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Proverbs 1:1, 1 Kings 4:29-34

Life to the Fullest

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 5, 2022

Solomon is identified as the writer of three books in the Old Testament. He wrote “The Song of Solomon” in his youth. He wrote “Proverbs” in his leading, reigning years of middle age strength. He wrote “Ecclesiastes” in his old age as he looked back and evaluated life retrospectively.  He is also said to have written two Psalms, Psalm 72 and Psalm 127. Solomon is often referred to as the wisest man ever to live. That might be attributed to the fact that when given a choice of everything in the world by God, Solomon didn’t choose wealth or fame or power. He chose wisdom. God answered his request as promised and read about this in 1 Kings 4:29-34, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.  He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.”

Newheiser explains wisdom correctly. He writes, “The wisdom offered by the book of Proverbs is skill for living. Wisdom is not merely intellectual or academic; it is primarily moral. Solomon, as the wisest man on earth, demonstrated wisdom and skill as a naturalist, an administrator, and a judge. The book of Proverbs teaches you how to live skillfully in every area of your life including family, finances, friendships, speech, and work. The goal of wisdom is that you might achieve a life of beauty and significance so that at the end of your days you will have accomplished something worthwhile and lasting. Jesus is the one who exemplifies wisdom, as he lived on earth with perfect skill. It is through Christ that we are made wise and gain the ability to live wisely.”[1] Jesus is the wisdom of God and he came that we might have life to the fullest.

The first verse gives us the title and a summary of the book. It says, “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” Proverbs are a genre of literature in and of itself. “Knowledge of the genre is essential to the interpretation. A valentine is not a recipe—a literal reading of one will dull the edge of love; a figurative reading of the other will blunt the edge of appetite. Taking care to understand how to read the Bible is as important as trusting in its power and authority. Our author has done us a favor by stating at the outset the kind of literature with which we deal.”[2] One must always interpret the writing according to its genre. A web article says, “When it comes to Proverbs, it’s important to realize that as a part of its genre, one of the most important interpretive principles is to remember that they are not promises by God; rather, proverbs are the way life generally goes.” They give us probably outcomes, not guarantees. This is true for all proverb literature. For example, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Eating fruit and vegetables can help you maintain a more balanced and healthy life, but no matter how many apples you eat, you’ll need to see the doctor sometimes.

[1] Newheiser, Jim. 2008. Opening up Proverbs. Opening Up Commentary. Leominster: Day One Publications.

[2] Hubbard, David A., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1989. Proverbs. Vol. 15. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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Psalm 5:1

We do not speak into space

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 4, 2022

Whoever compiled the Psalter gave instructions to the musicians for some particular Psalms. In the case of Psalm 5, the instructions are “To the choirmaster: for the flutes.” I can’t help but wonder what this song might have sounded like when sung by the choir. Maybe David was the singer. He is said to have written this Psalm, and although some argue that it had to have come at a later date, I see no compelling reason to doubt the description of Psalm 5, as accredited in Verse one as being “Psalm of David.” Being music, I can’t help but think of my own era of music, and I can’t help but think of Neil Diamond’s song entitled, “I am I said.” Neil’s song says, “I am I said, to no one there and no one heard at all, not even the chair.” David knew who he was addressing in his song Psalm 5. He sings, with the flute accompaniment, I assume, “Give ear to my words, Oh Lord.” Like many of our generation, Neil is a victim of the post-modern trend away from objective reality. To them, if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. The popularized question about a tree falling in the wilderness does not make any noise unless someone is there to perceive it. And if I don’t perceive it myself, it doesn’t make any noise. We are the center of the universe. It’s all about me.

But David’s song addresses the existence and the presence of the one true God who hears us in the deepest and darkest wildernesses of our lives. This is objective truth. Ronald Knox wrote a limerick to capture these ideas. He wrote, “There once was a man who said ‘God Must think it exceedingly odd If he finds that this tree
Continues to be when there’s no one about in the Quad.’” An unknown writer replied, “Dear Sir, your astonishment’s odd. I am always about in the Quad.
And that’s why the tree will continue to be since observed by, yours faithfully,  God.”

