1 Chronicles 2-3

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Genealogies from Jacob to the Babylonian Captivity

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The genealogy from Jacob to David is important.

  2. The genealogy from David to the captivity is important.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t be a troubler in your church or fellowship group.

QUESTIONS

  1. What is God’s main purpose for including these genealogies in Scripture?

  2. How does Genesis 3:15 relate to this passage? Why is it important to show that the Messiah came through Abraham and David?

  3. Why would these genealogies have been encouraging to the original Jewish audience?

  4. Review the story of Judah and Tamar.

  5. Recall the interesting historical facts about the Caleb mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:18.

  6. How was the curse of Jeremiah 22:30 fulfilled?

ANSWERS

  1. They show us that Jesus the Messiah descended from Adam through the line of Abraham and the line of David.

  2. In Genesis 3:15 God declared that the One who would conquer Satan and bring salvation to mankind had to be Human. He had to come through the lines of Abraham and David in order to fulfill the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

  3. These genealogies were written after the return of the captives from Babylon. God had not forgotten His people in spite of their sinful ways. His promises were still good, and the genealogies supported this truth.

  4. Judah had five sons. Er and Onan died because of sin, leaving Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, a widow. Judah was supposed to give his third son, Shelah, to Tamar when he came of age, but he did not. Therefore Tamar tricked Judah himself into a relationship by pretending to be a prostitute. As a result, twin boys, Perez and Zerah, were born as sons of Judah. It was through Perez that the Messianic line was traced through David.

  5. This is not Caleb who was the faithful spy at the time of Moses, but this is an ancestor of that Caleb. This Caleb was the great-grandfather of Bezalel who became the master craftsman in charge of making all the tabernacle items. By his wife Ephrathah, Caleb was also the great grandfather of a man named Bethlehem. The birthplace of the Messiah is a town called Bethlehem Ephrathah.

  6. Jeconiah (2 Chronicles 3:17) is another name for King Jehoiachim, who Jeremiah said would have no physical descendants sit on the throne of David. Zerubbabel (verse 19), a descendant of Jehoiachim, led Israel back from the Babylonian Captivity, but he never ruled as king. The Lord Jesus, because of His virgin birth is not a physical descendant of Jehoiachim, even though He has the legal right to the throne through him.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

CHALLENGE

  1. Achan has a reputation as troubler of Israel, and his sin led to Israel’s defeat at Ai. Are you a troubler in your church? Is the rest of the body hurting because of your sin?

KEY VERSES

  • “These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.” 1 Chronicles 2:1-2

  • “These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.” 1 Chronicles 3:9

1 Chronicles, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid1 CHRONICLES 2-3