Do you still skip over the longer genealogical lists when reading your Bible, thinking they may have importance to someone, somewhere, sometime, but have little significance to you? Remember as a young person making resolutions to read completely through your Bible—and giving up when you felt you just could not make it through the longer lists of so-and-so begat so-and-so who begat so-and-so?
The Bible does not have a shortage of genealogical references. They abound! In fact there are many hundreds, even thousands of such references, from long lists of “begats” to simple references to “son of” or “father of.”
I’m not going to try to force you to read every word of every Biblical genealogy, nor do I intend to lay a guilt trip on you for skipping over names you have no clue how to pronounce. However, I do think it is important to understand and consider that these genealogical lists are of vital significance in a great variety of ways. The most obvious evidence for this is the very fact that these lists are included by God’s design and decree in the God-breathed Scriptures!
What are some of the significances of genealogical references and lists in the Bible? Among others, we should consider the following:
- Genealogical references always ultimately lead us to acknowledge God as Creator of every person in His image. The conclusion of Luke’s genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 is the finale to every person’s genealogy when it is fully developed: “the son of Adam, the son of God.” Thus, as Paul related to the philosophers in the Areopagus of Athens, it is God who “gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,…” (Acts 17:25-26). Whether you skip reading the long lists of names or not, when you come to genealogies you do well to use them as reminders of the fact that God is the sovereign Creator of every person listed, having made that person in His own image.
- Genealogical references reflect the absolute, providential sovereignty of God. Among my favorite genealogical references are those of Ruth 4:18-22, Matthew 1:5-6 and Luke 3:31-32, informing us about how the Lord providentially included the harlot Rahab and the Moabitess Ruth among the ancestors of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I take great comfort in the reminder that God forgives and uses in noteworthy ways repentant sinners like Rahab. I cherish the fact that God includes among His people those who were not naturally-born Israelites but who are of the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16). I am in awe of God as I see unfolded in His Word how He narrows His initial promise of a Conqueror over Satan and sin (Genesis 3:15) to the line of Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, then David, ultimately showing its fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah.
- Which leads to the related observation that genealogical descendancy is the basis for a number of important Biblical prophecies/promises, making genealogical lists the record of prophetic/promise fulfillment. God’s declaration to the serpent and His promises relating to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David are all contingent on descendancy and ancestry. When we read the related genealogical lists, we are beholding solid grounds for praising God for His faithfulness to His promises as well as for His sovereign ability to do whatever He pleases.
- Another realization which should be gained from tracing through Biblical genealogies is that these genealogical references reflect the importance of family in God’s design for mankind. Family lineage was the standard basis for inheriting the authority to rule as king, the privilege of serving as priest, the right to receive inheritance. Undoubtedly this earthly reality is intended to highlight the eternal importance of being part of the family of the redeemed of the Lord, through which we gain the privileges of reigning with Christ and worshiping God as priests under Christ’s high priesthood.
Much more could be said, but perhaps these factors will lead you to give more attention to the genealogies of Scripture—or at least to ponder the important roles they play even while you skip over those hard-to-pronounce names!
© 2019 by James A. Odens