David wants God to hear him but also to recognize the existential alienation he feels. He not only wants God to “Give ear to my words, O Lord,” but he asks God to “consider my groaning.” The second stanza of Neil’s song intensifies his appeal also. It says,  “I am… I cried. I am… said I. And I am lost, and I can’t even say why.
Leavin’ me lonely still.” There is a profound personal address going on here. One looks to God; one looks to an impersonal universe that couldn’t care less about you or me. But like David, our words and prayers open a dialogue with God in which he is a partaker. Williams says, “We speak; God hears. His ear is inclined to us. We do not speak into space, we speak into the ear of the Lord.[1]

[1] Williams, Donald, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1986. Psalms 1–72. Vol. 13. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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Job 1:1, Various

A Life Marked by Repentance and Faith

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 3, 2022

The book of Job deals with some pretty deep issues: The existence and role of Satan, the limits of Retribution theology, the reasons for human suffering and the inscrutability of God’s will, to mention the main ones. One web writer says, “It is no wonder this book is so neglected in the pulpit. Any sane preacher would look at these obstacles and shudder at the thought of trying to bring his modern day, internet savvy and text messaging obsessed, congregation through such a quagmire!”[1] Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”

The book opens by introducing us to a man from the land of Uz.  Norman Habel suggests that the book should begin with the phrase “Once upon a time.”[2] This beginning, in my opinion, begins the story in such a way as to lead us to expect talking lions, tin men, and living scarecrows. Uz is not the same as Oz! Oz is part of a fairy tale, and Uz is a real place that existed in real history. Uz is somehow connected to Edom. Edomites were the descendants of Esau and settled in their own lands, which became “Edom.” Lamentations 4:21 puts Edom inside Uz. It says, “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz.” Jeremiah 25:20 includes the kings of peoples residing inside Uz in his prophecy that the kings will all drink from the cup of God’s wrath.  He lists many kings and includes  “all the kings of the land of Uz.” Most of the other kings mentioned can be demonstrated to be real kings of real places. Therefore Uz was a real place with real kings. Ezekiel includes Job in his list of three righteous men. We know the other two are real, so we need not doubt the historical nature of Job. He Includes Job alongside Noah and Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14). So, I doubt very much that there will be a yellow brick road leading to Uz.

The man’s name is Job. He gets glowing references in the opening verse. He was blameless and upright. He feared God and turned away from evil. Ash describes blameless very well, “When you see Job at work, when you hear his words, when you watch his deeds, you see an accurate reflection of what is actually going on in his heart. The word means ‘personal integrity, not sinless perfection.’”[3] Most agree that being “upright” has to do with Job’s dealings with others. He’s “a man you can do business with because he will not double-cross you, a man who deals straight.” Being a “God-fearer” suggests several things. Job “had a reverence, a piety, a bowing down before the God who made the world, so that he honored God as God and gave thanks to him.” Finally, it’s said that Job “turns away from sin.” This doesn’t mean he never meets it on the road of life; it means, as Ash concludes, “To turn away from sin is to repent. Job’s character was marked by daily repentance, a habitual turning away from evil in his thoughts, words, and deeds. So Job is a real believer, genuine in his integrity, upright in his relationships, pious in his worship, and penitent in his behavior. His life was marked by what we would call repentance and faith, which are still the marks of the believer today, as they have always been.”

[1] https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/jesus-and-the-book-of-job

[2] Reyburn, William David. 1992. A Handbook on the Book of Job. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

[3] Ash, Christopher. 2014. Job: The Wisdom of the Cross. Edited by R. Kent Hughes. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

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Esther 1:1-3a

The Party Animal

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 2, 2022

The name of the King, or Emperor, is mentioned three times in the first couple of verses of the book of Esther. “Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, in the third year of his reign, he gave a feast for all his officials and servants.” Let me set the scene with Guzik’s observations. “At this time, the Persian Empire was the largest the world had ever seen. It covered what we call today Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel; and also parts of modern-day Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Arabia. ii. Also, at this time, Ezra had returned to Jerusalem after it had been conquered by the Babylonians. The temple had been rebuilt some 30 years before, although more simply and without the glory of Solomon’s temple. iii. In 40 years, under the successor of Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes I), Nehemiah would return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the previously conquered city.”[1]

The English Standard Version uses “Ahasuerus,” as you see in the passage quotes here. But there is some confusion about that, and according to the Handbook for Translators, “Ahasuerus is widely recognized today to be Xerxes I (485–464 b.c.), the son of Darius the Great, though some historians, along with the LXX and the first-century a.d. Jewish historian Josephus, consider Ahasuerus to be Artaxerxes (464–423 b.c.). Other modern historians identify Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes II (404–358 b.c.). The Hebrew text refers to the king as Ahasuerus, from the Persian form of his name, and many translations transliterate this Hebrew form of the name (see the King James Version, the Revised Standard Version, the Spanish Common Language Version, the New Jerusalem Version, and the New Jerusalem Bible) Others use the better-known Greek form of his name, Xerxes (see Today’s English Version, the New International Version, the French Common Language Version, the Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and the German Common Language Bible).[2] Ahasuerus and Xerxes appear to be the same person. Xerxes oversaw an empire that recognized most of the known world from India to northern Africa.

