Genealogies …
How many generations back have you been able to trace your genealogy? Did any surprises surface in your search. Some people spend a great deal of time and get great satisfaction for the search of their heredity. Some find they are distantly related to “famous individuals” while others wish they had never opened the book!
A granddaughter who had done her heritage DNA test was mystified with an unknown Italian component. She invited her maternal grandparents to have the same test done and came up with no significant southern European connections. So, she asked Marian and me to do the same test.
After weeks of waiting for results, Marian’s came back and were consistent with her known heritage - rich in Mennonite background in central Europe – no Italian. That left me. After another long wait, my results came in - I was the one carrying the Italian genes in my DNA! Mystery solved!
The Bible is replete with many genealogies, most of which we view as intrusions in the stories we want to read.
Family Bibles used to be the repository of generational records for many centuries – births, deaths, marriages – before the advent of more centralized record keeping – and this function being taken from the jurisdiction of the faith by our governments! Do we see another instance where the governments have usurped the role of church in our lives?
But these textual Biblical records, with their constant repetition, soon become boring with their strange sounding names. Are you tempted to say, “Let’s skip this section”? Or, as some wont to say, “This is so-o-o-o boring!”
For example: “These are the generations of the sons…” and “When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.” On and on the genealogies seem to go. What value do they have for us in the 21st century? Names we can hardly pronounce from a historic period we know little about and have even less interest in knowing.
Incidentally, if you take the meaning of the names in the genealogy in Genesis 5 in the order given, you get the summary of the Gospel! Chuck Missler was the one who pointed this out originally.
https://www.khouse.org/articles/1996/44
We’ve spent considerable time with the aspect of Melchizedek in the last few days. Starting with Abram we came to realize the union of the priestly and kingly functions which continued into the life of Joseph, whose father was Jacob. (Genesis 37:3)
With the advent of the nation of Israel there was a division of these two into separate roles within the community. This division continued for some 1500 years until the time of Jesus.
We have read that He was of the order of Melchizedek and in him the royal and priestly functions were once again united. This new combination is the line into which we are grafted!
Peter catches this nuance in 2:9 when he writes, “But you are a chosen race, a priesthood of kingly lineage, [kingly priests or royal priesthood] …”. (my additions from other translations).
When we dig back into the genealogy of Jesus we find: Matthew 1:16, “… and Jacob, the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.”
Could it be that this similarity indicates the Melchizedekian royal priesthood which moved into the shadows after Joseph, re-emerges in Jesus following a later Joseph, both of whose fathers were named Jacob?
Heritage holds secrets both biblically and personally!