| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
1
Chronicles Chapter Two
1 Chronicles 2
Chapter Contents
Genealogies.
We are now come to the register of the children of
Israel, that distinguished people, who were to dwell alone, and not be reckoned
among the nations. But now, in Christ, all are welcome to his salvation who
come to him; all have equal privileges according to their faith in him, their
love and devotedness to him. All that is truly valuable consists in the favour,
peace, and image of God, and a life spent to his glory, in promoting the
welfare of our fellow-creatures.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Chronicles》
1 Chronicles 2
Verse 3
[3] The
sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the
daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in
the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.
Judah —
Whom he puts first, because the best part of the right of the firstborn,
namely, the dominion, was conferred upon him, Genesis 49:8, and because the Messiah was to
come out of his loins.
Verse 6
[6] And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara:
five of them in all.
Dara — If
these be the same who are mentioned as the sons of Machol, 1 Kings 4:31, either the same man had two names,
Zerah and Machol, as was usual among the Hebrews: or, one of these was their
immediate father, and the other their grand-father. These are named, because
they were the glory of their father's house. When the Holy Ghost would magnify
the wisdom of Solomon, he saith, he was wiser than these four men. That four
brothers should be so eminent, was a rare thing.
Verse 7
[7] And
the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing
accursed.
Carmi —
Who is here mentioned, because he was the son of Zimri, who is also called
Zabdi, Joshua 7:1.
Achar —
Called Achan, Joshua 7:1, and here Achar, with a little
variation for greater significancy: for Achar signifies a troubler.
Verse 13
[13] And
Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,
Eliab —
Called also Elihu, chap. 27:18, unless that was another person, and the
word brother be taken more largely for a kinsman, as it is frequently.
Verse 15
[15] Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:
Seventh — He
had eight sons, 1 Samuel 16:10, but probably one of them died
presently after that time.
Verse 17
[17] And
Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.
Ishmaelite — By
birth or habitation, but by profession an Israelite, 2 Samuel 17:25.
Verse 18
[18] And
Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her
sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.
Her sons —
The sons of Azubah, who is by way of distinction called his wife, when Jerioth
probably was only his concubine, and, it may seem, barren: therefore upon
Azubah's death he married another wife. And those other sons of this Caleb
mentioned, verse 42, are his sons by some other wife distinct
from all these.
Verse 21
[21] And
afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom
he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub.
Gilead — Of
a man so called: a man of noted valour, and the great champion in those parts.
Verse 23
[23] And
he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and
the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of
Machir the father of Gilead.
Sons of Machir —
Partly to his own sons, and partly to his son-in-law Jair, who by reason of
that dear affection which was betwixt them, and his forsaking his own tribe and
kindred to fight for them and to dwell with them, is here reckoned as his own
son.
Verse 24
[24] And
after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him
Ashur the father of Tekoa.
Tekoa — A
known place whose father he is called, because he was either the progenitor of
the people inhabiting there: or, their prince and ruler: or, the builder of the
city.
Verse 31
[31] And
the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of
Sheshan; Ahlai.
The sons — An
expression often used in prophane authors too, where there is but one son.
Verse 35
[35] And
Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai.
Jarha —
Probably he was not only a proselyte, but an eminent man: else an Israelite
would not have given him his only daughter.
Verse 45
[45] And
the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Bethzur.
Beth-zur — A
place in Judah.
Verse 49
[49] She
bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and
the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
Madmannah —
This, and divers other following names are the names of places in Judah.
Verse 51
[51]
Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Bethgader.
Bethlehem —
That is, the inhabitants of Bethlehem.
Verse 55
[55] And
the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the
Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the
father of the house of Rechab.
Scribes —
Either civil, who were public notaries, that wrote and signed legal instruments:
or ecclesiastical. And these were either Levites, or Simeonites, or rather
Kenites, and are here mentioned not as if they were of the tribe of Judah, but
because they dwelt among them, and probably were allied to them by marriages,
and so in a manner incorporated with them.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Chronicles》
02 Chapter 2
Verses 1-55
Verse 3
Verses 7-34
Verse 7
Achar, the troubler of Israel.
