1 Chronicles 4:24 - Meaning and Application

Here we have some of the family records of the tribe of Simeon, though it was not a tribe of special fame. The writer gives special attention to the princes of that tribe (1 Chronicles 4:38). Simeon is said to have increased greatly, though not as much as the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:27). Those whom God causes to grow should give thanks, even when they see others grow more.

We are told about the cities assigned to Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:28), which can also be seen in Joshua 19:1 and the verses that follow. When the text says these cities were theirs until the reign of David (1 Chronicles 4:31), it suggests that when the ten tribes broke away from the house of David, many Simeonites left these cities. Since the cities lay within Judah, they likely settled elsewhere.

We also see the land they gained in other places. When some from this tribe rebelled against the house of David were later taken captive to Assyria, those who stayed loyal to Judah were especially noticed by God. He blessed their efforts to expand their territory. This happened in Hezekiah’s day, when a people of Simeon who had long been weak and submissive were stirred up to act boldly.

Some of them attacked a place in Arabia, apparently called the entrance of Gedor, where the descendants of cursed Ham lived (1 Chronicles 4:40). They took the place and settled there. This adds to the honor of Hezekiah’s godly reign, because not only did the kingdom as a whole prosper, but individual families did too. The passage says they found rich pastureland, and the region was peaceful. Even while the kings of Assyria were troubling the lands around them, this place was left alone.

The people there were shepherds who harmed no one, and no one bothered them until the Simeonites came, drove them out, and took their place. The Simeonites enjoyed not only the land’s richness, but also its peace. Those who live, as we do, in a fruitful and spacious land, quiet and secure, should admit they owe this gift to God, who sets the limits of our dwelling places.

Others from Simeon, 500 men under the command of four brothers named here, went against Mount Seir and struck the remaining Amalekites, the people under God’s judgment, then took their land (1 Chronicles 4:42, 1 Chronicles 4:43). In this way, the curses on Ham and Amalek came to full effect, even when they seemed inactive or forgotten. The curse on Simeon, that he would be divided and scattered (Genesis 49:7), was also fulfilled, yet it turned into a blessing. The Simeonite families who settled in those distant regions are said to have lived there to this day (1 Chronicles 4:43), which suggests they escaped the captivity that fell on others. Providence sometimes sends people out of trouble when they are meant to be preserved.