1 Chronicles 1: Lessons From the Books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles

 Inspired Scripture

1 Chronicles 1: Lessons From the Books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles

Introduction: In the original Hebrew text, the books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles were a single set of scrolls, called “The annals of the days.” Around 400 A.D., Jerome’s Latin Vulgate changed the title to “The Chronicles of the Entire Sacred History.” The modern title shortened Jerome’s title. By Jewish tradition, Ezra was the author. Because the two books conclude with the return of the Jews from Babylon (2 Chron. 26:23), the author wrote the book sometime after Persian king Cyrus the Great’s reign (circa, 559 and 529 B.C.). After 70 years of captivity, the Jews returned without power, wealth, or a king. Indeed, they lived under the control of a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6). Against this backdrop, the author sought to remind the Jews of several themes.

1) The restoration of the Davidic line. The line of kings through David had come to a temporary end. But God promised that David’s line of kings would have no end: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Sam. 7:16; Jer. 33:17; Ps. 89:4). Chronicles focus on the line of descendants through David for its restoration. Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of God’s promise (Lk. 1:33; Rev. 19:16).

2) God’s faithfulness. After all the Jews had lost, many likely felt that God had abandoned His people. But God promised to never forsake His people (Dt. 31:6). Approximately 17 centuries earlier, God gave the Promised Land to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). The author of Chronicles focuses on God’s many fulfilled promises to remind the Jews of God’s faithfulness. The fact that God had restored the Jews to the Promised Land was proof of His faithfulness.

3) God’s active involvement throughout history. Just like today, many Jews saw God as remote and not actively involved in their lives. Chronicles dispels this false myth about God. God was and is actively involved in history. He is also sovereign over every king and country.

4) God’s mercy and grace. Although Chronicles traces the Jews’ history through God’s chosen line, the author reminds the Jews that their election was based upon God’s mercy and grace. The Jews repeatedly sinned and did nothing to earn their elect status (Ps. 55:3; Ecc.7:20).

5) God’s standard for obedience. God’s covenant with the Jews required them to follow His Ten Commandments (Ex. 20; Dt. 5). God promised blessings if the Jews followed the Ten Commandments and progressively severe discipline if they failed to follow them (Lev. 26; Dt. 28). God blessed the Jews when they followed Him and placed their trust in Him. Conversely, He disciplined them when they disobeyed Him or when they placed their trust in the world.

6) God’s standard for holiness. Part of the book focuses on the priesthood and proper Temple worship. Before they were sent into physical captivity, the Jews had placed themselves under the spiritual captivity through idolatry. Chronicles encouraged the Jews to return to God’s holiness (Lev. 11:44-45) and to fulfill their God-given calling as His light to the world (Is. 49:6).

7) The hope of the Messiah. In the Jewish Old Testament, Chronicles was the last book. It retells Jewish history to repeat the promises of hope of the Messiah from its first verses until its last verse. Although many Jews felt defeated, God promised eternal hope through the Messiah.

1 Chronicles 1: God’s Salvation Plan in Adam Through Esau’s Descendants

Introduction: Many find genealogies boring. Thus, many skip the Bible’s genealogies. But some of the Bible’s most interesting messages are hidden in plain sight. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” (Prov. 25:2). “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” (Dt. 29:29). From the genealogies of Adam through Esau’s descendants, God reveals seven lessons regarding His plan for redemption.

First, the hidden meanings behind the names from Adam to Noah reveal that God would come down to Earth to die for mankind’s sins. This reveals that Jesus planned to die for your salvation since the beginning of history. Second, following the Flood, God gave humanity a new beginning through Noah’s three sons. Since the beginning, Jesus has also planned on offering mankind a “new beginning” through His planned death. Third, out of Noah’s descendants, God also gave birth to the first 70 nations. These 70 nations foreshadowed all the nations of the Earth. From the very beginning, Jesus has been in control of all the nations and has offered to redeem all of mankind through His death. Fourth, while Noah’s 70 descendants each formed mighty nations, God used a humble line of descendants leading to Abraham, without any power or influence, for His plan to redeem mankind. From the beginning, God has used the humble to bring mankind’s salvation. Jesus also humbled Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and dying at the cross. Fifth, God also made His covenant through Abraham based upon His grace. Abraham demonstrated that he was unworthy of God’s covenant based upon the children of the flesh that he had through his female servant Hagar and his concubine Keturah. From the beginning, mankind’s flesh has fought against God’s Spirit. God wants you to deny your flesh to receive the fullness of His blessings. Sixth, despite his sin, God kept His promise to Abraham and created a line of chosen descendants through his sons Isaac and Jacob/Israel. But Abraham had to show faith to receive it. God is also faithful to keep His promises to you. Finally, the account concludes with God’s faithfulness in creating a great nation out of Esau. But Esau squandered these blessings by choosing the world over God. From his mistake, God warns that you can also lose your blessings if you walk away from Him and choose the world over Him.