The troubler of Israel
I have read many biographies, but never met with any which hit off
a man’s character in a line as this word of inspiration does. The noble and the
great used frequently to suspend the “achievement” over the tomb of their
departed ancestor in memorial of his renown, bearing a motto, which described
the leading characteristic of the ancient founder of the family. Here is the
tomb of Achar, or Achan, and here is the motto for his achievement. The tomb
consists of a large heap of stones, which am injured people by God’s command
piled upon his ashes after they had stoned him to death, and burned his dead
body with fire. What is the motto? “The troubler of Israel.” What a finale to a
man’s life! What a record to paint on his escutcheon!
I. What made Achan
a troubler of Israel? Sin. All trouble may be traced to this. It led Achan to
commit the threefold crime of disobedience, defiance of God’s scrutiny, and
sacrilege. His one sin brought trouble into all the camp. This is all the mere
remarkable when you remember how insignificant his position was among the
tribes. We die all alone, but we cannot all sin alone. Even our secret sins are
public calamities, and no transgression is without its malign influence upon
the common weal.
II. The troubles
Achan brought upon his people.
1. Defeat before a less powerful foe.
2. Depression of spirit, which unremedied, would he fatal to the very
existence of the nation.
3. Anger from God, which would not be appeased even by the
intercession of Joshua.
4. The threat of abandonment by God if they did not root out the evil
from among them. (George Venables.)
Achan, the troubler of Israel
Why was the punishment of Achan so severe?
1. His was a terrible sin; it was a wilful disobedience; it was high
treason against God; it was sacrilege; it was stealing, lying, coveting, and
practically murder.
2. This sin struck at the very life of the nation. If the people
could disobey God with impunity, the nation would soon be ruined, and the hope
of the world be put out.
3. The course Achan took would have degraded God in the eyes of
Israel and of the Gentiles. The people and cities of Canaan were rich; the
Israelites were poor. Canaan had the resources of a somewhat high
civilisation--gold, silver, vessels of brass and of iron; goodly Babyionish garments.
Now, suppose the Lord had given them free license to plunder, to steal and
hide, and appropriate all they could lay hands on? This movement for the
conquest of Canaan would have become a savage, plundering, marauding
expedition.
4. These fascinating spoils--these glittering prizes of gold and
silver, and these ornaments of the cultured Canaanites--were linked in on every
hand with idolatry. Art and wealth in Canaan, as in every other heathen nation,
lent their power to augment the attractions towards idol-worship.
5. But another consideration must have great weight. The Israelites
had before them the task of conquering Palestine, a task which required the
utmost discipline in the army. God was the Captain, directing, through Joshua,
all the campaign. It was absolutely necessary, in the interests of military
discipline, to check the first buddings of that cupidity which so often
characterised ancient warfare. (Christian Age.)
Verse 34
Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters.
Compensations
Men should
always put down after a statement of their deficiencies a statement of their
possessions; thus: had no money, but heal mental power; had no external fame,
but had great home repute; had no genius, but had great common sense; had no
high connections of a social kind, but enjoyed easy access to heaven in prayer;
had no earthly property, but was rich in ideas and impulses; was not at the
head of a great circle of admirers, but was truly respected and trusted
wherever known; had no health, but had great cheerfulness. Thus we must keep
the two sides, so to say, parallel; if we have not one thing we have another. (J.
Parker, D. D.)
The compensations of life
The disproportion in man’s inheritances is far less than we are
prone to think. If one hand of the Universal Giver be closed, the other is
expanded; no one is left without his need of compensation; only in our weakness
and unthankfulness we look more at the darker side of our lot, and at what
appears to us the brighter side of our neighbour’s. Epictetus explains the
mystery in part: “It is not fortune that is blind, but ourselves.” Whatever be
our lot, if man will but just concede that that must be best for him which the
Best of Beings has ordained, life thenceforward has a solace which no fortune
can wrest away. (Leo H. Grindon.)
And the families of the Scribes which dwelt at Jabez
Scribes
I.
A noble calling. To
study and expound sacred books, inform society, and spread the will of God.
II. A family
calling. “The families of the scribes.” mere ditary pursuits in all
communities.
III. A needful calling.
A literary profession useful to society. A learned ministry the want of the
times. (James Wolfendale.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》