1 Chronicles 7
1 Chronicles 7 closes the genealogy of the tribes. The sons of Issachar come first. They "had many wives and sons" (1 Chron. 7:4). The numbering of the men of war begins with Issachar. In this tribe, the number of men of war continued to increase from the time of the establishment of the kingship. In David's time it was 22,600 men, then 36,000 men; and finally, because of their many wives, 87,000 men (1 Chron. 7:5). A second favorable trait of this tribe is that they took care of their genealogies, for we are told that all these men were registered by genealogy (1 Chron. 7:5). Finally, a third feature is mentioned only in connection with Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher: "valiant men of might," fit to go out to war.
The tribe of Benjamin had the same features as those of Issachar: Care for their genealogies, and mighty men of valor, but this latter feature was outstanding in this little tribe, so intimately united to the kingdom of Judah at Jerusalem. Three times they are called by this name (1 Chron. 7:7,9 11). This reminds us of Christ's character as waging war and conquering. Benjamin is the prophetic type of Him, and is so directly associated with the royal tribe of Judah that they are never separated from it. As Benjamin's antitype Christ comes up from Bozrah, his garments dyed with blood, to establish his reign (Isa. 63:1-6). Benjamin is "fit for service for war" (1 Chron. 7:11). We shall see him appearing a second time under other circumstances.
Naphtali, Bilhah's son, does not seem to have shown any interest in his genealogy (1 Chron. 7:13). His descendants are scarcely mentioned, and still less, the number of his men of war.
Manasseh, that is to say, the half-tribe beyond the Jordan, comes next. Here, as elsewhere in these genealogies, women are referred to continually, one more proof that these genealogies were put together only after the captivity, amid the irregularities that characterized Israel's ruin. Through the female line of descent indicators could be established so as to retrace a genealogy, whereas a normal state of affairs would not have required such mentions. Thirteen women are alluded to in these few verses (1 Chron. 7:14-19), including the five daughters of Zelophehad.
Some words concerning these latter would not be inappropriate. They are mentioned five times in the course of biblical history (Num. 26:33; 27:1-11;36:3-12; Josh. 17:3-6: 1 Chron. 7:15), proof of the important place they occupy in God's thoughts. Not one of their names is forgotten; they are Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Num. 26:33). In Num. 27 we notice several interesting details about them. First, they recognized that their abnormal condition was the result of their father's sin. Although "he was not in the band of them that banded themselves together against Jehovah in the band of Korah," yet he "died in the wilderness," and "died in his own sin," and this was the reason why "he had no sons" (Num. 27:3). Nonetheless his five daughters desire to perpetuate their father's name; as true daughters of Israel they value their genealogy and, consequently, their inheritance. The Lord waits to set their situation in order until they express this need before Him (cf. Num. 26:33 with Num. 27:2).
He answers them when they stand "before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the tent of meeting" (Num. 27:2), and when Moses "brought their cause before Jehovah" (Num. 27:5). God says: "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right." Wherever there is zeal to appropriate God's blessings and promises, an answer is sure. But the Lord gives them much more than they were asking. He conveys the inheritance of their father to them and adds a clause containing four articles to His law—these weak women are the occasion for this—which becomes "unto the children of Israel a statute of right." "And unto the children of Israel shalt thou speak," says the Lord, "saying: (1) If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. (2) And if he have no daughter, ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. (3) And if he have no brethren, ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. (4) And if his father have no brethren, ye shall give his inheritance to his kinsman that is nearest to him in his family, and he shall possess it" (Num. 27:8-11). Besides the precepts set down in the law, God thus gives a special revelation in response to the desire expressed by some daughters of Israel. This desire had His approbation, and it was necessary in order for them to be able to enter into the possession of their inheritance.
In Num. 27 the daughters of Zelophehad themselves had presented their petition before God, but in Num. 36, Manasseh, the entire tribe to which they belonged, inspired by the zeal of these women, pleads for them before Moses and the princes. The high priest who could intercede for them before the tent of meeting is not found here: Manasseh itself has turned intercessor in favor of the daughters of its people. The tribe is just as zealous to see its inheritance remain complete, without impairment, as the daughters of Zelophehad had been zealous to possess it. The Lord is pleased to acknowledge how right Manasseh's desire is.
He declares: "The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well" (Num. 36:5), just as in Num. 27. He had acknowledged that the daughters of Zelophehad had spoken well. God then gives a new revelation governing marriage in relation to the inheritance, for Manasseh was jealous to prevent even the least bit of the patrimony which he had conquered from being taken away from him. Some might otherwise have appropriated a portion of it to themselves by pleading the natural rights of marriage, an institution originally hallowed by God, but such a usurpation of rights could not be according to God's thoughts. After having given the sons of Joseph opportunity to express their desire—for if man is to receive an answer from God, his faith must ever be active—the Lord grants every liberty to the institution of marriage, giving it His full approval on condition that it take place within the bounds of the tribe (Num. 36:6-9).
