God moves in a mysterious way...

Descendants in Judah – Part 1: Jerahmeel and his surprising descendants

(1 Chronicles 2:25-41, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 14, 2017)

[25] The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron: Ram, his firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. [26] Jerahmeel also had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. [27] The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. [28] The sons of Onam: Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. [29] The name of Abishur's wife was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. [30] The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim; and Seled died childless. [31] The son of Appaim: Ishi. The son of Ishi: Sheshan. The son of Sheshan: Ahlai. [32] The sons of Jada, Shammai's brother: Jether and Jonathan; and Jether died childless. [33] The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel. [34] Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters, but Sheshan had an Egyptian slave whose name was Jarha. [35] So Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to Jarha his slave, and she bore him Attai. [36] Attai fathered Nathan, and Nathan fathered Zabad. [37] Zabad fathered Ephlal, and Ephlal fathered Obed. [38] Obed fathered Jehu, and Jehu fathered Azariah. [39] Azariah fathered Helez, and Helez fathered Eleasah. [40] Eleasah fathered Sismai, and Sismai fathered Shallum. [41] Shallum fathered Jekamiah, and Jekamiah fathered Elishama.

The sons of Jerahmeel

Jerahmeel, whose name means “may God have pity,” was the son of Hezron, of Perez, of Judah, of Jacob, the father of the chosen people of the Old Testament., Israel. The people described in our passage this morning are unremarkable. None are known to us individually beyond the few words contained here, though see 1 Samuel 27:10, 30:29. We have mountains of important information about David, his descendants, his writings, and his other achievements and failures, but almost nothing at all about the people listed here. They were part of a very important people group, the Jews, that has existed from ancient days to the present moment, but their particular lives are forgotten by men. This allows us to focus on the specific topics left to us by Almighty God in this passage. We can remark on the unremarkable and find it indeed very surprising.

The children of another wife

First, though Jerahmeel had several sons by his first wife, he had another wife, whose name was Atarah. It is the descendants of that wife and her son Onam that we are especially following here. God does not work according to our expectations of how everything should generally go. There are twists and turns of his providence that are well known to Him but rather shocking to us as we live in the moment we are given. Onam was just one boy, and his half-brothers of the first wife of Jerahmeel were more. During his youth he had to be quite outnumbered, but then he could not have seen what the Lord God knew, that his was the continuing line that would be kept in the records we have in 1 Chronicles 2 so many centuries later.

Seled and Jether died childless

Two men were noted here as childless. Childlessness happens for a variety of reasons, all quite surprising, and perhaps quite wrenching to us, but known to the Almighty. For several generations it did not appear that the descendants of Atarah's son Onam were going anywhere significant. Though Seled and Jether had the position of firstborn sons in their immediate families, neither of them fathered any children. This does not at all mean that their lives were insignificant. No, they were created in the image of God. There is no such thing as an insignificant person created in God's image. Our future is eternal and our worth in the eyes of the Lord is based on who our Father in heaven is and not on the number of children that we are given.

Shesan had no sons, only daughters, but Sheshan had an Egyptian slave

Jerahmeel fathered Onam, who fathered Shammai, who fathered Nadab, who fathered Appaim, who fathered Ishi, who fathered Sheshan. “Shesan had no sons, only daughters.” This despite the fact that an earlier verse said that “the son” of Sheshan was Ahlai. It is most likely that Ahlai was the name of his daughter who had the position of heir, winning for her the designation of the Hebrew word “ben” that can designate someone who is standing in for a son. The name Ahlai means “O would that.” Ahlai could have plausibly guessed the story of her name: “O would that I had a son.” Many have had to live knowing the disappointment they have brought to parents who were not able to see things God's way. In the case of Ahlai (see also 11:41) her father Shesan caused her to have a son by his Egyptian slave, so his line continued his own way.

The forgotten Elishama—“God has heard”

All of that allowed the line of Jerahmeel to keep on going for another thirteen generations at least, taking us all the way to the arrival of one Elishama. When we get to him we have this surprise; though the Chronicler may have known his importance, like all the names in this passage, we cannot even place the one who is the grand finale. Life is that way sometimes.

The surprises that we do read about in this list of unremarkables are indicative of issues that are as old as mankind and as contemporary as our lives. Scratch the surface of families everywhere and you discover that every genealogical dig yields surprises. Some may be struggling with a past where they felt outnumbered by others with preferred status. Yet they may, like Onam, be unaware of their significance. Others believe their lives are mistakes beyond remedy. Still others have faced years of disappointment from parents. Others hope to be remembered, but they will join the great majority of human beings soon ignored by posterity. In light of the real God and real life, we read Psalm 14 and Matthew 7:12, honoring God by the way we treat others.

Are you struggling with one of the issues that comes up in this genealogy? Marriage? Children? Complex family relationships? Or just the brevity of life? Does it bother you that you or your descendants might join billions in the category of the forgotten under the sun? The Lord moved in mysterious ways in order to bring about the tribe of Judah in David's day and beyond. “Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.... God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.” We don't know and can't do. O Jarahmeel, God has had pity on you! He will never treat you as something worthless. Who was the widow of Nain? Yet Jesus saw her worth. (Luke 7:11)

Remember one more thing. Jesus was outnumbered for you. Jesus' genealogy appeared to end very abruptly with no further descendants because of his willingness to go to the cross. Jesus' own mother and brothers were so shocked by their son and brother that they were thinking he might have gone mad as so many people crowded around him for just one touch of grace. Those who planned the demise of Jesus most certainly expected that he would soon be forgotten by future generations. Yet according to Isaiah 53:10, “He shall see His offspring.” Yes, He shall see you. You are His child. He has given you a true eternal worth that can never be erased.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 14 – Many fools, but only one Lord

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:12 – So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.