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1 Chronicles Chapter 5
Descendants of Reuben
-
1Chronicles 5:1 Now the
sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the
firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his
birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel:
and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
Here we have Jacob's words to Reuben
before he died.
- Genesis 49:3
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my
strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of
power:
- 4 Unstable as
water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy
father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Now according to the Testaments of the
12 sons of Jacob contained in the anti-nicene writings, volume 8,
all the sons of Jacob repented of their deeds toward Joseph and
Reuben told his children about his sin that Jacob speaks of and he
warns his children to avoid fornication.
Here is what I included here to explain
what a birthright means:
A birthright is a concept that refers to
things that are due to a person upon or by fact of their birth, or
due to the order of their birth. It may include rights of
citizenship based on the place where the person was born or the
citizenship of their parents, and inheritance rights to property
owned by parents or others. In the Bible, the birthright was a
tradition that stated the firstborn son of each family would receive
a special inheritance from their father. The firstborn son would be
the priest of the family, receive a double portion of their father's
inheritance, and the authority of the father.
- 1Chronicles 5:3 The
sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and
Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
- 4 The sons of Joel;
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
- 5 Micah his son,
Reaia his son, Baal his son,
- 6 Beerah his son,
whom Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he
was prince of the Reubenites.
This was when the 10 tribes in the
north were taken captive by the king of Assyria. They lost their
nation at that time. Judah's tribe continued for a while until the
captivity by Babylon. They lost their nation for 70 years.
- 1Chronicles 5:7 And
his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their
generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
- 8 And Bela the son
of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer,
even unto Nebo and Baalmeon:
- 9 And eastward he
inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river
Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of
Gilead.
- 10 And in the days
of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their
hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land
of Gilead.
The children of Reuben's land was from
the wilderness of Palestine to the river Euphrates. King Saul in his
days made war with decendants of Hagar. The Ishmaelites. This war
was mentioned in verse 18 to 22 of this chapter.
Descendants of Gad
The tribe of Gad, Rueben and half tribe
of Manasseh dwelt east of the Jordan, some of them going so far that
it reached what we know today as Iraq.
- 1 Chronicles 5:12
Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in
Bashan.
- 13 And their
brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and
Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber,
seven.
- 14 These are the
children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son
of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of
Jahdo, the son of Buz;
- 15 Ahi the son of
Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.
- 16 And they dwelt in
Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of
Sharon, upon their borders.
- 17 All these were
reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and
in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
The ones mentioned here lived up to the
time when Jeroboam was king after the nation of Israel split in two.
The north became Israel and the southern part under the son of
Solomon became Judah.
- 1Chronicles 5:18 The
sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,
of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot
with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven
hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
- 19 And they made war
with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
- 20 And they were
helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their
hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the
battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their
trust in him.
This war was mentioned in verse 10
above. It seems here that God helped them win this battle.
- 1 Chronicles 5:21
And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand,
and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two
thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.
- 22 For there fell
down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in
their steads until the captivity.
We see here that as long as Israel
stayed true to God, no nation could defeat them. God
allowed them to conquer wicked nations that became so evil they were
at the point when their sins were full and they were beyone
repentance. They would do things like sacrifice children to idols.
Later if Israel did the same type of sin, they too were taken
captive. 2 Kings chapter 15 tells of the time in history when the Assyians
destroyed their nation.
In reading the book of the testiments
of the 12 sons of Jacob. Gad along with Simeon were the ones that
desired the death of Joseph. Not all the brethren of Joseph wanted
his death. Rueben hoped to return Joseph to his father alive and
well. Some of them went along with selling Joseph but I remember
reading that a couple of the sons of the concubines wanted to tell
Jacob about what really happened to Joseph but were afraid of their
brothers. Almost all the sons of Jacob knew from reading the book of
Enoch about the coming falling away of their children in later
years. They knew of two times they would fall away from God, be
taken captive and in the latter days this happens again, they lose
their nation and are scattered to other nations only to return in
the latter times becoming a nation again. The also knew of one to
come to save them in the end. We know Him now as Jesus.
The Half-Tribe of Manasseh
- 1Chronicles 5:23 And
the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land:
they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto
mount Hermon.
- 24 And these were
the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi,
and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel,
mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of
their fathers.
- 25 And they
transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a
whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God
destroyed before them.
- 26 And the God of
Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the
spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them
away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe
of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara,
and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
This is written about in 2 Kings 15.
So we see again the result of turning
away from God and going into idolatry. Assyria destroys their
nation. The southern kingdom of Judah lasted a little longer.
The importance of staying faithful and
not departing from God can't be emphasized enough. Learning to read
about God, about the wonderful sacrifice Jesus the Son of God made
to save us from sin and grant us eternal life, must be taught to the
next generation after us. We must teach our children and live the
example before them. They have to make their own choices but we must
do all we can to make sure they know who the Lord is and why they
must stay faithful. Without His hand of protection, we will lose our
nation.
1 Chronicles
Chapter 6
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