Christians, is it not likewise with us with regard to marriage? Marriage must be within the bounds of the family of God, and within the realm of faith, else disorder will rapidly be introduced into the Assembly. It will lose the portion of her heavenly inheritance or see it diminished. This inheritance should not be impaired nor can it pass into other hands. Every individual alliance with those from without is a loss for the body as a whole, which, in the measure in which this takes place, is stymied in the enjoyment of at least a part of its inheritance.
This is the answer to Manasseh's request "Every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance among the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be married to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every one the inheritance of his fathers, and the inheritance shall not pass from one tribe to another tribe; for each of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep to his inheritance" (Num. 36:8-9). Thus from a particular case God draws a general principle, which immediately becomes obligatory. Even so we recall the institution of the Supper, of the first day of the week, the collections, and a special case of discipline at Corinth, all of them becoming general obligations. "Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad" (Num. 36:10). They themselves regarded the revelation which had been given them and which answered to their particular need as a commandment of Jehovah.
In Josh. 17:3-4, the daughters of Zelophehad present themselves before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua, the son of Nun, and before the princes. They had married their uncles' sons according to the Lord's directions (Num. 36:11). Now they ask to receive their inheritance. "Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren," they say, relying on God's word alone. For them, this was enough to settle everything, even in a case that went beyond the usual order of the law. Moreover, their faith and their confidence in Jehovah's commandment to Moses results in the same rule with regard to female descendants being adopted throughout all Manasseh, even beyond the Jordan. "The daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons" (Josh. 17:6). Thus the rule given to a few became the privilege of all.
This history is of deep interest to us. We should consider the privileges of our heavenly inheritance priceless. Let us not be checked by natural, apparently legitimate, considerations which would tend to hinder us from appropriating our blessings. Let us ask God insistently that these obstacles, if they exist, be removed. Do not think, sisters in Christ, that your enjoyment of heavenly things must be lessened by your position of seeming inferiority. Do not be satisfied until you have acquired the same portion of the inheritance as your brothers. To overcome in this, remember that this is a commandment of the Lord as to you. Your example will have a blessed effect on your sisters: it will inspire them to follow it and to rely upon the same promises. Whatever your humble condition may be, your inheritance is the same as that of your brothers. There is no doubt that you are not called to the same conflicts, to the role of mighty men of valor in battle, but you are called to the same possession as they: you have the same lot, the same heavenly blessings!
1 Chron. 7:20-28 speaks of the sons of Ephraim. Their history as a tribe begins and ends sadly, although such a notable place had been reserved for them in their relationship with the tribe of Levi (1 Chron. 6:66-70). At the beginning (we do not know exactly when), they had stolen from the Philistines of Gath, an act which the Lord could in no way approve. Surely, stealing from the Canaanites in order to enrich themselves while leaving them still alive was not the same as destroying them. In 1 Samuel 15 Saul did the very same thing. Here the men of Gath execute that judgment upon Ephraim which the latter had not executed upon them. "The men of Gath born in the land slew them, because they came down to take their cattle" (1 Chron. 7:21). Later, the accursed race of the Philistines of Gath falls beneath the blows of "mighty men of valor" of Benjamin (1 Chron. 8:13). God commits the accomplishing of His plans to those more faithful than Ephraim, and those who should have been His instruments are deprived of this honor in a very humiliating way. The tribe that was the very least rose to be the greatest. This execution of punishment must take place, for God's decrees could not be annulled by man's unfaithfulness. The moral result of Ephraim's conduct was not long in waiting: "Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. And he went in to his wife; and she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah [in evil], for he was born when calamity was in his house" (1 Chron. 7:22-23). In this he was completely different from Jabez, for whom sorrow, the consequence of sin, became the starting point of his relationship with Jehovah. But the God who had blessed Joseph in his son Ephraim, according to the unchanging pattern of Chronicles, does not stop with the evil which this man had merited. The account given us ends with the name of Joshua, the type of Christ in the Spirit, leading His people to the conquest of their inheritance. So it is for God's people today. We must accept that it is by our own fault that evil is in the house, but we must never doubt for an instant that He who alone is worthy to enter Canaan will give us a possession in it. In Him we have the final word of our whole history!
Asher (1 Chron. 7:30-40) is concerned about his genealogy, and the number of his men of war is given us along with that of Issachar and Benjamin. Like these latter, they are "mighty of valor."
We cannot emphasize often enough that the importance of the genealogies here is dependent upon the care taken by the families to preserve them during the captivity. Naphtali resembles the dried remnant of a plant that was once green and flourishing, whereas Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher keep intact the deposit that God had confided to them.