1 Chronicles 7:20 - Meaning and Application

Here we have an account of the tribe of Ephraim. We read great things about that tribe when it came to full strength. But here we see the troubles of its early years, while it was still in Egypt, as it seems. Ephraim himself may have been alive when these things happened, though that is hard to fit with the way the family line is counted here, so it may have been another Ephraim, or else the men killed were the immediate sons of Ephraim, son of Joseph.

A great blow fell on Ephraim’s family. The men of Gath, Philistines and giants, killed many of that family because they came down to take their cattle (1 Chronicles 7:21). It is not clear who started the fight. Some think the men of Gath were the attackers, coming down into Goshen to drive off the Ephraimites’ cattle, and killing the owners when they defended it. Others think the Ephraimites raided Gath, thinking the time had come for them to take possession of Canaan, but they paid dearly for their haste. Those who will not wait for God’s time cannot expect God’s blessing. I think the men of Gath likely came down on the Ephraimites, because the Israelites in Egypt were shepherds, not soldiers, and had their own cattle, so they were not likely to risk their lives for other people’s livestock.

Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead, Ephraim’s grandsons, were likely the men who were killed. Jacob had promised that Ephraim’s descendants would become a multitude of nations (Genesis 48:19), yet this family line was cut down so soon. God’s providence often seems to go against his promises, but when it does, it actually makes the promise shine more clearly, because the fulfillment is then seen as God’s work. Ephraim’s descendants were the children of Joseph, and Joseph’s power could not protect them, even if he was still alive. The sword destroys one person as easily as another.

Ephraim mourned for many days. Nothing brings older people closer to the grave with more sorrow than seeing their children or grandchildren go there before them, especially when they die violently. It is often the grief of old age to outlive those who were once expected to comfort them. His brothers came to comfort him in this deep loss, showing sympathy and offering the kind of words that could steady his heart in such a hard time. They may have reminded him of the promise Jacob gave him when he laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head. Though his house was not what he had hoped, and had become a house of mourning, that promise still stood sure (2 Samuel 23:5).

God repaired this wound in some measure by giving Ephraim another son in his old age, like Seth, who was given in place of Abel after Cain killed him (Genesis 4:25). When God restores comfort to those who mourn, and gives joy according to the days of affliction, we should notice his kindness and care. It is as though God takes account of his servants’ sorrow and answers it with mercy (Psalm 90:13, Psalm 90:15). Yet even the birth of a child could not erase Ephraim’s grief, so he gave his son a sad name, Beriah, which means “in trouble,” because he was born while the family was mourning and things had gone badly for his house. It is wise to remember affliction and sorrow, the bitter and painful things, so that our hearts stay humble (Lamentations 3:19, Lamentations 3:20). What name could better fit a person born of a woman than Beriah, since we are all born into a troubled world?

This family also received further honor. Sherah, a daughter of Ephraim’s tribe, built some cities when Israel settled in Canaan, either at her own expense or through her own efforts. One of those cities even bore her name, Uzzen-sherah (1 Chronicles 7:24). A godly woman can bring as much honor and blessing to a family as a mighty man. And Joshua the son of Nun, who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan, was also from this tribe (1 Chronicles 7:27). In this way, the breach made in Ephraim’s family was repaired again, and perhaps the wrong once done to them by the Canaanites stirred Joshua to greater zeal in war.

The tribe of Asher is then mentioned, with some of its men of note. Their militia was not large compared with some other tribes, with only 26,000 men in all. Yet their princes were chosen men and mighty warriors, chief among the princes (1 Chronicles 7:40). Perhaps their wisdom was shown in not trying to keep their trained men too numerous, but rather in having fewer men who were well fitted for war and useful in service.