From Jerusalem to Jesus to Nazareths Everywhere

Descendants in Judah – Part 3: People and Places

(1 Chronicles 2:50b-55, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 28, 2017)

[50] … The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim, [51] Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth-gader. [52] Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had other sons: Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth. [53] And the clans of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. [54] The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. [55] The clans also of the scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites and the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

Kiriath-jearim

Just as we have had brief passages in 1 Chronicles that touch upon many centuries in just a few verses, the closing words of 1 Chronicles 2 deal with a number of different clans and places in the tribe and territory of ancient Judah. In the interest of brevity, we focus on two, the first not very well known to the modern reader, and the second a place that we sing about every year.

No one writes songs about Kiriath-jearim. Meaning “city of forests,” this location was situated on the border of the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin. In a time period where a type of neighborliness was normal and where many people who shared a common ancestry expected to stay in the same villages for many centuries, there were a great number of people from Kiriath-jearim who marked their heritage from a man named Shobal. Over the years various groups of his descendants formed the list of the clans of Kiriath-jearim.

One notable event from their history is that the holiest object of Old Testament, the ark of the covenant, was housed in this city for a number of years. During that time David had attempted to take the ark to Jerusalem when stumbling oxen led to one Uzzah touching the ark to stabilize it, thus tragically losing his life. Like all the other communities of Judah, their best and brightest were carried away into exile many centuries later, with the poorest left behind to tend the land for their captors. One citizen of Kiriath-jearim was a true prophet who spoke against Jeruselem (Jeremiah 26:20) and was put to death by one of the last kings of Judah prior to the exile. After the exile, in the days of Nehemiah, 743 men of Kiriath-jearim and two other associated cities were noted as returning from captivity. That is the story of a location that people think of NOT as a holy place, a city without any surviving songs that tell us anything in particular.

Bethlehem

Then there is the little town of Bethlehem (literally “house of bread”), associated here with a relative of Shobal, Salma. The fame of this location is two-fold. First, Bethlehem was David's home town. Second, Jesus was born there in fulfillment of an ancient prophesy (Micah 5:2) that was known among the advisers to King Herod in the first century.

Bethlehem became a holy place, at least according to the traditions of men, because of its connection with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Should you and I be thinking of it as a particularly sacred spot? Take another look at Hymn #201, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and see what it says about the town, the Emmanuel Savior born there, and the church today throughout the world.

Other clans and places

There are other clans and places listed at the end of 1 Chronicles 2, but these two are enough for our purposes this morning—one thought of as NOT holy, the other considered by some to be particularly sacred. To these we add Nazareth and Jerusalem to round out the tale. Nazareth was not a revered spot in the days of Jesus. As the future apostle Nathanael said in John 1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” This is an important question for us today as Christians, not because of Nazareth, but because of all the territories of the earth. Do we have a biblical theology of place and of extended family clans as they relate to any particular location?

From Jerusalem to Jesus to everyone everywhere

Chief among the Old Testament holy spots for the Chronicler was the city of Jerusalem, and rightly so. But when Jesus was asked by a woman of Samaria in John 4 about it's holiness, he answered with a striking comment not so much about that great city as about Himself.

[19] The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. [20] Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” [21] Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. [22] You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. [24] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” [25] The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” [26] Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

“O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray; cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.” Jesus, the Bread of Life has come and has given us Himself. Wherever people gather in His Name, His church becomes a holy place and a sacred assembly with bread for the world.

With the death and resurrection of the Messiah, a massive shift is demanded in our worldview. Jesus is our holy place. His people are our people. He sends us out with the message of His kingdom to everyone everywhere. Beware of false teachers who would distract the church with unholy missions of dedication to Old Testament lands or great buildings. The true conquest for us is seen today in blessings of godliness within the worldwide resurrection temple of God.

Therefore:

1. Reject any primary dedication to any place above Jesus. False prophets have sent the church out fighting for holy lands and forgetting the calling of God to the Nazareths of the world.

2. With a healthy primary dedication to Jesus, embrace a secondary dedication to the place where you are and to the people of the resurrected Christ in that location.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 16 – You will not abandon my soul to Sheol

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:15-20 – [15] Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. [18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.