on genealogies

Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
1 Chronicles 1:34

OK. I admit it. I feel like I will be slogging through the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles over the next couple of weeks. I am not anticipating it with joy. The genealogies are tedious. I feel like I will be slowly trudging my way through a swamp, nearly drowning in the thick mud of unpronounceable names.

I do not live in a culture that respects the concepts of ancestry and background. We live too much in the moment. And one reason why it will be good to discipline myself to do this is because it forces me to see a perspective on humanity that God has. It is a view that sees Him weaving the story of redemption by Christ into the fabric of human history. And each individual thread in that tapestry is comprised of a human life. The book of 1 Chronicles opens with a view like this for a reason. The Jews were concerned with this history of lives. They are a pedigreed people. It showed to them the uniqueness of their nation in the plan of God for the world. It brought out the sovereign work of God. Each of these lives (full stories in themselves) were part of a providential plotline in the biggest story of them all. So taking in these details is very important.

With that in mind, I will keep this big picture concept in mind as I work through the genealogical data. I will look for the hand of God at work in these generations. And I will do my best to celebrate His sovereign purposes.