Author: arevans

So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.  But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

But he did not inquire of the Lord.  He was unfaithful because he did not inquire; he did not inquire because he was unfaithful.

Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the Lord.  And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the Lord was with him. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

The Lord was with him.  What a commentary on a life!  This ought to be our highest aspiration that, when our life is finally summed up, it can summed up with this simple phrase.

The sons of Elpaal  were  Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns; and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of their fathers  houses  of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.

The Lord knows all of us—each of us—and is intimately acquainted with all our ways.  Don’t let the vast numbers of people all around you and throughout the world overwhelm you. God is God of the millions. We have value as persons only because God himself is a Person.

The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son,  Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.

Every father can relate to Ephraim who grieved for his sons many days.  Such grief transcends time and space, language and culture.  Death is the enemy.

The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Eleazar begot Phinehas, and Phinehas begot Abishua; Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi; Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begot Meraioth; Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz; Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan; Johanan begot Azariah (it was he who ministered as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem); Azariah begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Shallum; Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah; Azariah begot Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. Jehozadak went into captivity when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

Our faith is rooted in history;  it is not a fairy tale.  We have not followed cleverly-devised fables.  It is a real story with real people and a real God.  Real sin. Real despair.  Real redemption.

The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon). These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. This was, sadly, a far weighter and more telling description of the people of the half-tribe of Manasseh than anything else that might be said about them.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

In recent years, the prayer of Jabez has become quite popular. Books have been written about it.  The prayer itself has been turned into a formula for success.  Prayers aren’t formulas.  They aren’t magic words. They are sincere expressions of a heart in sincere, continuous communication with God.  Jabez’ prayer must have been that.  He was, we are told, more honorable than his brothers, and his prayer was answered.

These were the sons of David born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel…

These people lived, laughed, loved and died, thousands of years before you and I were ever born.

Later, Hezron, when he was sixty years old, married the daughter of Makir the father of Gilead. He made love to her, and she bore him Segub. Segub was the father of Jair, who controlled twenty-three towns in Gilead.

None of the details of our lives go unnoticed before the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do. Even the hairs of our heads—their heads—are all numbered.

The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah.
The son of Anah:
Dishon.
The sons of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.

Ancient men with ancient names.  The list goes on and on.  Thousands—Millions. God is the God of the millions. In Him we live and move and have our being. Each and every one of us.