1. From the Very Beginning, Jesus Planned to Die For Your Salvation. 1 Chr. 1:1-4a.

God’s hidden plan for redemption from Adam through Noah’s names. 1 Chronicles begins with the listing of the first ten generations from Adam to Noah. “1Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah . . .” (1 Chr. 1:1-4a). Each of these ten names tells the story of Jesus’ plan for mankind’s redemption.

(1) Adam. The name Adam “׳āḏām” “: אָדָם‎” means “man.” Collectively, his name means “mankind.” At age 130, he had Seth. He lived 930 years (Gen. 5:1-5). By Jewish tradition, he could not live past 1,000 years (God’s day (Ps. 90:4)) because of his sins.

(2) Seth. Seth “שֵׁת,” means “appointed”. At age 105, he had Enosh. As God’s chosen successor after his brother Cain killed his brother Abel, he lived 912 years (Gen. 5:6-8).

(3) Enosh. The name Enosh “אֱנוֹשׁ” means “mortal” or “mortal man.” At age 90, he fathered Kenan. He lived a total of 905 years (Gen. 5:9-11).

(4) Kenan. The name Kenan “קֵינָן” means “sorrow”. At age 70, he fathered Mahalalel. Kenan lived a total of 910 years (Gen. 5:12-14).

(5) Mahalalel. The name Mahalalel “מהללאל” means “the blessed God.” At age 65, he fathered Jared. He lived a total of 895 years before he died (Gen. 5:15-17).

(6) Jared. Jared comes from the verb “ירד” (yarad), a verb meaning to go down, descend, decline. Here, it means either “shall come down” or “he who descended”. At age 162, he fathered Enoch. He lived a total of 962 years before he died (Gen. 5:18-20).

(7) Enoch. The name Enoch “חנוך” means “teaching”. At age 65, he had Methuselah. He lived 365 years. Yet, he never died. Instead, the seventh righteous descendant through Adam was raptured into heaven without dying (Gen. 5:21-24).

(8) Methuselah. The name Methuselah “מְתוּשָׁלַח” means “his death shall bring judgment” or “man of the dart/spear”. At age 187, he fathered Lamech. He died when he was 969 years old (Gen. 5:25-27).

(9) Lamech. The word Lamech למך (lmk) is not a Hebrew word used today. Thus, the meaning of his name is subject to dispute. Today, the English words “lament” and “lamentation” have their origin in his name. His name most likely means “despairing” or “destroyer”. Although Cain had a wicked descendant named Lamech (Gen. 4:20-24), this is a different individual because he is listed amongst the righteous descendants. At age 182, he fathered Noah. He died at age 777 (Gen. 5:25-27).

(10) Noah. In Hebrew, the name Noah “נעה” means “rest” or “comfort”. At age 500, he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. His sons would live through the Flood with their wives (Gen. 5:32).

Each Hebrew name has a special meaning. When combining the names of the first ten generations from Adam to Noah, God reveals the plan for mankind’s salvation. The table below shows the meaning of the names of the first 10 generations from Adam to Noah:

1ST 10 GENERATIONS MEANING OF THEIR NAMES

ADAM MAN

SETH APPOINTED

ENOSH MORTAL

KENAN SORROW

MAHALALEL THE BLESSED GOD

JARRED SHALL COME DOWN

ENOCH TEACHING

METHUSELAH HIS DEATH SHALL BRING

LAMECH THE DESPAIRING

NOAH REST OR COMFORT

Placing these words in a single sentence, the Father Almighty revealed the following prediction:

Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow, [but] the Blessed God shall come down teaching [that] His death shall bring [the] despairing rest (or comfort).

