The Bible is meant to be not only understood, but applied. But how do we apply the genealogies or censuses in Scripture? David Powlison tackles this question:
These [genealogies and censuses] are directly irrelevant to your life. Your name is not on the list. The reasons for the list disappeared long ago. You gain nothing by knowing that “Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel” (1 Chron. 4:8). But when you learn to listen rightly, such lists intend many good things—and each list has a somewhat different purpose. Among the things taught are these:
- The Lord writes down names in his book of life.
- Families and communities matter to him.
- God is faithful to his promises through long history.
- He enlists his people as troops in the redemptive reconquest of a world gone bad.
- All the promises of God find their “Yes” in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).
You “apply” a list of ancient names and numbers by extension, not directly. Your love for God grows surer and more intelligent when you ponder the kind of thing this is, rather than getting lost in the blizzard of names or numbers.
-David Powlison,
Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible's Origin, Reliability, and Meaning
Interesting thought: The genealogies were no longer needed once Jesus Christ was born. They were destroyed in 70 A.D. In fact 70 A.D. was the final destruction of the O. T. system. The Jewish's last straw was when they picked Barabbas instead of Jesus.
ReplyDelete