Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Wednesday after the Sixth Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: 1 Chronicles 1-5 (NKJV)

1:1 Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech,

4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

6 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Diphath, and Togarmah.

7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshishah, Kittim, and Rodanim.

8 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

9 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabtecha.

The sons of Raama were Sheba and Dedan.

10 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

11 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 12 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and the Caphtorim).

13 Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth; 14 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 15 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 16 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.

17 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

18 Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber.

19 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

20 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,

25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,

26 Serug, Nahor, Terah,

27 and Abram, who is Abraham.

28 The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.

29 These are their genealogies:

The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

32 Now the sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.

33 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

34 And Abraham begot Isaac.

The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.

35 The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

36 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, and Kenaz; and by Timna, Amalek.

37 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

38 The sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

39 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Lotan’s sister was Timna.

40 The sons of Shobal were Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam.

The sons of Zibeon were Ajah and Anah.

41 The son of Anah was Dishon.

The sons of Dishon were Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

42 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan.

The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

43 Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel:

Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

44 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

45 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

46 And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.

47 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

48 And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place.

49 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

50 And when Baal-Hanan died, Hadad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pai. His wife’s name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

51 Hadad died also. And the chiefs of Edom were Chief Timnah, Chief Aliah, Chief Jetheth, 52 Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 53 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 54 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

2:1 These were the sons of Israel:

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

3 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by the daughter of Shua, the Canaanitess. Er, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so He killed him.

4 And Tamar, his daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.

5 The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

6 The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara—five of them in all.

7 The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing.

8 The son of Ethan was Azariah. 9 Also the sons of Hezron who were born to him were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.

10 Ram begot Amminadab, and Amminadab begot Nahshon, leader of the children of Judah;

11 Nahshon begot Salma, and Salma begot Boaz;

12 Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse;

13 Jesse begot Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, 14 Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh.

16 Now their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail.

And the sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel—three.

17 Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

18 Caleb the son of Hezron had children by Azubah, his wife, and by Jerioth.

Now these were her sons:

Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon.

19 When Azubah died, Caleb took Ephrath as his wife, who bore him Hur.

20 And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezalel.

21 Now afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub.

22 Segub begot Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead.

23 (Geshur and Syria took from them the towns of Jair, with Kenath and its towns—sixty towns.) All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.

24 After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Hezron’s wife Abijah bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.

25 The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram, the firstborn, and Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.

27 The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.

The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. 29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid.

30 The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim; Seled died without children.

31 The son of Appaim was Ishi, the son of Ishi was Sheshan, and Sheshan’s child was Ahlai.

32 The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jonathan; Jether died without children.

33 The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza.

These were the sons of Jerahmeel.

34 Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as wife, and she bore him Attai.

36 Attai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot Zabad;

37 Zabad begot Ephlal, and Ephlal begot Obed;

38 Obed begot Jehu, and Jehu begot Azariah;

39 Azariah begot Helez, and Helez begot Eleasah;

40 Eleasah begot Sismai, and Sismai begot Shallum;

41 Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot Elishama.

42 The descendants of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha, his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.

43 The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema.

44 Shema begot Raham the father of Jorkoam, and Rekem begot Shammai.

45 And the son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.

46 Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begot Gazez.

47 And the sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

48 Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah.

49 She also bore 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 descendants of Caleb:

The sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, were Shobal the father of Kirjath Jearim,

51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.

52 And Shobal the father of Kirjath Jearim had descendants: Haroeh, and half of the families of Manuhoth.

53 The families of Kirjath Jearim were the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites.

54 The sons of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahethites, and the Zorites.

55 And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

3:1 Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron:

The firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;

the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess;

2 the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;

the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital;

the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah.

4 These six were born to him in Hebron.

There he reigned seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

5 And these were born to him in Jerusalem:

Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon—four by Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel.