1

The Bible confirms both Jesus and the Trinity. Whom did God predict would die when He referenced “His death”? Jesus Christ! Thus, God foretold His plan of redemption through Adam’s genealogy. Jesus later revealed that the Scriptures all testify about Him. This chapter provides Jesus’ Word to be true: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;” (Jo. 5:39). Some people claim that the Bible is just a collection of stories or myths that mankind made up. It would be hard, however, to imagine a group of Jewish rabbis, centuries ago, conspiring to hide the message of Jesus who was not yet living on Earth.2

The hidden meaning behind Adam’s second genealogy. The second account of Adam’s genealogy symbolizes God’s plan to restore mankind to its intended righteousness through the second Adam, Jesus Christ. The first Adam brought about sin and mankind’s death, represented by the lineage in Genesis chapter four: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” (Ro. 5:12-13). Centuries later, Jesus became the second Adam. “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” (Ro. 5:14). He redeemed humanity to restore its lost spiritual inheritance of eternal life: “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1 Cor. 15:45; Rev. 1:5). Adam’s second lineage represents the redemption from being born again into God’s image through Jesus.

2. From the Very Beginning, Jesus Has Offered Mankind a New Beginning. 1 Chr. 1:4b.

The three fathers gave rebirth to the world. Through the Triune God, the modern world was made possible through three families. Told out of birth order, they included Shem, Ham, and Japheth: “4 Shem, Ham and Japheth.” (1 Chr. 1:4b). Through the account of Noah’s three sons, God reveals that He blessed mankind with a new beginning: “19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.” (Gen. 9:18-19). “1 Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.” (Gen. 10:1). “These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.” (Gen. 10:32).

God’s blessing of a new beginning for all mankind. There were exactly eight people on the ark. “[E]ight souls were saved by water.” (1 Pet. 3:20 (b)(KJV)). In the Bible, eight is also a symbol of new beginnings. After a seven-day ordination, a priest’s duties began on the eighth day (Lev. 9:1). A male child is also circumcised on the eighth day (Lev. 12:3). After the seven-day festival of Tabernacles, the people got together to celebrate a new beginning on the eighth day (Lev. 23:36). Jesus also rose on a Sunday, the first day after the Passion Week or the eighth day after it began. Like Noah’s family, Jesus offers you a new beginning. When you accept Him as Savior, you become a “new creation”: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 4:24). Through Jesus, this offer extends to all mankind. Are you living as a new creation for Jesus?

3. From the Very Beginning, Jesus Offered to Redeem all of Mankind. 1 Chr. 1:5-23.

Jesus died for all the people of the Earth to find salvation. The book of Chronicles next records the 70 descendants that came through Noah and his three sons (1 Chr. 1:5-23). As set forth below, these 70 descendants each formed a separate nation of peoples. They collectively symbolized all of the nations of the Earth. Jesus came and died so that each person in every nation on Earth would be offered a path to salvation. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jo. 3:16). “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Jo. 6:40). “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,”’ (Jo. 11:25).

God’s plan for evangelism. God set the number of nations according to the number of Jews who came from Jacob/Israel: “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.” (Dt. 32:8). The seventy nations therefore correspond to the 70 descendants of Jacob who left Israel for Egypt (Gen. 46:27; Ex. 1:5; Dt. 10:22). The seventy nations also correspond to the 70 elders who governed with Moses (Ex. 24:9; Nu. 11:24; Ez. 8:11). The seventy members of Jacob’s household and the seventy leaders of Israel were meant to be a light to the nations: “I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations,” (Is. 42:6). The Jews, however, failed to fulfill this calling. Jesus came as the light of the world (Jo. 8:12). His believers are His light to the lost (Matt. 5:14). When He sent out the 70 disciples in pairs, they symbolically represented the need of all believers to bring His light to every nation on Earth: “Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.” (Lk. 10:1). Through these exact numbers and connections, God reveals that believers are to fill the existing nations with believers: “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Jesus again made this point explicit when He gave the disciples the Great Commission to make disciples amongst the nations. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matt. 28:19). Are you fulfilling your duty to Jesus to help fulfill His Great Commission?

