The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.
The verse belongs to the long lists of names that fill page after page in the first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles. It names the sons of Naphtali — Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum — and identifies them as the sons of Bilhah. Like those lists, it is seldom read in family worship or private devotion, and its value is hard to understand.
Its presence does not deny that the whole Bible is inspired and made by God as the guide for the human race. Not every part of Scripture is equally interesting and valuable to all persons and under all circumstances, for this genealogy was placed there for all classes and not for one class only. It holds deep things to attract and interest scholars, like gold in rock reserved for costly working so that interest in the mines never ceases. It records the origin and distribution of races for those who would study ethnology.
Pearls of spiritual truth are scattered along the way by which God leads such students of human knowledge, so that many seeking only human knowledge find what is divine. It illustrates the careful preservation of family and tribal records in Israel. Its inclusion in the genealogical record illustrates that God keeps a faithful record of each soul in heaven.
The verse belongs to the long lists of names that fill page after page in the first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles. It names the sons of Naphtali — Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum — and identifies them as the sons of Bilhah. Like those lists, it is seldom read in family worship or private devotion, and its value is hard to understand.
Its presence does not deny that the whole Bible is inspired and made by God as the guide for the human race. Not every part of Scripture is equally interesting and valuable to all persons and under all circumstances, for this genealogy was placed there for all classes and not for one class only. It holds deep things to attract and interest scholars, like gold in rock reserved for costly working so that interest in the mines never ceases. It records the origin and distribution of races for those who would study ethnology.
Pearls of spiritual truth are scattered along the way by which God leads such students of human knowledge, so that many seeking only human knowledge find what is divine. It illustrates the careful preservation of family and tribal records in Israel. Its inclusion in the genealogical record illustrates that God keeps a faithful record of each soul in heaven.