1 Chronicles Chapter 4

Descendants of Judah

  • 1Chronicles 4:1  The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 
    Pharez was one of the twins Judah had by Tamar.

The line of Pharez is the line through which Jesus the Messiah came.

  • 1Chronicles 4:2  And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 
  • 3  And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: 
  • 4  And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem. 

We all know of Bethlehem where our savior is born years later.

  • Micah 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

This was fulfilled when Herold was king. When he heard of someone they prophesied would be king, he called for the chief priests to tell him where this king would be born and later commanded for all children under two to be slaughtered.

Micah's prophecy fulfilled years later:

  • Matthew 2:1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 
  • 2  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 
  • 3  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 
  • 4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 
  • 5  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
  • 6  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.  

This never ceases to trouble me. Why down through history and even today; anyone would want to rule so bad that they oppose and try to bring down, ruin the reputation of and even kill those that stand in their way of being king, president, prime minister, or governor. You couldn't pay me to run for any office. I'm one that dreads presidential elections. The hate and division we see is awful.

  • 1Chronicles 4:5  And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 
  • 6  And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 
  • 7  And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan. 
  • 8  And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. 
  • 9  And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 
  • 10  And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 

It is refreshing among these genealogies to hear of one calling upon the Lord and asking Him to keep him from evil. Notice that God granted him his request. Jabez was from the line of Caleb different that the one given before in chapter 2.

Someone wrote a whole book about Jabez a while back, called "The Prayer of Jabez". I don't think I read it myself but I remember hearing about it.

  • 1Chronicles 4:11  And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton. 
  • 12  And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah. 
  • 13  And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. 
  • 14  And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. 
  • 15  And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz. 

Caleb is remembered as one of the 12 spies sent out to spy out the land of Canaan. Only he and Joshua believed God and had faith to take the land but the other 10 doubted and stirred up the people in fear. This caused a 40 year delay in them entering the land of Canaan until that generation passed away and those 20 and under along with Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the land and fulfill the commandment of God. Unbelief in God's word is the cause of many losing out of God's promises and salvation.

Simple faith in God brings victory more than anything else. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

  • Genesis 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

Repeated in James:

  • James 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 

It is also repeated in Galatians 3:6 and Romans 4:3.

  • 1Chronicles 4:16  And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. 
  • 17  And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 
  • 18  And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. 

It is interesting that Mered married a daughter of Pharoah.

  • 1Chronicles 4:19  And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. 
  • 20  And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth. 
  • 21  The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea, 
  • 22  And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things. 
  • 23  These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. 

I have a daughter that likes this kind of work. She has her yard full of raised beds. One of my sons likes to plant flowers and hedges. As for me, gardening is not my thing but I admire those that specialize in it.

Descendants of Simeon

  • 1Chronicles 4:24  The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: 

Simeon had inheritance in southern Judah. I'm curious to see how this all plays out in the latter days when Jesus returns. The kingdom of Israel is the only one that are promised land in the latter days. It is the only nation on earth that is graranteed by God's word to survive no matter who comes against them.

The children of Abraham will survive and be restored when they recognize their savior who we now know is Jesus the Christ or Messiah. God's promise to Abraham is that they will survive all wars, terror, kingdoms, tyrants and more. Nothing or no body great or small will prevent this.

  • Genesis 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 
  • 2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 
  • 3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

No matter what we may believe concerning Israel past or future, we must take heed not to fight against them even if the whole nation is not right with God or even if they don't believe in God as a nation. God has plans for Israel to bring them back to Him. That is what the future great tribulation is for. We just need to take heed not to be among the armies that surround Israel to destroy them or we will be the ones destroyed. God's word doesn't change.

  • 1Chronicles 4:25  Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 
  • 26  And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. 
  • 27  And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah. 

The children of Judah multiplied more than the others. They are the Jews of today. We read in Revelation though that all the tribes will be sealed from the plagues in the latter times during the great tribulation. They will survive. God knows who and where they are. Let us never forget that when we try to say they do not exist any longer. They do. Who knows but what some of us may be from one of those tribes. This doesn't mean that we should go around claiming to be from one of them without any valid proof. Some have done that. 

  • 1Chronicles 4:28  And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual, 
  • 29  And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, 
  • 30  And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, 
  • 31  And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. 
  • 32  And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: 
  • 33  And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. 
  • 34  And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah, 
  • 35  And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, 
  • 36  And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah, 
  • 37  And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah; 
  • 38  These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. 
  • 39  And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 
  • 40  And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. 

The Canaanites were all descendants of Ham one of the sons of Noah. They became very wicked. God gave them many years to repent and change. God didn't allow Abraham to conquer their land until they sinned passed the point of no return. Idolatry and sacrificing children to idols were part of the wickedness. God is merciful and He waits until He sees there is no change or repentance. We all live by the mercy and grace of God. That is why God sent the children of Israel to wipe out the Canaanites.

When they started to sin like the Canaanites before them is when God allowed them to lose their nation and be scattered all over the world. Israel will be restored in the latter days. This started in 1948 but they will still go under the great tribulation because they have not yet returned to God and believed in the Messiah their ancestors rejected. Jesus is the only way to survive eternal damnation as individuals but also to survive as a nation. The promise to Abraham will be completely fulfilled.

  • 1Chronicles 4:41  And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks. 
  • 42  And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 
  • 43  And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day. 

The Amalekites were those that fought against Israel in the days of Joshua. The story is in Exodus chapter 17.

1 Chronicles Chapter 5

 

 
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