1 CHRONICLES 1:1 – 3:24 and JOHN 16:1–33
1 Chr 1
The beginning of Chronicles lays out the lineage of man from the beginning. We first see Adam, the first man, traced through to the time of Noah which is 10 generations. It does not include Cain and Abel as it picks up from the time of Seth. Their lineage did not carry through the flood. At the time of Noah we do see a division made amongst his sons. The sons of Japheth are covered in verses 5 thru 7. The sons of Ham are picked up in verses 8 thru 16. The sons of Shem are covered from verse 17 onwards. There is a defining moment in the lives of the sons of Noah as seen in the following verses:
Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
A curse came upon the lineage of Ham through Canaan, one of his sons as a result of the exploitation of his father Noah. This sin of Ham allowed for Satan to gain a foothold through Nimrod, the founder of Babel. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah and he is noted as being mighty upon earth in verse 10. This is the first person listed where more than just his name is mentioned. Nimrod was instrumental in rallying men to rebel against God at Babel. It was here where God had to intervene by breaking the power of man through the use of different languages. Ham had another son by the name of Canaan. It is through Canaan where we see the establishment of the Jebusite, Amorite and other assorted enemies of Israel. The enemy gained an inroad through the exploitation of Noah through Ham at the time of his drunkenness. That event provides a powerful insight to how things will play out in the last days. Nimrod is a type of the antichrist who will come on the scene. He projects a leadership and influence that will unite a people in rebellion against God. In a moment we will see a linkage between an offspring of Ham to an offspring of Shem that will have damaging consequences all the way up till the last days.
It is the line of Shem that is given the emphasis due to its link to Israel. There are approximately 400 years from the death of Noah till the call of Abraham. There are 10 generations that separate Noah from Abraham. In verse 28 we see the two sons of Abraham mentioned which are Isaac and Ishmael. In verses 29 thru 33 we see the genealogy of Abraham’s sons that are not related to the promised seed of Isaac. These would be the sons that Abraham had through Hagar and Keturah. Hagar was the handmaiden of Sarah that was given to Abram to bring forth seed so as to fulfill the word of the Lord given to Abram. It was an act initiated by Sarah (Gen 16:1-3). The fruit of this act was Ishmael which is noted in verse 29. Who was Hagar? She was an Egyptian whose lineage can be traced back to Ham. It was a linkage of Abram who came from the line of Seth to Hagar who comes from the line of Ham. This is noteworthy due to Abram seeking to bring to pass the Word of the Lord through an act of the flesh. The Lord made clear that His covenant would be established through a son who would come forth through Sarah (Gen 17:19). Ishmael had sons, one of them being Kedar (vs 29). He was the second son of Ishmael. Interestingly a revered prophet who is celebrated today can trace his roots all the way back to Kedar, son of Ishmael, son of Abram, son of Ham via Hagar the Egyptian. We see today that the respective seeds of Ishmael and Isaac are at war and it came about as the result of Abram trying to fulfil God’s eternal promise through the work of the flesh. This alliance was a result of a linkage between the offspring of Ham and the offspring of Shem.
The chronology continues up to the time of Esau and Jacob. There is considerable mention of the offspring of Esau which formed the kingdom of Edom. The chronology of Esau is covered from verses 35-54. There needs to be consideration given to Esau seeing that he was the first-born and entitled to the birthright. The forfeiture was the result of two things: First, Esau was a man who was given to appetites. The things of God meant little to him as we saw when he sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge. What does our relationship to God mean to us? He clearly took his relationship for granted. Do you think we see Esau type “Christianity” today?
The offspring of Esau manifest’s this tendency in greater measure. Amalek, who was a constant plague to Israel, comes forth from Esau. Amalek speaks of the works of the flesh and there will come a time when God would look to destroy them once and for all (1 Sam 15). The second event centers on Jacob’s deceit in obtaining the birthright. The Word of the Lord was clear that the elder would serve the younger (Gen 25:23) but it was never meant to be obtained by deceit. This nature had to be addressed even though the objective of receiving the birthright was realized. There would be a period of about 20 years where Jacob would be serving under his Uncle Laban who was even a greater deceiver than he was. Jacob was given a new name after this work was accomplished, after he came forth from his Babylon. The genealogy of Jacob is picked up in chapter 2.
1 Chr 2
The 12 sons of Jacob are mentioned in the beginning of chapter 2. The focus turns to the sons of Judah beginning in verse 3 which is the lineage from which Christ will come forth. The line follows through to verse 17 which brings us to the time of David. The balance of the chapter traces the lineage of other members from Israel. The sons of Hezron are covered from vs 9 through the end of the chapter. His son Ram is mentioned from vs 10-17 which is the line from which David came. The other sons of Hezron which are Jerahmeel and Caleb are covered in the balance of the chapter.
1 Chr 3
The sons of David born in Hebron are mentioned. There are 6 different sons mentioned and each of them came from different wives. We mentioned earlier that David, though a righteous and godly king after God’s heart had one primary failure. It was his multiple wives which was a violation of one of the law of kings as seen in Deuteronomy 17:17. Of these 6 sons, 2 in particular caused David great problems. The first would be Absalom, born from Maachah who rose to prominence after David’s sin with Bathsheba. His influence was strong as he conspired to assume the throne. He stole the hearts of the people by listening and speaking to the people’s needs (2 Sam 15:3, 6).
