And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur.
This verse stands in the carefully kept family line of Judah, the tribe through which Christ came. That line was kept to preserve descent from household to household, because after the exile such written proof was required to establish a person's hereditary right to land and to a share in temple service. Its long tables of names trace out the origin and spread of peoples, and they are the kind of lists that some readers find hard to follow or of little use, a reminder that not every part of the Bible is equally interesting or serviceable to every reader.
It belongs to the rolls of the sons of Judah that deal with plain men and women who lived and died and have been forgotten by men for thousands of years. Its presence there means that God remembers each one by name, whether they prospered or failed. Since God does not change, He still keeps individual names laid away safe and sure in His own books today, and that keeping brings comfort to the downhearted who feel unknown and forgotten.
This verse stands in the carefully kept family line of Judah, the tribe through which Christ came. That line was kept to preserve descent from household to household, because after the exile such written proof was required to establish a person's hereditary right to land and to a share in temple service. Its long tables of names trace out the origin and spread of peoples, and they are the kind of lists that some readers find hard to follow or of little use, a reminder that not every part of the Bible is equally interesting or serviceable to every reader.
It belongs to the rolls of the sons of Judah that deal with plain men and women who lived and died and have been forgotten by men for thousands of years. Its presence there means that God remembers each one by name, whether they prospered or failed. Since God does not change, He still keeps individual names laid away safe and sure in His own books today, and that keeping brings comfort to the downhearted who feel unknown and forgotten.