Xerxes throws a party for his officials. Most think this party was the result of having put down the rebellion in Egypt, which enabled the consolidation of his authority over all 127 provinces. It was naturally a celebration of victory, and Xerxes felt pretty good about himself. The word “feast” in the English Standard Version might best be translated as “banquet” as in other translations. The Handbook for Translators gives us more information. “The word banquet comes from the root word meaning ‘to drink’ and is used in Esther to indicate eating and drinking on special occasions. The translator should use a word for a formal meal, a meal eaten during a festive event. Here banquet refers to festivities or a celebration that continued for 180 days.” According to Breneman, “Rulers used banquets to display their greatness and to help maintain the faithfulness and loyalty of their subjects. Herodotus described Persian royal banquets at which the king gave gifts to his fellow Persians. ‘It is said fifteen thousand might be his guests.’ The royal chamberlain afterwards had the duty of ‘putting his inebriated master to bed.’”[3] Xerxes is going to do things he regrets, which is quite common under the influence of Alcohol. Sarah Hallowell, a recovering alcoholic, says, “A whole lot of stuff that I did when I was drinking, I would never do sober. I would never have slapped my mother in the face, and I certainly wouldn’t steal and lie every day. Something that I have learned in recovery is that me drinking is another version of me. I take accountability for the harm caused and move forward vowing not to do it again.”[4] Xerxes is going to have some regrets.

[1] Guzik, David. 2006. Esther. David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible. Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik.

[2] Omanson, Roger L., and Philip A. Noss. 1997. A Handbook on the Book of Esther: The Hebrew and Greek Texts. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

[3] Breneman, Mervin. 1993. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Electronic ed. Vol. 10. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[4] https://www.quora.com/Does-being-drunk-make-you-do-things-you-would-never-want-to-do-while-sober

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Nehemiah 1:1-2, 7:2

The Comfort of God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 1, 2022

The book of Nehemiah begins by setting the stage for his return to Jerusalem to rebuild the people of Judah. We are introduced to three people: Nehemiah, the speaker or writer, Hacaliah, and Hanani. We are informed of the geographical places involved in the story. They are Susa and Jerusalem. We then learn about the time of the event. The first two verses read, “The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah is identified as the son of Hacaliah of whom we know nothing. This is the only place in the Bible where he is mentioned. We can assume that Nehemiah is telling us about his inquiry of Hanani about the well-being of those who escaped captivity and possibly remained in Israel while others were taken off as prisoners to Babylon. We don’t know much about him either. Still, Noss says that Hanani is one of Nehemiah’s physical brothers, as cited in Nehemiah 7:2. “Hanani the governor of Jerusalem is identified as a brother of Nehemiah. The other men in the group referred to here are not included in the designation as brothers although they were fellow Jews. Thus, Hanani must have been a blood brother of Nehemiah.”[1] Nehemiah also asks Hanani about the current state of the city of Jerusalem. According to our calendar, the time of year that is referred to by the month of “Chislev” would be mid-November to mid-December. Nehemiah places himself in Susa. According to the Handbook for Translators, “Susa, the ancient capital of Elam, was a seasonal residence of the Achaemenian kings in the winter months. It was one of four Persian capital cities. It was located 200 miles southeast of Babylon in the southwestern part of modern Iran.”

Nehemiah’s name in Hebrew literally translates “The Lord Comforts” or “Comforted by God.” Modern Baby Name books suggest it means “God has comforted.”[2] Another site gives us a modern devotion based on his name. It says, “Nehemiah is a masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning “God comforts.” Composed of the Hebrew word nacham, meaning “to comfort,” the name finds its true substance in the Jewish leader, Nehemiah. This revered biblical figure is long celebrated for rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls after the Jews return from Babylonian exile. Embodying the very essence of his name, Nehemiah would go on to restore the Jewish community and the Law of Moses within it. Celebrated for his soothing of turmoil within a disconnected community, Nehemiah will surely encourage future namesakes to find solace in the nurturing of their nearest and dearest.”[3]

[1] Noss, Philip A., and Kenneth J. Thomas. 2005. A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah. Edited by Paul Clarke, Schuyler Brown, Louis Dorn, and Donald Slager. United Bible Societies’ Handbooks. New York: United Bible Societies.

