“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV)
Most Christians, at least conservative ones, would probably indicate agreement with this. Yes, we really do believe that the Bible is the very Word of God, and every part of the Bible is beneficial to read and to understand to the best of our ability. Sometimes, though, there’s an inconsistency between our words and our thoughts or our reading habits. Occasionally – often even – we have a tendency to skim through or outright skip portions of Scripture that don’t catch our attention or seem difficult. I’m looking at you, 1 Chronicles 1-8. And you, Ezra 2. And you too, Genesis 10, Numbers 1, Matthew 1, and Luke 3. Yes, I mean the genealogies and censuses, and yes, I am speaking of my own reading habits. Ever started out strong, and then were bogged down by the third verse or the tenth name you couldn’t pronounce? Yeah, me too. (We tend to skip over unfamiliar names in other reading too; it’s just not as noticeable because we don’t usually encounter thirty of them in quick succession in a novel.) Like me, you’ve probably heard the reasoning that these genealogies are really important because they let us know that these are real people and drive home the point that these events really happened. Sure, that’s logical and reasonable and fine. But if we already believe that these events really happened, sometimes that reasoning can seem inadequate at best. I recently encountered a new argument for the importance of these genealogies though, and this one might actually make a practical impact on how I approach them.
I was listening to Nancy Guthrie interview Aaron Messner about teaching Ezra1 and he gave an insight on the purpose of the genealogy in Ezra 2. The book of Ezra was written for a post-exilic Israel, and there were questions at that time about whether God still had a plan for the nation, and whether He was going to fulfill His promises about a King from David’s line. The genealogy given then is a statement that God had preserved that line of David and was continually faithful to His promises, despite the appearance of circumstances.
Now one might ask why I, a 21st-century Gentile and not a pre-incarnation post-exilic Israelite, am impacted at all by this. But here’s the thing: the Lord doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). He kept His promises, all of them, to the Israelites, because He is faithful and will not go back on His Word, and because He does not change, we can trust that the Lord will fulfill all His promises to us as well. The genealogies, specifically in Ezra 2, but also more broadly across the whole of the Bible, can be the evidence that testifies of this to our hearts, which are slow to believe but quick to doubt and wander. This testamentary potential has the power to transform these genealogies from a yawn-inducing exercise in the massacre of Hebraic pronunciation into a dynamic building of faith.
I’m not promising overnight transformation. There’s no guarantee of perfect pronunciation, or of charting out the family lines, or anything dramatic. But I pray that the next time I encounter a genealogy in the Bible, the Holy Spirit will prompt me to take my time and use that to remember the Lord’s faithfulness and commitment to see His plans through to the end.
1Listen to the entire episode or read the transcript on The Gospel Coalition’s website.
I think most people will agree 100% with your challenge with the genealogies. Most of the names to me are real tongue twisters. Since my family tree is from West Virginia, most of the names only have a single syllable. Gods’ promises to His people is reinforced by His listing of the family names. It brings us closer and sheds light that what happened many centuries ago is still relevant and that God is still working with His people. Thanks for bringing a new perspective to 2 Timothy 3.