The Old Testament Ancestry.com

We had an inspection on our basement work today that allows us to move on to the next step, which we hope will expedite the completion of our project. After a conference call with my fellow energy organization representatives, I headed to the capitol in Denver. Traffic delay my arrival and I discovered the bill we were hoping to resurrect was given a final death. Like a losing team, we are looking toward “next year.” I ended my day, after a quick visit with my mom, at a fundraiser for Congressman Mike Coffman. It was hosted by my friends Brian and Patricia Watson. It was good to see some people that I have not seen since our move to Fort Collins.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… Abraham’s sons: Isaac and Ishmael. These are their family records:Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac’s sons: Esau and Israel.” 1 Chronicles 1:28,34 HCSB

There is something about knowing your history that seems to give meaning to your present. Today online tools provide an opportunity for people to explore their family “roots” and to discover their origins and perhaps some connections to people of history.

In the Old Testament, the Chronicles served as the connection of God’s people to their past. The genealogies in all of their detail serve to provide that connection of God’s people to their family, tribe and even to Abraham and Adam, the first man. Chronicles was the history of God’s people for a new generation that was returning from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem. They were coming to a present that had more challenges than could be imagined; but they were part of a history that had been glorious.

Connections to our past can provide some insight and significance to our present. Some today may trace their family heritage to immigrants from another country, some to those who were slaves of the past, others to leaders or pioneers or entrepreneurs or risk-takers or those who made a difference in the lives of others. Some discover a past that needs to be redeemed. All of these could be found in the lineage and genealogies of God’s people.

For God’s people they were reminded that they were part of something bigger than themselves and their immediate family or tribe. They had a history that was part of God’s design and plan for the world. They were “the people of God.” They had significance and a purpose. But that purpose had been lost and needed to be rediscovered.

Chronicles provided a new generation that insights into the generation of old. Their lives and stories are “chronicled.” Achievements are seen for what they are and failures are seen for what they are. This past is to serve as a warning and a challenge to the present generation. The past generation had opportunities, times of greatness, but lost their way. The new generation had the opportunity to have a new beginning and to redeem the purpose that God had ordained for His people. They were to build upon the good and redeem the bad.

Hebrews 11 ends with this observation of the past generation and the present, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39,40 NIV)

As we look at our lives, our families and our histories, it is important to honor the sacrifices and the example of those of the past. It is also important to resolve to chart a new course when the past did not reflect God’s best. I think of a few illustrations.

Often I have had people say something like, “my Godly mother (or grandmother) would not approve of the life I’m living.” When I heard that I want to ask, “what are you going to do about that?”

I think of those who are committed to pass “the faith” on to the next generation. They understand that “faith is fragile.” There are forces that war against God’s ways and the pull on the heart is like gravity on the body. It trends downward. Faith passed generation to generation happens by plan and intention, not by accident or genetics.

Then I think of my wife’s parents, who came from what we would call “dysfunctional” family systems. But as newly marrieds, young in their faith, they made a resolve that they would be a “change generation.” They would establish a godly life and heritage for their lives and future generations, that was either missing or in name only from their own history.

Families have many interesting dimensions of national heritage, patterns and dynamics. But the most important “family” is the family of faith that we join through relationship with Jesus Christ. That connects us to a significant past and a glorious future.