God's Family Tree

These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. (Neh 7:64)

If you set out to read the Bible cover to cover, one of the challenges you will face is plowing through the long genealogies and lists of names. They seem to go on for pages, and to the modern reader they are dry as burned toast. What accounts for this ancient obsession with names and genealogies? Simply this: for the Israelite, his connection with the family of God is his line of descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To be cut off from the people of God was to be cut off from God. For the priests and Levites it was even more important. The Levites had to prove they were descended from Levi and the priests had to prove they were sons of Aaron. I read once that one of the incalculable losses of the Holocaust was the destruction of the genealogical records which the Jews of Europe had maintained for centuries. How tragic! But now I understand why, for the Christian, such genealogies are less important. Our connection to the family of God is much simpler, and our line of descent is quite short. Each one of us is an adopted son or daughter of the King of Kings. We have each been grafted in to the family tree. (Rom 11:17) For by grace we have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8) and everyone who believes has been given the right to be called a child of God! (Jn 1:12) Praise God! Thank you, Lord, for your mercy! Amen.