[2] https://babynames.com/name/nehemiah

[3] https://www.thebump.com/b/nehemiah-baby-name

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Ezra 1:1-2, Proverbs 21:1

The King is in God’s Hands

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
November 30, 2022

God had provided for all debts to be forgiven, all slaves to be set free, and all lands to be returned to their original owners once every 50 years. The years were called “The year of Jubilee.” Israel ignored that instruction as well as all the directions God had given the nation in the final chapters of the book of Deuteronomy. Thus, the curses promised in Deuteronomy fell upon them and Syria scattered the tribes of the north then Babylon enslaved the tribes of the south and took slaves to Babylon. Jeremiah prophesied this and added that their enslavement in Babylon would last one year for every year they neglected the year of Jubilee. For 70 years the children of Judah remained captive in Babylon until God moved in the heart of the great king, Cyrus, to send them back to the promised land with the charge of rebuilding the temple and reestablishing Yahweh worship. The first verse of the book of Ezra tells us this. It says, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.’”

It almost sounds like the great king of Persia, who had conquered most of the known world, was a believer in Yahweh. But Cyrus makes a comment in his journals that suggests it was for political reasons and not for religious ones as the Bible Knowledge Commentary reports, “The famous Cyrus Cylinder (538 b.c.), which records his capture of Babylon and his program of repatriating his subject peoples in their homelands, includes this statement: ‘May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities daily ask Bel and Nebo for a long life for me.’”[1] Ezra, however, sees the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy in Cyrus’ decree. “The ‘proclamation’ is the famous ‘Edict of Cyrus.’ A secular historian would not have seen God’s hand in this. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay barrel inscription found in Hormuzd Rassam’s excavations at Babylon (1879–82), shows that this king made similar proclamations concerning other people’s gods. But our author saw here the providence of God, a theme that is prominent throughout the book. The author of Ezra-Nehemiah, with his biblical view of history, challenges us also to believe that God works within a specific time frame, that he has a plan, that he keeps his word, and that his prophecies will be fulfilled. God does influence people to accomplish his will. J. G. McConville explains that ‘behind this opening verse … lies the affirmation that all the might of the ancient world was in subjection to God and put at the disposal of his people for their salvation.’”[2]

Believers interpret history differently than others. To the secular world, things came to be by accident, and a progressive development of life called evolution without the assistance or care of a divine being. Historical events can all be explained through human reason and investigation. But the believer sees the hand of God in all events in his life as well as all events in the world. We believe Solomon’s words in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”

[1] Martin, John A. 1985. “Ezra.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 1:654. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Breneman, Mervin. 1993. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Electronic ed. Vol. 10. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

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2 Chronicles 1:1

One Nation Under God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
November 29, 2022

In your reading of the Bible, you might have noticed that there has been some great drama in the life of David, with his family, and in the transition of the kingdom from David to his son Solomon. But the wisdom of Solomon shows up quickly. 2 Chronicles begins with this account: “Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.” When the Lord is with a nation, they become exceedingly great!

I like the English Standard Translation of the Bible, but this verse falls short of the original Hebrew intent. The conjunction “and” should be translated “for” or “because,” as the Handbook for Translators suggests.”[1] This connects Solomon’s success with God. It’s not that Solomon was great, “and” God was with him. It should be understood that Solomon was great “because” God was with him. The same language is used concerning Joshua when he succeeded Moses. God advanced them and God sustained them, and God brought success in their leadership roles. The story of Solomon’s reign, his building enterprises, and his wisdom will occupy a large portion of the 2nd Chronicles. Even in light of his many weaknesses, which 2nd Chronicles seems to leave out, we are reminded “…that Solomon began his reign by seeking God. Here, as elsewhere, it is not the specific facts of Solomon’s reign but the principles behind it that the Chronicler stresses. The postexilic Jews, like Israel after the death of David, faced an uncertain future. The right place to begin was with God. His favor and direction alone could give health and peace to the nation.”[2] That Solomon was able to establish himself as King of Israel was only possible because of God’s blessings.

Pratt summarizes this idea regarding Solomon by saying, “His successes were not the result of human schemes or tyranny. They resulted from God’s blessing.”[3]  It wasn’t that Solomon was such a great politician or wise leader. It was because he followed in His father’s footsteps in his desire to serve the one true God. The Kingdom of Israel had its greatest successes during the life of Solomon. The kings that brought the downfall of the nation of Israel after Solomon did not do so because they were not good politicians. They brought Israel down because they failed to seek God. One web writer observes that this has become America’s problem as well, “The greatest problem our country is facing today is not political; it is spiritual. We are experiencing the consequences of a nation that has turned its back on God. We have replaced His laws with sinful laws that embrace all manner of debauchery. What we so desperately need are leaders who are wise enough to recognize this fact and bold enough to address the problem. Our churches, schools, government, even the Supreme Court, have been infiltrated by atheists who fight against God and all that is good and moral. Abortion and homosexual marriage, both of which are against God’s law, are now being celebrated, even by many who call themselves Christians.”[4] There have been several legal battles to remove from our pledge of allegiance, “One nation under God.” That has not been accomplished yet, but it seems it has been accomplished in practical ways. God has been removed from much of our public life in America.

