May the mumbling commence!
Sometimes in genealogies, story comes to the surface to
explain a deviation from normal protocol.
This is the case at the beginning of First Chronicles chapter five. Read the first couple of verses below:
The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with
one of his father's concubines, his
birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben
is not listed in the genealogy as the firstborn son. It was the descendants of Judah that became
the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright
belonged to Joseph. (Verses 1-2)
The dishonor of Israel’s firstborn son, Reuben, caused a
deviation from the norm in those days.
Most firstborns would be given first place in genealogies and would
receive the birthright. But to sleep
with your father’s concubine was to dishonor your father (and your
step-mother!).
Reuben does not receive firstborn status either in the
genealogy or in the birthright. Judah
was considered the firstborn [perhaps because he tried to prevent disaster with
Joseph (Genesis 37:26 ff.) and Benjamin (Genesis 44:18 ff.)] And the birthright belonged to Joseph –
especially to his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, who became two of the tribes
of Israel to replace Levi and Joseph.
Heartache slips into genealogies from time to time like
in this passage. Thank God that we have
a Way beyond this heartache and sin in our lives. Read from Romans chapter five:
When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death,
so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was
given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been
given, they all died anyway – even though they did not disobey an explicit
commandment of God, as Adam did.
What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to
come! And what a difference between our
sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his
sin. But
this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's
bountiful gift. And the result of God's
gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin.
For Adam's
sin led to condemnation, but we have the
free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
(Verses 12-16)
Sin entered the human world through the choice of
Adam. Adam chose to sin. Each day, you and I follow in his footsteps
and chose to sin. And that choice leads
inevitably to death. That has been the
way of the world ever since Adam and Eve.
What good news it is that Christ has changed everything! What a generous gift of acceptance…of
righteousness through the free gift of Christ Jesus! We are accepted despite of our many sins –
though they could be recorded for all to see.
The perfect obedience of Christ Jesus opened this way for us. Praise God!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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