’ll miss all the interesting connections and all the names that are supposed to remind us about the stories we’ve already enjoyed. But if we slow down, we can re-savor all that we’ve already tasted along the way – and perhaps even pick up some details that help us understand what we’ve read in the past more clearly.

 

The sons of Ham, for instance, are intriguing. What do you notice about their names? Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan (1 Chronicles 1:8). Going back to the beginning: “The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush” (Gen. 2:13). “That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim” (Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt, Gen. 50:11). “Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt” (Ezekiel 30:5). “Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha” (Genesis 10:18b-19).

 

The sons of Ham were people, but the places where their descendants settled were all known by their names! So when we read stories about people traveling through Egypt, or Canaan, or wherever, we not only have an idea where they went geographically. We also know, just by the name of the territory, how characters are related to the people who live in that land. We see long lost relatives show up. Sometimes they act as friends. Often they turn out to be enemies.

 

But this is how genealogies work. They’re like dictionaries or encyclopedias; they serve as references. Each name is an entry in the dictionary, and if we want to learn more about the connections and cultures of the Bible, genealogies are the place where we can find out what names we should study more carefully.

 

Father, thank You that You have given us these genealogies. Thank You first because they remind us of the big picture of Your work in the world. None of the peoples listed in these genealogies at any time or any place was ever out of Your sight. You are directing all of world history. But thank You also because You use these sections of names and relationships to help us understand a culture and people we would otherwise have a very hard time understanding. Help us not to overlook the gift You have given us by including genealogies in Your Word. Most of all, help us to be reminded that You know our needs, and that You see every one of our lives, no matter where we are in history. You are able to keep track of who we are, where we live, what we’ve done. You always are able to see both the big picture and the details – the forest, the trees, and the leaves. You’re amazing!