September 8 Daily Discovery - Read 1 Chronicles Chapter 5

This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).  

Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.

[1] 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:)
[3] The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hannoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
[4] The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
[5] Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
[6] Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
[7] And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
[8] And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
[9] And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
[10] And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
[11] And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah:
[12] Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
[13] And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.
[14] These are 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, chief of the house of their fathers.
[16] And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
[17] All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
[18] The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
[19] And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
[20] And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
[21] And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.
[22] For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
[23] And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
[24] And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
[25] And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
[26] And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.

God Honors Faith

Greatly honored by our faith or our trust in Him and He is honored by our faithfulness to obeying His will as well. In this text we see how God honors faith and we see how He judges faithless acts.

Reuben's Dishonoring Act

Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine. He did not do it secretly. It was not simply an act of passion but was done knowing that it would be dishonoring to his father.

Gen. 35:22

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

Lev. 18:7-8

[7] The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
[8] The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Some Jewish scholars suggest that this transgression was done hoping that he would no longer sleep with Bilhah when she had been to filed and that he would only sleep with Reuben's mother instead.  

Regardless of his rationale, this first-born son dishonored his father in the sin and as a result the firstborn's inheritance was passed to the children of Joseph.

An Enemy Army Defeated

A cursory reading of verses 19 and 20 explains why. God responded to their trust in Him. Trust and faith are the same thing.

[19] And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
[20] And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

People change, nations change, but God does not change. God still responds to faith and He is honored by faith during this time of the New Covenant as well. Think about how frequently Jesus said things like: "your faith has made you whole" or "your faith has saved you" or "according to your faith be it done to you."  Faith in God brings a connection to the power of God.

Matt. 9:27-30

[27] And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
[28] And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
[29] Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
[30] And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

Israel's Lapse into Unfaithfulness

[25] And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
[26] And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.

God considered the nation of israel to be married to him the nation was his wife. When she worshiped other gods she was committing adultery. When she went after other gods she was unfaithful to her husband, the lord.
We see a pattern develop where israel would fall into a dollar tree and then god would raise a nation to defeat israel in judgment. God would send prophets and sometimes israel would repent for a time and put away the strange gods. Inevitably they would return to idolatry and unfaithfulness to god and they would again be judged until finally god divorced them.
God would embrace a new bride under the New Covenant. Israel was to be included (and even preferred), but this new bride would be largely Gentile.

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Continue Your Search

Do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?

See: Berean Fellowship Bible Study Method