And "A" Begat "B"
Jesus commands that man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4). In other words, every word of God written in the scriptures is valuable and life-giving. Jesus' command seems agreeable until we approach such sections of scripture as Genesis 11 and 1 Chronicles 6. Both sections are generally known as chronologies that go something like this: "and this guy begat a son who in turn begat another son." Let's admit it, who hasn't zoned out when a full reading of such scripture sections occurs on a Sunday morning? Let's admit even more. Who completely skips such sections of scripture during personal devotion time? It's impossible to pronounce the names anyway, right?
Christ must always be true, therefore, let us learn together how such chronologies are valuable and beneficial to our faith. We will use Genesis 11:20-26 as the scripture reference.
"And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug... (22)And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor... (24)And Nahor lived nine and twenty years and begat Terah... (26)And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." Genesis 11:20-26, KJV
Lesson 1: God values children as significant and noteworthy.
As Christians, we have a God-given desire to do significant things for our Heavenly Father and his Kingdom. In Genesis 11:20-26 average men like Reu and Serug are mentioned because of offspring. What significant thing did Reu do? He had a son, and God thought it important enough to mention in his eternal and Holy Scriptures.
Lesson 2: The Purposes of God are better understood when viewed through multiple generations.
To understand the significance of Reu or Serug having children we must look beyond them. We must look past their lives in order to understand what God was doing. Why was Reu and his children so important? It was Reu's line of descent in which Abraham, the father of the faithful, was born. It was through Abraham that Christ entered the world.
Lesson 3: The most mundane acts are usually the most important.
Child-bearing is by no means mundane, but it does occur every day throughout the world. Such familiarity with child-birth causes many of us to take a mundane attitude towards it, therefore, we miss the miracle that child-birth truly is. When Terah's wife gave birth to Abraham, I'm sure his family was excited. Some of his family members may have even joked: "Oh look, Terah has a new son. I wonder when his wife will have another?" The truth is, God was more excited than anyone in Terah's family. God saw Abraham's average birth to an average family and saw the importance of it all. God saw Christ coming into the world and he rejoiced.
Lesson 4: God uses ordinary folks to fulfill his extraordinary plans. (See above discussion of Lesson 3)
Lesson 5: In God's Kingdom, what we do is sometimes more important than who we are. In other words, it's not about us.
We know Reu, Serug, and Nahor had sons because the Bible tells us so. At no time though are the wives of these men mentioned in the chronology narrative. Blatant sexism based on some cultural practice is not the reason for this omission. There is a lesson even in what the Bible does not say if we will hear it. Why are the wives of these men not mentioned by the scriptures? For the simple fact that what they did -- having children -- was more important than who they were. Such a lesson seems to contradict our self-indulgent, me-centered society, but the lesson remains. The truth is, God did not save you to boost your ego and self-confidence. You do not serve God to be liked, praised, honored or even remembered by others. The mission of God is clear: Go to a broken world and declare God's love through Christ. In doing so, you will lose everything: your pride, personal plans, hopes, ambitions, and yes, even your identity. In God's kingdom, what we do is sometimes more important than who we are. In other words, it's not about us.
To the Glory of Christ, forever. Amen
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Author: maxinfluence
Location: Taylor Michigan USA
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Blog Entries: 4 (archive)
Blog Comments: 1
i am a 33 y/o christian male, husband, and father of six wonderful children. i attend a large, nondenominational church in the detroit area. my hobbies include reading and spending time with my family. i work for a large automotive supplier in the detroit area, own and run a website...
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