1 Chronicles 5 – 9
Verses 5:1 – 2 bring up another reference to Ruben being the first born:
1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was 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 he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
The “birthright” and order have always interested me in the Bible. Ruben was first born and therefore had the birthright, but ticked Jacob off and it was given to Joseph. I wonder if part of that was Ruben’s mother was Jacob’s least favorite. Also remember Jacob and Esau had a struggle for the birthright, so it obviously order and “tradition” had less importance to Jacob.
So what does that mean to our nation today? Well since most families have one or two children, the “birthright” is not as important. Also, the idea of equitable distribution of assets between the surviving family members is the way things are done today. The first born rarely gets the lion’s share. I guess this part of the reason stories like this tend to pass me without much attention, even Jacob and Esau. I never got the importance of that position.
Verse 5:25 talks about a breaking of one of the “tribes”:
But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.
This is about the half-tribe of Manasseh together with the tribe of Ephraim formed the house of Joseph. I just find it interesting that these people tended to drift and may be the root of much of the problems as time progresses. Not sure on that but they seem to be the first of the 12 tribes mentioned that does this.
Or maybe it’s just man’s nature to drift from God and get in their own heads what is right. I know many “cults” and new-age beliefs have us trying to become a “god” since technically if we are the image of God we can therefore become like Him. If you are rooted in Christ you know how this is folly, but it’s something that on can quickly justify themselves into believing.
You get into religions like Scientology or books like The Secret where one learns to use their “energy” to tap into the “infinite” resources of the universe, one can quickly believe that they can become a “god”. You may have years of prayers to God that appear to go unanswered, then suddenly wealth and fame are at your disposal. Most of the time these “mindsets” are from “snake oil” sales men, who promote an allusion of easily obtained wealth.
That I feel is one of the most dangerous “diseases” to our connection with God these days. We get caught up in something that promises what we want and appears to provide a simple path. We follow it, with some success and then slowly start to drift away from the idea of asking it in Jesus’ name and then start calling on our own name and “power.”
Verse 9:22 picks up an interesting concept of protection:
All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were 212. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer established them in their office of trust.
This was the selection of a group of special individuals that were entrusted with protecting the nation’s holy ground. Think about the screening that must have been done through millions, or you may “narrow” it to the 604,000 fighting men, it’s still a daunting task. There were really “a few good men” to take a slogan from the United States Marine Corps.