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: Monday, April 29, 2024
Chapters: I Chronicles Chapters 7-9
Message: A Place Called Home
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday was an uplifting day, my husband and I spent it with my nephew, we finally found our church home and I am already practicing in the choir and sang with them last night. When you do not have a church home, even if you are housebound and unable to get to church you feel like vagabond going from church to church or nowadays from church stream to church stream in hopes that this would be the one that God calls you to. This verse comes to mind, [Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.] Which led me to this passage.
[Psalms 27:4-6 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.]
I was sure glad that we showed up early to the house of the LORD and managed to get placed into the married couples class that happened to be taught by the pastor himself. I was also glad that I encouraged my husband to go there this week and really glad that my husband felt at home there and wanted to join right away because I felt that as well. It was also glad when we were blessed with a meal and a comfortable day that did not require air conditioning in the car. God, truly is awesome and no matter the pain or sorrow that we face whether it is something that life brings or our own foolish bringing, there is no greater joy than standing upon the rock of Christ, [2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.]
Wow! Without Christ in our lives we truly are vagabonds, meaning just a bunch of dead souls walking around trying to find purpose in their lives. Well, if a saved born again Christian feels like a vagabond when they do not have a church to call home just imagine how a lost person feels to not have Christ at all. I can recall the days without Christ in my life and I surely was a vagabond searching for something or someone to call home and it only sent me deeper down the worm hole. Nevertheless the foundation of Christ surely stands firm.
[1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.]
Let me tell you, the blessings of God come and go, whether they be blessings of joy or sorrow, but the one thing that will never leave us is our salvation. Praise God! [John 17:3,13-14 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.]
Speaking of God’s Word, did you know that there are people so desperate to have it with them that they only have one page from the Bible? I often think about that when I am reading through all the names written here in 1 Chronicles. The closer we get to Christ returning the more I understand just how precious His Word is. It makes me appreciate the fact that I have it in my possession no matter where I go and that God trusts me enough to not only have the entire book, but teach it. As we return to the reading of 1 Chronicles we are given the account of the remaining decedents of the tribes of Israel. Here are listed Issachar, Benjamin, and Naphtali, in no particular order.
[1 Chronicles 7:1,4-7,13 Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 4 And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. 5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand. 6 The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 13 The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.]
[The sons of Naphtali…the sons of Bilhah.] It is interesting to note that not only did Naphtali’s decedents stop at these his mother is recognized as well. Bilhah, was the mother of Dan as well, who was not even listed among the descendants, she was one of Jacob’s concubines, his beloved Rachel’s handmaid actually, [Genesis 35:25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:] It was actually these two sons who caused the most trouble, [Genesis 37:2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.]
That was only the beginning of their evil report, the descendants of Dan brought more disgrace to their descendants when they brought idolatry into their colony. They took an idol from the fool who had it made, Micah, [Judges 17:1,4 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.]
[Judges 18:16,27,30-31 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.]
The descendants of Dan took over the town of Laish, renaming it Dan, which actually was one of the places that King Jeroboam had placed an idol he had made, which is addressed as we read about their descendants. Men become abominable to God when they forsake and worship any other god. Their name is also omitted from the names among the tribes who would come out of the tribulation.
[Revelation 7:4-8 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.]
Now, we come to the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim were both children of Joseph by an Egyptian woman. It was told to Joseph by Jacob (Israel) as he blessed them before his death, that Ephraim, would be a greater influence than Manasseh, but both would still be as his very own sons [Genesis 48]. Joshua, being of the sons of Ephraim, born over four hundred years later, became Moses’ successor, and after Moses died, he led Israel into the promised land. Also listed are the descendants of Asher.
[1 Chronicles 7:14,20-23,30 The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead: 20 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, 21 And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. 30 The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister.]
[called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.] Beriah, was born during a time of great sorrow for the tribe of Ephraim, the men of Gath, attacked and killed many of them in a battle to take their cattle. The name was given to the child as a reminder of the gift of life that came from their sorrow. However, they too would become a disgrace and be omitted from the tribes after the tribulation when Jeroboam of Ephraim had two golden calves made and led the majority of the Israelites away from God.
[1 Kings 12:26-29 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.]
Now, as we go into the next chapter, the account of Benjamin gets more detailed because it joined and kept close with Judah in the worship of God, and also went into captivity into Babylon with them. The account of Saul is made solely for the purpose of his posterity as being the first king of Israel, which ended quickly.
[1 Chronicles 8:1-6,32-35 Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, 4 And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah, 5 And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. 6 And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath: 32 And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them. 33 And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 34 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah. 35 And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.]
[and Eshbaal. And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal;] Eshbaal, is Ishbosheth, he was the one that Abner make king before David became king in all of Israel. Meribbaal, is Mephibosheth, he would become a prominent figure in David’s life, giving him a place to dine at the kings table, which was a very big honor. Mephibosheth, was crippled due to an accident, but that did not hold David back from blessing him and his family, [2 Samuel 9:6-7 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.]
Now, as we finally come to the close of all the names of all the Jews accounted for we are given an explanation as to why they were written in here to begin with, they were returning from Babylon after seventy years. What seems kind of strange to us in that after this chapter we will start back up with David becoming king. This is Judah’s history book, how God dealt with this tribe through their faithfulness as well as their unfaithfulness. Why them? Well, this tribe is where Jesus would descend from.
[1 Chronicles 9:1-4 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. 2 Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. 3 And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh; 4 Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pharez the son of Judah.]
[So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies;] All of this took place centuries after David and Samuel ordained those who would serve in the duties of the tabernacle/temple. An account is listed of the Levites who served during that time.
[1 Chronicles 9:19-22 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. 20 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him. 21 And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22 All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.]
[whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.] Did you know that Jesus ordained you to serve Him well before you were even born? Yes, He chose you first, He knew your faith, and actually prepared you for the day that you would accept Him and serve Him. Jesus, opens His doors to all who come to Him, but will only accept them if they come to Him first. He does stand at the door knocking on every persons heart, and only when they let Him in will He receive them, [Revelation 3:19-21 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [1 Chronicles 9:19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving us a way to escape the dreaded judgment placed upon every soul born in this world. We do not have to be good to be saved, we just have to believe that Your sinless Son, born of a virgin, saved us. It is so amazing and simple that all we need to do is receive Christ, yet so many people are ignorant to that fact. Thank You, Jesus! Lord, Thank You for your mercy, for it is in Your mercy that I am not given the punishment I deserve, and there is nothing I can do that will change that. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power and wisdom to know Your will. Keep me in Your Word, learning, standing by it, and teaching it to those who are willing to hear it. Cover me with Your mercy and grace to follow through until the day You bring me home. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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