King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026
Chapters: I Chronicles 3-5
Message: I Chronicles: Descendants of Judah
Hello My Friend,
Every time I read through the names in I Chronicles it reminds me of something once told to me, while we have easy access to the Bible here in America, and praise God it has not become a crime to posses, many countries do not have that privilege. Believe it or not, there are people so desperate to read it that they have separated the pages so that they could have at least some of its words. Can you imagine something so precious as a page of names? Well, God thought so because that is what we have here. As we return to the reading of I Chronicles we come to the lineage of David.
[I Chronicles 3:1-4 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess: 2 The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith: 3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife. 4 These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.]
There is only one thing that bothers me about the whole account of God’s chosen, it is that they had so many wives. I am sure that God was not too pleased about that either as He has never approved of polygamy, [Genesis 2:21-24 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.]
Nevertheless, God did often lemonade our of lemons so to speak and used those who came to be out of some of the most controversial unions to bring forth the very lineage through which He would fulfill His promises. God, used David’s transgression with Bathsheba to His advantage when Solomon came into the world, [I Chronicles 3:5-9 And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel: 6 Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet, 7 And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, 8 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9 These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.]
It is interesting to note that nothing is mentioned of wives husbands before he married them as in the other books that give the lineage account, even Matthew lists Bathsheba’s husband in his account, [Matthew 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;]
Wow, Bathsheba’s name is not even listed here, perhaps it was because she was already well known, or of their transgression prior to that. It is important to note that Solomon was not begotten while she was still the wife of Uriah, but after she became David’s wife. This is a reminder that God does have mercy and repentance goes a long way, even when those transgressions have got the best of us. As long as Christ is our Saviour God will not condemn us, that does not mean that we will not be chastened, but it does mean that He is a just God.
[Hebrews 12:6-7,11 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.]
The very woman with whom David had an affair with, for which he suffered greatly, became the woman he truly loved. This alone shows that God never condemns us to a lifetime of pain when we stumble or fall a time or two. Out of all the families in Israel, none were more prominent than the house of David. And now we come to the account of Solomon’s son.
[I Chronicles 3:10-16 And Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11 Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12 Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14 Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15 And the sons of Josiah were, the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16 And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.]
Solomon actually had hundreds of children as he had that many wives, but the sons mentioned here are actually the first born of each son who would reign as king in Judah all the way up to their captivity. Out of the twenty known children David fathered, Scripture records no evidence that any of them feared God except Solomon and Nathan. It is sad, really, because it shows that David did not have much of a relationship with his children. So if anyone tells me that God is unjust, I will answer that His mercy endures. And now, the account turns to the tribe of Judah itself.
[I Chronicles 4:1-4 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: 4 And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Beth-lehem.]
Hur, was the man who helped Moses when the Israelites fought with the Amalekites, [Exodus 17:10-12 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.]
It is interesting to note the little tidbits written in between the names. They actually tell quite a bit about how things were that led up to their captivity. One in particular is Jabez, we do not know when he came into the world, but we do know that it was a time of great sorrow.
[I Chronicles 4:9-10,13-15 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. 14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. 15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.]
Jabez means “to grieve,” so perhaps the way he came into this world became the driving force behind his desire to be more honorable than his brothers. When you grow up in an oppressed or difficult environment, you learn to grow up quickly. I know that feeling well, I grew up in Detroit, and certainly had to grow up fast, even before I knew Jesus as my Saviour. We can either let the sorrows of life define us, or we can let them strengthen us and push us to rise above them with honor, [I Corinthians 12:22-24 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:]
Chapter four also gives an account of Simeon’s descendants. Judah shared part of their inheritance with the tribe of Simeon because Simeon was so small in number. Later on, however, the Simeonites chose to move away from Judah’s territory and eventually settled in areas that had belonged to the Canaanites.
[I Chronicles 4:24-27,31-33 The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. 27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah. 31 And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. 32 And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: 33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.]
Now, we see here that Simeon’s tribe were quite successful up until after David reigned, in particular after Rehoboam became king and the tribes divided. We learn that Simeon, under the direction of God was able to take the land from the Amalekites that had been seized from them.
[I Chronicles 4:37-41,43 And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah; 38 These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. 39 And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. 41 And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks. 43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.]
God was with Simeon and used them to reclaim territory that the Philistines had taken, but Scripture does not tell us much more about them. Even though they were small in number and had largely rejected David when he became king, they were still counted as one with Judah. Now, as we come to chapter five, we are given an account of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. These were the tribes that chose to settle on the east side of the Jordan. They were also the first to be captured when God began judging Israel for turning away from Him. First, we come to Reuben.
[I Chronicles 5:1-3,7,9 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. 2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:) 3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 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.]
Reuben had an affair with Bilhah, one of his father’s concubines, [Genesis 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:]. That sin caused him to lose the birthright that belonged to him as the firstborn.
Even though Judah was the fourth son of Israel, Simeon and Levi were also disqualified because they conspired together and killed a man and his entire household in Shechem after their sister became involved with a Canaanite, [Genesis 34:25-26 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.]
Joseph had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and each of them received an inheritance as if they were full tribes. Judah, however, received dominion over the other tribes, for it was Jacob who prophesied that the scepter, meaning the right to rule, would rest with Judah, [Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.]
All of this goes to show that we truly do not know much about our own ancestors. In my own family, some lived shamefully while others lived honorably. And now, we come to the account of Gad.
[I Chronicles 5:17-20,22 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. 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. 22 For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.]
The Hagarites were the descendants of Hagar, the concubine given to Abraham at Sarah’s urging. She bore Ishmael, but because Ishmael was not the promised seed, both he and his mother were eventually sent away so that Isaac would not be influenced by him, [Genesis 21:12-13 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.]
The tribe of Gad lived next to the Reubenites and helped them defeat the Hararites, with the help of God. And just as fast as He helped them, the half tribe of Manasseh, turned on Him, and were of the first of them to be captured when the Assyrian’s took them captive. And now, the record turns to the account of the half tribe of Manasseh.
[I Chronicles 5:23-26 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon 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 Tilgath-pilneser 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.]
Notice that it says they turned away from the God of their fathers, meaning the break was not on God’s side, but on theirs. Everything that happens in life, whether good or bad, will ultimately be used by God. It will either draw a person closer to Christ or expose how far their heart has drifted from Him. But regardless of how anyone responds, one truth remains unshaken: in the name of Jesus, every knee will bow to Him.
[Philippians 2:9-13 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Throughout the years I often wondered why You put me in a certain place or brought certain people in my life, and I still do not understand some of it. What I do understand is that the second that I received Your Son, Jesus Christ as my Saviour I became one of Your children. Everything I have gone through, good and bad, has been used not for me, but for me to be a blessing to others and to glorify You. Lord, thank You for using me, continue to use me as You see fit, and give me Your power, love, mercy, grace, wisdom, and guidance to be a child of Your own heart. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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