Scriptures for Today:
1 Chronicles 2:1-55 These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 3 The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him. 4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. 5 The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul. 6 And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all. 7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed. 8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah. 9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. 10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; 11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, 12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, 13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, 14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: 16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. 17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite. 18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. 19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur. 20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. 21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. 22 And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. 23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. 24 And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa. 25 And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. 28 And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. 29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid. 30 And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. 31 And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai. 32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children. 33 And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 34 Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. 35 And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai. 36 And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, 37 And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, 38 And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, 39 And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, 40 And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum, 41 And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama. 42 Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. 43 And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. 44 And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai. 45 And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. 46 And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez. 47 And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. 48 Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah. 49 She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah. 50 These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim, 51 Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. 52 And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites. 53 And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites. 54 The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites. 55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
Introduction
If God removed 1 Chronicles chapter 2 from the Bible (what we just read), what would we lose?
If God removed this family from History, what would be missing? A lot of people might think,
“Well it’s just a bunch of names so we probably wouldn’t lose much.”
At first glance that’s what it looks like, a long list of names. But this is not just an ordinary list of names. Hidden inside this genealogy is the line that leads to the redemption of all mankind.
We as human beings have sinned against a Holy and Righteous God. God in Heaven, who is the Creator of all things, created us in His own image. He gave us a free will, and we chose to sin and rebel against our very own Creator. Because we chose sin, God cannot allow us to enter into Heaven. He is perfect. We defiled ourselves.
Imagine yourself rolling around in the most disgusting mud hole filled with trash and excrement. You’re covered head to toe in complete filth. You smell terrible. Then you show up at an extravagant wedding. You approach the bridegroom who is wearing a pure white suit, and you reach out to give him a big hug. Someone would probably dropkick you before you reached him. You most likely wouldn’t make it into the building in the first place.
That’s what our sin does. We have created a separation between us and our God…
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Psalm 5:4-5 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
We have sold ourselves to sin, death, and eternal destruction. In order to be in the presence of a Holy God we need to be redeemed, bought back, repurchased.
If 1 Chronicles 2 was removed from the Bible, if this family was removed from history, the New Testament wouldn’t exist. Salvation from eternal judgment cannot be obtained. Redemption back to God cannot happen. That’s how important this passage is.
If you don’t know why these names are important. I want to show you this morning.
I. The Chosen Tribe
1 Chronicles 2:1-8 These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 3 The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him. 4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. 5 The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul. 6 And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all. 7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed. 8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.
The chapter begins with the twelve sons of Israel, formerly known as Jacob. These twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. But I want you to notice something.
The first son listed is Reuben, because he was Jacob’s firstborn. Yet almost immediately, the genealogy leaves Reuben behind and begins tracing the family of Judah in detail.
That ought to make you scratch your head and ask: Why Judah?
In Bible times, the birthright normally belonged to the firstborn son. It carried privileges such as leadership of the family and a double inheritance. So if Reuben was the firstborn, wouldn’t you expect the genealogy to focus on him? But it doesn’t. And God’s Word explains why…
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 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:)
Even though Reuben was the first born, he lost the privileges that came with that because of his sin.
That’s what sin will do to you. It takes good things away and leaves you with nothing.
Joseph is the one who received the birthright, which is why his family received the double inheritance through Ephraim and Manasseh. But notice what it says next…
“…the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.”
In other words, this genealogy is not organized around the birthright. If it were, the focus would have been on Joseph. Instead, this genealogy is organized around the royal line.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
We’re going to see who that chief ruler was in a moment. But I want you to see the prophecy that was made concerning Judah all the way back in Genesis 49.
Genesis 49:8-10 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 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.
Now the picture starts coming together. Why Judah?
Not because he was the firstborn. Not because he received the birthright. But because God had already made a promise.
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come…”
The sceptre is a symbol of a king. Long before there were kings in Israel. Long before the New Testament.
