I'm Following Jesus – Page 1484 – Mark 8:34 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.

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, 2020
Chapters: I Chronicles 3-5
Message: One of The Family

Hello My Friend,

When I first began reading these chapters I had no clue where God was taking me with it because there is only so much you can write about with a bunch of names. Then as I regrouped, and started to focus on what I was reading, God pointed me to something else, family. I have family from all over the world, I have cousins, even nephews and nieces I have never met, and that is only from my immediate family. I use to joke and say that I would probably end up meeting someone I really liked, and it be a cousin, and thank goodness I have not. You know, family is not all about how we came into this world, it is about those who love us unconditionally. Jesus loves us unconditionally, in fact, more than anyone ever else will. [Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.]

What a sobering reminder, saved or not, we can live however we want, it is for our own sakes that we should a life that is not shameful. I always say that while Jesus allows us to dangle there in sin, He never lets His faithful fall so far into sin that they fall away from Him all together. Yes, there are many people who do get saved and fall into a deep pit of sin, so deep that Jesus is forgotten. That is what grace does, it saves even when they forget Him. His faithful are with Him until He brings them home, and while they do fail Him often, He is always faithful. Now, I Chronicles goes into detail about descents from David, these are not including the sons and daughters he had with is concubines. Besides David being mentioned first because Jesus would descend in the flesh through, it also has to do with him being king of Israel.

[I Chronicles 3:1-9 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. 5 And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua 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.]

“Ithream by Eglah his wife.” Talk about a dysfunctional family, David definitely had that going for him, Eglah, by the way, I just learned this myself, is David’s first wife, Michal, Saul’s daughter. “Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,” These are all the children David had with Bathsheba, Nathan was the first son they had together, the one born of their affair, who only live seven days. There is something interesting to realize here, first or last, all who receive Christ as Saviour are one of God’s children, and also, all babies, children and those who are unaware of their sin (sick, ill, special needs) are saved as well, [Deuteronomy 1:39, Matthew 19:13-14]. Now, we are given an account to Solomon’ sons. [I Chronicles 3:10-14 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.]

“Josiah his son.” These were not actually Solomon’s sons, they are his sons children through the generations who were kings up until Josiah. Josiah was the last king to reign under the authority of God before the nation was judged. This is also proof that even though someone is brought up in a godly home that does not mean they follow Christ. I have seen so many people turn to some crazy religions, and I have also seen some once renounce their faith in Christ. To me, these people were never saved to begin with, the reason being is that Jesus gave a parable to describe who gets saved as the seed, being the Gospel being sown onto different soils, being the heart, [Matthew 13:18-23]. Oh, and do not think that the parents were so strict with them as a child that it turned them away from Christ. Yes, there may be some instances where the parents were more strict than God, but unless it was a false religion that they needed to get away from, most will just follow Christ on their own level. It is just like the Bible says, [Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.]

Now, an account is given to the tribe of Judah itself, this would be David’s cousins outside of his immediately family. [I Chronicles 4:1-3,9-10 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: 9 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.]

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren:” Jabez means to grieve, so, when his mother gave birth to him she was grieving. Perhaps the way he came into this world was his drive to be more honorable than his brothers. Growing up in impoverished neighborhood, one learns to grow up really quick, and always said that if I ever gotten pregnant through rape I could never have an abortion because it was not the baby’s fault. Thank God that He even intervened back then, I was assaulted a couple of times though. Why am I telling you this? Because we can either let the bad things in our lives define us or we can use them to empower us, [Romans 8:27-28]. Chapter four also gives an account to the tribe of Simeon, Judah shared land they that was inherited to them with the tribe of Simeon because they were so small in number.

[I Chronicles 4:24-25,38-40 The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 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.]

“And they found fat pasture and good,” The tribe of Simeon, although they we small in number and pretty much rejected David when he became king, they were still considered one with Judah. This is further proof that once we receive Christ as our Saviour, even if we are the only person of our immediately family to receive Him, we are still one with Christ and His family, [Titus 3:5-7] Now, as we come to chapter five, an account is given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, these were the tribes that would not take an inheritance on the land of Israel, and were also the first tribes to get captured when God started judging Israel.

[I Chronicles 5:1-2,11-12,23-25 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:) 11 And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah: 12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon 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.]

“but the birthright was Joseph’s:)” Joseph had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each of whom had a child’s part, and each of these was as considerable, as any one of the twelve, except Judah. Judah had the dominion, on him the dying patriarch entailed the sceptre, [Genesis 49:10]. Of him came the chief ruler, David first, and, in the fullness of time, Messiah the Prince would descend, [Micah 5:2]. This honor was secured to Judah, although the birthright was Joseph’s, and, having this, he needed not envy Joseph of the double portion, [Genesis 48:15-22]

All this all goes to show you that we really do not know a lot about our ancestors. I have some members in my family that were shameful, others were honorable, the older I get the more I understand why God divides His children from those of the world, even immediate family. It also reminds me of why Jesus said this, [Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.]. This does not mean that we are to literally hate our family to follow Christ, but it does mean that when we do we will lose a lot of family members who will reject Christ. And all this is further proof that it does not matter what earthly family we are born into, we become a part of Israel, and the family of God, solely upon our faith in Christ alone. [Galatians 3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.]

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 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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