1 Chronicles 1:28 - Meaning and Application

All nations except Abraham’s family are already set aside from this genealogy. They have no share in this matter. The Lord’s portion is his people. He keeps a record of them and knows them by name, while those who are strangers to him are far away from his care.

Still, we should not conclude that no one from any other nation found favor with God. Before Peter understood it, it was already true that in every nation the person who feared God and did what was right was accepted by him. A multitude will be brought to heaven from every nation (Revelation 7:9), and we may well believe there were many good people in the world outside God’s special covenant with Abraham. Their names were in the book of life, even if they were not descended from the families listed in this book. The Lord knows those who belong to him.

Yet Israel was a chosen nation, set apart as a pattern of God’s people. No other nation, as a nation, had the honor and privilege that the Jewish nation had. That holy nation is the subject of sacred history. So now we must set aside all of Abraham’s descendants except Jacob’s line, who were all brought together into one nation and joined to the Lord. The other descendants of Abraham, so far as we can tell, were separated from both God and one another.

I. We have little to say about the Ishmaelites. They were the sons of the slave woman, and they were to be cast out and not share the inheritance with the child of promise. Their case was meant to picture the unbelieving Jews, who were later rejected (Galatians 4:22 and following). So the Scripture gives only a brief notice of that nation. Ishmael’s twelve sons are simply named here (1 Chronicles 1:29-31) to show that God kept his promise to Abraham. God had answered Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael, and had said that, for Abraham’s sake, Ishmael would become a great nation and would have twelve princes (Genesis 17:20).

II. We have little to say about the Midianites, who came from Abraham’s children by Keturah. They were people of the east, and Job was probably one of them. They were separated from Isaac, the heir of the promise (Genesis 25:6), so they are only named here (1 Chronicles 1:32). The sons of Jokshan, Keturah’s son, are also listed, along with the sons of Midian (1 Chronicles 1:32-33), who became the most notable branch and may have given their name to the whole group, just as Judah gave his name to the Jews.

III. We shall not have much to say about the Edomites. They were long-time enemies of God’s Israel. Yet because they came from Esau, Isaac’s son, their families and some of their well-known men are listed here (1 Chronicles 1:35 to the end). There are a few small differences between some of the names here and the names in Genesis 36, from which this whole account is taken. In three or four names, a Vau there is written as a Jod here, likely because pronunciation changed, as often happens in other languages. We still spell many words very differently from how they were spelled only 200 years ago.

From these genealogies, let us think about two things. First, think of the many people who have passed through this world, played their part, and then left it. Job, even in his early day, saw not only that every man was following after him, but also that countless people had gone before him (Job 21:33). All these people, and all that belonged to them, had their time. Many made a great stir and seemed important in the world, but their day ended, and their place knew them no more. The road to death is a well-traveled road, but no one can walk it backward.

Second, think of God’s providence, his wise care, which keeps the generations of people going and so preserves this sinful race, though we are guilty and deserve judgment. How easily could he end it all, without a flood or a fire! If he only made all people childless, as some are, the earth would soon be relieved of the burden it carries. But God’s patience allows these trees that crowd the ground not only to grow, but also to bear more. As one generation of sinful people passes away, another comes (Ecclesiastes 1:4; Numbers 32:14), and this will continue while the earth remains. “Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it.”