God had already declared that THE King would come through Judah. That’s why 1 Chronicles chapter 2 doesn’t begin by tracing Reuben. It doesn’t follow Joseph who had the birthright. It follows Judah because hidden in this genealogy is the royal line that will lead to the Savior of the world.
But I want you to notice an interesting fact about Judah and his family. Even though it was promised that Judah would prevail above his brethren and that the chief ruler would come through him, it didn’t mean he was without sin or failure. In fact, the very first detail we’re told is not about greatness—it’s about judgment.
Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.
Think about that for a moment. God is introducing the royal family, and the first thing He tells us is that Judah’s oldest son was so wicked that the LORD Himself put him to death.
It gets even more surprising. Verse 4 says,
“And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah…”
If you don’t know that story, then you need to read Genesis 38. Judah failed in his responsibility. He was supposed to provide Tamar a husband after Er, her first husband had died. After years went by that never happened. Tamar resorted to deception. She disguised herself as a harlot (prostitute) and Judah unknowingly slept with Tamar. From that were born two sons, Pharez and Zarah.
The circumstances surrounding the birth of Pharez were shameful. Yet, through Pharez God would still continue the royal line that led to the Savior of the World. He still used an imperfect family.
God preserved those details for us. This genealogy isn’t a testimony to how good Judah’s family was.
It’s a testimony to how faithful God is. If God only used perfect people, there would be no genealogy that led to Jesus. There would be no one for Christ to descend from according to the flesh.
That’s what redemption is all about. God takes sinners who deserve judgement and, by His grace, continues His plan through them. This genealogy does not magnify man. It magnifies God’s grace and mercy. It magnifies the work of Jesus on the cross.
II. The Royal Line
1 Chronicles 2:9-24 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. 10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; 11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, 12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, 13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, 14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: 16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. 17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite. 18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. 19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur. 20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. 21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. 22 And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. 23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. 24 And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.
Now that God has shown us the chosen tribe, He begins tracing the royal line in more detail.
The genealogy begins to narrow. We started with twelve sons. Then God narrowed it down to one tribe. Now He narrows it down to one family. Let’s follow the line together.
Verse 9 tells us about Hezron. Then we come to Ram. Then Amminadab. Then Nahshon. Then Salma.
The Bible doesn’t stop to tell us the life story of every one of these men. Instead, God simply records them as another link in the chain. Every generation brought His promise one step closer to fulfillment.
Every one of these names represents another birth. Another family. Another generation. And eventually another funeral. Humanly speaking, every generation was another opportunity for God’s promise to come to an end. But it never did. Why? Because God’s promises do not depend upon man’s ability to preserve them. They depend upon God’s faithfulness to keep them.
Nahshon begat Salma. Salma is also known as Salmon in the Bible. Does anyone remember who was Salmon’s wife? Someone very special that we learned about recently in the book of Joshua. It was Rahab the harlot. Salma and Rahab begat Boaz (Which should sound familiar to you). This is the same Boaz from the book of Ruth.
Boaz begat Obed, Obed Begat Jesse. Jesse Begat David.
Think about how quietly God accomplished His work. There were no headlines in the Newspaper. There was no social media, no viral videos declaring what was happening. Just one faithful generation after another.
Now we’ve arrived at the man we’ve been waiting for. The chief ruler that was described in 1 Chronicles 5. King David.
This is the David who would become king over Israel. This is the David with whom God made an everlasting covenant. But David isn’t the end of the story. Remember the title of our sermon.
“Hidden in the Genealogy.” David isn’t the One we’ve ultimately been looking for. He was just a stepping stone that led to someone greater.
Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David…
God wasn’t preserving this family simply so there would be another king sitting on Israel’s throne.
He was preserving this family because through this royal line would come the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus Christ. That’s why all of these names are special.
So Hezron son of Pharez son of Judah, probably had no idea that one of his descendants would become King David. Boaz probably had no idea that the Messiah would come through his family. Jesse didn’t realize who is youngest overlooked son would become.