6 Also there were Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet—nine in all.

9 These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.

10 Solomon’s son was Rehoboam;

Abijah was his son,

Asa his son,

Jehoshaphat his son,

11 Joram his son,

Ahaziah his son,

Joash his son,

12 Amaziah his son,

Azariah his son,

Jotham his son,

13 Ahaz his son,

Hezekiah his son,

Manasseh his son,

14 Amon his son,

and Josiah his son.

15 The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn,

the second Jehoiakim,

the third Zedekiah,

and the fourth Shallum.

16 The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son and Zedekiah his son.

17 And the sons of Jeconiah were Assir, Shealtiel his son, 18 and Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

19 The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam, Hananiah, Shelomith their sister, 20 and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed—five in all.

21 The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, and the sons of Shechaniah.

22 The son of Shechaniah was Shemaiah.

The sons of Shemaiah were Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat—six in all.

23 The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hezekiah, and Azrikam—three in all.

24 The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani—seven in all.

4:1 The sons of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begot Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad.

These were the families of the Zorathites.

3 These were the sons of the father of Etam:

Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi; 4 and Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.

These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah the father of Bethlehem.

5 And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari.

These were the sons of Naarah.

7 The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar, and Ethnan; 8 and Koz begot Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.

9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

11 Chelub the brother of Shuhah begot Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

12 And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-Nahash.

These were the men of Rechah.

13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah.

The sons of Othniel were Hathath, 14 and Meonothai who begot Ophrah.

Seraiah begot Joab the father of Ge Harashim, for they were craftsmen.

15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam.

The son of Elah was Kenaz.

16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 (His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.

19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maachathite.

20 And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea; 22 also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem. Now the records are ancient.

23 These were the potters and those who dwell at Netaim and Gederah; there they dwelt with the king for his work.

24 The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul, 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son.

26 And the sons of Mishma were Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, and Shimei his son.

27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did any of their families multiply as much as the children of Judah.

28 They dwelt at Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim.

These were their cities until the reign of David.

32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five cities—33 and all the villages that were around these cities as far as Baal.

These were their dwelling places, and they maintained their genealogy:

34 Meshobab, Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah;

35 Joel, and Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel;

36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, and Benaiah;

37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah—38 these mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and their father’s house increased greatly.

39 So they went to the entrance of Gedor, as far as the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

40 And they found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, quiet, and peaceful; for some Hamites formerly lived there.

41 These recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and they attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and utterly destroyed them, as it is to this day.

So they dwelt in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks there.

42 Now some of them, five hundred men of the sons of Simeon, went to Mount Seir, having as their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated the rest of the Amalekites who had escaped.

They have dwelt there to this day.

5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright;

2 yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s—3 the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

4 The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites.

7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was registered: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. 9 Eastward they settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.

10 Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead.

11 And the children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salcah:

12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan, 13 and their brethren of their father’s house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all.

14 These were the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;

15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house.

16 And the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the common-lands of Sharon within their borders.

17 All these were registered by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

18 The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war.

19 They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him.

21 Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men; 22 for many fell dead, because the war was God’s.

And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

23 So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land.

Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir, or Mount Hermon.

24 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses:

Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers’ houses.

25 And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

Devotion

Unlike the Gilgamesh Epic and other made-up tales from antiquity, the holy Scriptures are not humanly-devised stories to explain natural occurrences. “Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). 1 Chronicles begins with the genealogical record of “Adam, Seth, Enosh…,” followed by lots and lots of names. These are the names of historical men through whom our Lord was working out his plan of salvation. St. Paul tells us, “And God [He] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring'” (Acts 17:26-28).

St. Paul told Timothy that the purpose of the Holy Scriptures is “to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Scriptures include not only theological explanations, but also historical narratives, poetry and even genealogies. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:15-17). With the fulfillment of our salvation in Jesus Christ, the genealogies have achieved their purpose.

O Lord God, lead us to find our Savior Jesus Christ in all the words of Your Scriptures. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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