Historical proof of the 70 nations. During the 1st-century, a Jewish-Roman historian named Flavius Josephus published the oldest known listing of connections between each descendant and the known ethnic groups, nations, or tribes who lived in Abraham’s estimated time. Josephus is more widely known today for having recorded Jesus’ existence as an actual historical figure from a Jewish perspective. Yet, amongst archeologists, his assignments for the Table of Nations also became the starting point of study for modern Middle East archaeology.3 In most cases, Josephus’ listings have been confirmed. Modern archeologists have only made minor adjustments to Josephus’ listings based upon records that were unknown to him. In reference to the Table of Nations, archaeologist William Albright famously concluded, “The tenth chapter of Genesis ... stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in a genealogical framework ... The Table of Nations remains an astonishingly accurate document.”4

(Geographic depiction of Josephus’ 100 A.D. correlation of the Table of Nations.)5

The sons of Japheth. Of the seventy nations of Abraham’s world, 14 came through Noah’s third son Japheth. This included 14 ancient nations or peoples of Asia Minor (Turkey) and Europe: “5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. 6 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Diphath, and Togarmah. 7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Rodanim.” (1 Chr. 1:5-7; Gen. 10:2-5). With the following chart, each descendant beginning with Noah is sequentially numbered below to reveal the first 70 nations of Abraham’s day. The chart also lists the ancient nation, tribe, or people that each descendant founded. In some cases where the children of each descendant intermarried, the nations are tied to two descendants. The chart also includes the translation for each name. Unlike the table for Adam’s descendants, the chart does not reveal a hidden theological message from the names of each descendant. Thus, the chart was meant to provide a historical listing.

(1) Noah

(2) The Descendants of Japheth (translated as opened, enlarged, fair or light)

No. Son Descendant Translation Countries

3. Gomer (Gen. 10:2) - - - Complete Ancestor of the Cimmerii peoples of Crimea. They later became the Cimbri in Roman times in northern and western Europe. They later became the Celtic race of the British Isles.6

4. Ashkenaz (Gen. 10:3; 1 Chr. 16; Jer. 51:27) spreading fire Scythians / Armenia (north and east of Black Sea7 (later assumed to be the Germans, Saxons and Scandinavians)

5. Riphath (Gen. 10:3; 1 Chr. 1:6) Spoken or crusher most likely the Carpathians8

6. Togarmah (Gen. 10:3; 1 Chr. 1:6) “tribe,” and “arma” for Armenia. Armenians (Caucasus mountains / eastern Turkey)9

7. Magog (Gen. 10:2; 1Chr. 1:5; Ez. 38:2; 39:6; Rev. 20:8) - - - land of Gog or overtopping covering According to Josephus and Jerome, their descendants were also the Scythians. Others believe that they became the Tatars of Russia. They may have also mixed with others to become the Galatians and the Celts.10

8. Madai (Gen. 10:2) - - - middle land Medes (northwestern Iran), Aryans, most likely they later migrated to India11

9. Javan (Gen. 10:2; 1Chr. 1:5, 7) - - - Miry Ionians, Greeks (southern Greece & western Asia Minor)12

10. Elishah (Gen. 10:4) Hellas, Greece and Cyprus13

11. Tarshish (Gen. 10:4) To heat, smelt Initially, his descendants went to Tarsus in Cilicia. Later, they spread to Tartessus in Spain14

12. Kittim (Gen. 10:4; Jer. 2:10; Ez. 27:6 Possibly Akkadian word for "invaders". Initially, his descendants went to an island off Cyprus. Later, they spread to Macedonia and Rome15

13. Dodanim (Gen. 10:4; 1 Chr. 1:7) Rhodes Island (between Cyprus and the mainland of Greece)16

14. Tubal (Gen. 10:2;1 Ch. 1:5) - - - Brought Country of Georgia (eas.t coast of Black Sea)17

15. Meshech (Gen. 10:2; 1 Ch. 1:5) - - - drawing out Central & western As