Yet all the while, God was faithfully keeping His promise. Hidden in this genealogy is the faithfulness of God.
Please remember that in your life. When you can’t see God visibly working, just remember that He is faithful no matter what is happening. No matter how hard your life seems right now. God is working things out in ways that you can’t imagine.
III. God’s Unfolding Plan
1 Chronicles 2:25-55 And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. 28 And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. 29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid. 30 And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. 31 And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai. 32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children. 33 And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.
I want you to notice something. We’ve already arrived at David. We’ve already traced the royal line.
So you would think that the chapter would end there. “Those are the important people.”
Instead, God suddenly begins talking about Jerahmeel, Caleb, and all these other families.
At first, it almost seems like we’ve taken a detour. But it’s not a detour. God is showing us that while only one branch would bring forth Christ, every branch had a place in His plan.
Not everyone in Judah’s family was part of the royal line. But they were all part of God’s work. As you continue reading through the chapter, several names stand out. One of them is Bezaleel.
1 Chronicles 2:20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.
Most people would read right past that name. But Bezaleel was the man whom God filled with wisdom and understanding to build the Tabernacle when Moses led the people out of Egypt.
He wasn’t a king. He wasn’t a prophet. He was a craftsman. Yet God used his hands to build the place where Israel would worship Him.
Then we come to another familiar name. Verse 51 mentions Bethlehem.
1 Chronicles 2:51 Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader.
At first, that may not seem important. It’s just another town in another genealogy. But if you’ve read your Bible, your ears ought to perk up when you hear the name Bethlehem. It’s one of the most important cities in the entire Bible.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Isn’t that amazing? Here in 1 Chronicles, Bethlehem is quietly mentioned as part of Judah’s family history. Hundreds of years later, Micah prophesies that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the coming Ruler. Then, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem exactly as God promised.
Then the chapter closes in verse 55 by mentioning the scribes.
1 Chronicles 2:55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
The chapter begins by preserving a genealogy. It ends by mentioning men whose job was to preserve God’s Word. Not everyone was called to wear a crown. Some were called to write. Some were called to build. Some were called to raise families. Some were called to establish cities. Some quietly served God without ever becoming well known. Yet every one of them mattered.
We often only think of the famous individuals in the Bible. David, Moses, Paul. Big names.
But this genealogy reminds us that God has always worked through ordinary people whose names most of the world has forgotten.
Some of those people that we know nothing about will be the greatest in the kingdom of God. That should encourage you. God is not a respecter of persons. History may never remember your name.
But if you are faithful where God has placed you, your life matters just as much in God’s plan.
Conclusion
At the very beginning of this sermon, I asked you a question. If God removed 1 Chronicles chapter 2 from the Bible, what would we lose? Now you should know the answer.
We wouldn’t just lose a list of names. We would lose the story of God’s faithfulness. We would lose the chosen tribe. We would lose the royal line. We would lose the testimony of God’s unfolding plan.
Most importantly, we would lose the line through which the Savior of the world came according to the flesh.
From Judah…To Pharez…To Hezron…To Ram…To Amminadab…To Nahshon…To Salma…To Boaz…To Obed…To Jesse…To David.. Generation after generation, God faithfully preserved His promise.
Not because those people were perfect. Not because they deserved it. But because God always keeps His Word.
Acts 13:22-23 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Take a look at those last words… “According to his promise…” That’s exactly what 1 Chronicles chapter 2 is showing us.
Hidden in this genealogy is not the story of perfect people. It is the story of a perfect God faithfully bringing the Redeemer into the world through imperfect people. Because He promised.
As you go from here, be thankful that you have a God that keeps His promises no matter what.
Never underestimate what God can do through one faithful life.
And finally, don’t just admire the genealogy. Put your faith in the One to whom the genealogy points.
Jesus Christ is the redeemer and savior. Once hidden in a genealogy, but now has been revealed to the entire world.
Let’s Pray
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