Read 1 Chronicles 6
Highlights:
Descendants of Levi; Temple singers and keepers appointed; descendants of Aaron; cities of Levites; genealogies continued.
And the number throughout the genealogy . . . was twenty and six thousand men (I Chr. 7:40).
The name of every individual, as well as the family and tribe to which they belonged, was carefully registered. There is a striking difference in the character of the men who are mentioned in these chapters. Some were devoted to their God-given responsibilities, while others profaned their holy calling.
Aaron was a devoted priest, but his sons were hypocrites. Samuel was a godly judge, but his sons were evil. For years, Abiathar was a high priest, but he later became a traitor to King David (I Kin. 1:7; 2:25-35). What a strange mixture of devout saints and sinful, undisciplined men! What a contrast between heaven-born beginnings and forfeited opportunities. This is a perfect example of why we can never let our guard down against the enemy. We know from the truth of God's Word that one minute we can be walking on water, but when we take our eyes off Jesus, suddenly we can be drowning (Matt. 14:28-30). This is why it is so important to become a student of the Word of God and read it every single day (II Tim. 2:15).
The long, uninteresting list of names shows us that God does not look on mankind as a crowd of human beings which populate our world. In fact, He is so concerned over us that even the hairs on our head were numbered by Him (Matt. 10:30). God looks at us as the individuals that we are. He also rewards us and judges us each on our own individual strengths and shortcomings. He knows each of us by name, and whether our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 21:27) or if we will face the great white throne judgment.
Our relationship with Jesus Christ is a personal one. No person has ever been given heaven's rewards based on the actions of his family and friends. Likewise, no one is in hell today unless they, themselves, made the choice to reject the free gift of eternal life that Jesus offers. Our outcome in eternity depends upon the decision we make to either choose Christ or something other than Christ. The issue is that outside of Jesus all hope for eternal life is lost. Jesus said: I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me (John 14:6).
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works (Rev. 20:12).
Thought for Today:
Can you pray, "Lord, I want nothing outside of Your will"?
Christ Revealed:
By the cities of . . . refuge (I Chr. 6:57, also 67,71-72,78,80). For a person to have protection from the avenger of blood, he had to flee to a city of refuge. God provided His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to be our Refuge from His judgment against our sin. (Compare John 3:14-18; 10:24-30; Gal. 2:16; 3:1-14; Heb. 10:1-18; I John 2:2; Rev. 1:5.) When, by faith, in obedience to His Word, we come to Christ, He becomes our Refuge (Heb. 6:18-20).
Word Studies:
6:32 waited on, performed service in; 6:66 residue, balance; 6:74 suburbs, pasturelands; 7:23 it went evil with, tragedy had happened to his family; 7:24 nether, lower.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Broadcasts in memory of Henry Rogers • Government Officials: Gov. John Richard Kasich (OH) and Rep. Chris P. Gibson (NY) • Country: Cyprus (754,000) in the Middle East • Major languages: Greek and Turkish • No open evangelism or conversions to Christ • 75% Greek Orthodox; 19% Muslim; 1% Protestant; 1% Roman Catholic • Prayer Suggestion: Lift up your prayers to the Lord as incense before God (Rev. 8:3-4).
Optional Reading: Romans 16
Memory Verse for the Week: 2 Corinthians 8:9