Absalom helps to give a picture of the antichrist that will arise in the last days. Absalom was given such a platform due to David’s sin as well as having multiple wives. As David’s life was drawing to a close another of his Hebron sons rose up against him. Adonijah, David’s son through Haggith, asserted himself to become king since it was yet to be publicly determined as to whom the next king would be (1 Kings 1:5). This conspiracy was so strong that it drew Joab who was David’s general to his side in addition to one of his key priests named Abiathar. Once again, Adonijah helps to provide a picture of the last day man of sin.
It is important to note that significant figures aligned with the usurper. It is even more important to note that significant figures sided with David and the man of his choosing which was Solomon. David reigned in Hebron for a period of 7 ½ years and it was during this period when he had the 6 sons referred to above. David then reigned in Jerusalem for a period of 33 years and the sons born to him there are covered from verse 5 onwards. One of those sons would be Solomon who is mentioned in verse 10. The lineage of Solomon reveals the kings of Judah up through verse 17. The lineage picks up from Jeconiah who was the son of Jehoiakim (vs 16-17) who brings forth Salathiel who then brings forth Zerubbabel. This is also referenced in Math 1:12.
Mat 1:12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
John 16
This extraordinary discourse continues between the Lord and His disciples. Jesus is now going to address the subject of offenses. He warns them to not be surprised when being cast out of synagogues due to speaking and teaching the truth. There will even be those who will seek to kill God’s servants thinking that they are actually doing his will. Does this sound a bit familiar today? Who would have ever thought that in many modern countries today a pulpit or church can be shut down for speaking truth. It is not just a third world problem anymore; in fact there are often more freedoms in these places than in modern society. Laws and standards are being rewritten which are at variance with God. The hedge of protection has lifted as evil escalates worldwide. The Lord makes clear that the same ones that hate Him will also hate them.
The Lord then speaks about his departing from them, not just in His death but in His ascension soon afterwards. He recognizes their sorrow due to being rudderless, knowing that He as their Lord will no longer be leading them. These past few chapters the Lord has demonstrated the challenges and realities of what they would be facing. One could easily understand the confusion, doubt and sorrow that these men would be experiencing. It appears the Lord is deliberately doing this so that he can begin to speak of the attributes of the third person of the godhead, the Holy Spirit. He then shares that it is expedient and necessary for Him to go to the Father otherwise the Holy Spirit cannot come in the fullness of His role. Let’s use the analogy of Jesus and John the Baptist when the Lord appeared at Jordan. Here is the key verse:
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
John’s earthly ministry was now coming to an end so that the way could be paved for the Lord. John had to step aside in order for the Lord to enter into the fullness of His role. It was at this time when John baptized the Lord to fulfil righteousness. The Lord is the one who baptizes a believer in the Holy Ghost. It is like an introduction that Jesus conducts with the purpose and intent of immersing the believer in the person of the Holy Spirit; similar to when we are immersed at water baptism. This does not mean that Jesus decreases but it does mean a decreasing in His earthly role as the Son of man in the way He interacts with man. This paves the way for the Holy Spirit to become the enabler, the means by which we can fulfil all that God desires to do in and through our lives. He is the one who can help and assist in the very areas that Jesus has been speaking of in these previous chapters. This is the reason why Jesus says that he must go the Father. Jesus, as the Son of man has not only become the sin sacrifice but as the Son of man has showed us how we can live as Christ and become like Him. This is why the church will be able to do even greater things than the Lord did. What else will the Holy Spirit be doing?
He will be the one who reproves the world of sin (vs 8). It will be (should be) through the vehicle of the church where sin is exposed and addressed. One has to wonder though when seeing the compromise and lack of standards that prevails in many church settings today. The Holy Spirit will also address the subject of righteousness. In scripture there are two kinds of righteousness that are seen. There is the “imputed” righteousness which is experienced at the time of salvation. We are righteous by reason of the Lord’s righteousness which is obtained by faith. The Holy Spirit will have the ability to cultivate “imparted” righteousness as we seek to walk in Truth and the light. The work of the Spirit is so great that it can bring us to a place where we can be like the Lamb Himself. Are we getting a better understanding as to why the Lord is making the case about His leaving them so that the Comforter can come? The Holy Spirit has many names one of them being “The Spirit of Truth”. He is a teacher and has the ability to lead us into all truth as well as have that Truth applied to our lives. After all of this explanation many of the disciples still were not getting it. They did not understand the portion of the Lord leaving them so the Lord responds by speaking of a woman who is in travail. She is in great pain and anguish at the point of birth but all is forgotten once that promise of joy comes forth (vs 20-21). The Lord acknowledges that there will be sorrow and pain but does give the promise of sorrow being turned into joy. You often see this throughout scripture; before true joy is realized there is pain, darkness or even lamenting of sin (Neh 8:8-10, Psa 30:5). One of the names given to the last great Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast of Joy. It often comes after a period of barrenness and suffering.
Jesus speaks again of the relationship he has with His Father and the desire of the Father to answer those who call upon Him in Jesus name (vs 23). The Father loves those who receive and love the Son. The Son came into the world because of His love for man and He returns to His Father in that same love for Him. This time the disciples have a better understanding of what the Lord is speaking. It all boils down to the 2 great commandments:
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The Lord closes by saying that in the world there will be turbulence and unrest. Men will be in fear by all that is taking place around them. The Lord assures His disciples that He has overcome the world in the midst of tribulation; the fruit of peace being the portion for His people. The Peace of God will be on one of the most precious commodities sought after in these last days.