[1] Omanson, Roger L., and John E. Ellington. 2014. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles. Edited by Paul Clarke, Schuyler Brown, Louis Dorn, and Donald Slager. Vol. 1 & 2. United Bible Societies’ Handbooks. Miami, FL: United Bible Societies.

[2] Thompson, J. A. 1994. 1, 2 Chronicles. Vol. 9. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[3] Pratt, Richard L., Jr. 2006. 1 and 2 Chronicles: A Mentor Commentary. Mentor Commentaries. Fearn, Tain, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.

[4] https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/05/11/us-has-turned-its-back-god-letters/84226260/

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1 Chronicles 1:1-4

It’s All About Us!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
November 28, 2022

The 13th book in the English Bible, 1st Chronicles, begins with a list of thirteen names. I think that’s just a coincidence. The list begins at the very beginning. It says, “Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” It doesn’t need an explanation. When you see the first two names, you know exactly what the list of names represents. It uses up the first four verses of the book. Verses 1, 2, and 3 each have three names and verse 4 has the last four names. That might be to aid in memorization. But why begin a new account of the history of Israel with a list of names? “Perhaps the best answer is provided by M. Wilcock, who observes that the generations after the exile needed a sense of history and legitimacy. In other words, they needed roots. Using the analogy of a tree, Wilcock observes that the genealogies reach from the very deepest root—Adam—to the very topmost branches of the tree—people who were living in the Chronicler’s lifetime. With these roots, God’s people knew who they were and how they were to live. They may have felt like the most insignificant of peoples (a small, backwater country in the great Persian Empire), but the genealogies served to remind them that they were not only a people with a rich history but that their history was God’s history.”[1]

We all need roots. I’ve spent some significant time looking up my roots. I can’t go very far back on my mother’s side because everything is lost regarding her mother and my mother never knew who her real father was. I can trace my father’s history back to Denmark though but all I’ve been able to learn about the Denmark Larsens who are my ancestors is that one of them was a Danish Lutheran Pastor. He had three wives and three children from each wife. My connection is with the second or third son of the first wife. The first two wives both died in childbirth if I remember correctly. I have no idea what went on before that and because I can’t read Danish, it’s been impossible for me to find out. One day they will translate the statistics from Denmark into English, and I’ll do research again, or one of my descendants will. From Adam to my Danish Lutheran Pastor is just a big void. I have no idea. But the Bible picks up for me and gives me roots back to Adam.

It’s interesting that Cain and Able, Adam’s first two sons, are not mentioned in this list at all. We do know from Genesis that Cain had a genealogy similar to that of Seth, but the names of those are not important because they were all lost in the flood. No one alive today descends from them. We all come from one of the three sons of Noah mentioned in verse 4. “The descendants of Shem are the peoples of Mesopotamia and Arabia. The descendants of Ham, whose name in Hebrew means ‘warmth’ or ‘heat,’ are the peoples in northeastern Africa, Syria, and Palestine. The descendants of Japheth are the peoples of Europe and Asia.”[2] One web article describes the importance of our genealogies, “As we dive into our own family histories, we see events unfold on both a large scale and a personal scale. Contemplating the enormity of mankind while reading about the hand of the Lord in our ancestors’ lives bears record to us of His concern and immense love for each of us personally. Our worth and value is great in His sight. We are loved and known by Him. Our family history goes beyond the names and dates we find in our tree. It’s about what makes us who we are. It’s about people with whom we can form deep connections. It’s about people who lived and breathed and suffered and triumphed. It’s about roots and branches and leaves and entire forests. It’s about all of us.”[3]

[1] Thompson, J. A. 1994. 1, 2 Chronicles. Vol. 9. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Omanson, Roger L., and John E. Ellington. 2014. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles. Edited by Paul Clarke, Schuyler Brown, Louis Dorn, and Donald Slager. Vol. 1 & 2. United Bible Societies’ Handbooks. Miami, FL: United Bible Societies.

[3] https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/why-we-need-family-history-now-more-than-ever

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