The gift of image-bearers of the King in a fallen world

Descendants in Judah – Part 2: Caleb and his many wives

(1 Chronicles 2:42-50a, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 21, 2017)

[42] The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel: Mareshah his firstborn, who fathered Ziph. The son of Mareshah: Hebron. [43] The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem and Shema. [44] Shema fathered Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem fathered Shammai. [45] The son of Shammai: Maon; and Maon fathered Beth-zur. [46] Ephah also, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez; and Haran fathered Gazez. [47] The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. [48] Maacah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. [49] She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah. [50] These were the descendants of Caleb.

Caleb and ?

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, and Caleb. We have already heard about this same Caleb in verses 18, 19, and 24 of 1 Chronicles 2. His descendants included Bezalel and his name is associated with Tekoa, the town from which the prophet Amos came. Caleb had many children with several women, some of whom are called wives and others who are called concubines. Verse 18 mentions Azubah, presumably Caleb's first wife. Other women who seem to be mothers of Caleb's children include Jerioth, Ephrath, Ephrathah, Ephah, Jahdai, and Maacah.

Verses 42-45 are unclear concerning who the mother is, but Caleb was the father of a line that was significant enough in Judah that the author recorded several generations.

Caleb and Ephah

Also important were the descendants of Caleb's connection with a concubine, Ephah.

Caleb and Jahdai?

Suddenly Jahdai is mentioned in verse 47, perhaps a second concubine. She bore several important sons for the future of the tribe of Judah.

Caleb and Maacah

Another concubine is listed, Maacah, with at least four noteworthy sons that were to be remembered.

Another Caleb's daughter and Othniel of Judah

The lists entered here also make mention of the daughter of what has to be a different Caleb who was a wife to one of the judges, Othniel. How he fits into this account is not clear. Even without this added wrinkle, the story of Caleb and his wives and concubines is challenging to follow.

Remembering Judah and considering Jesus

Of course a very substantial portion of the line of Judah, the most significant tribe in Israel came from the unknown liaison of Judah and his daughter-in-law who was a widow, but who Judah thought was a veiled prostitute by the roadside. All that to say that the Lord knows very well how to bring very significant people groups from situations that were not ideal. Despite the strange story of Judah and his daughter-in-law, the twins who were their offspring were a truly phenomenal blessing. One of them was in the genealogy that eventually led to Jesus.

The story of Caleb the son of Hezron was clearly very important for the tribe of Judah, Why did he have multiple wives? What is a concubine? Why did God allow Old Testament men to have children by all these women? See Rehoboam:18 wives, 60 concubines, 28 sons, 60 daughters

The word “concubine” is used five times in 1 Chronicles, twice in this passage about Caleb. A concubine was not someone else's wife or a prostitute, but a secondary, yet official, relationship within the house of a man. The story of multiple marriages would take us to Genesis 2, 3, 4, and 6 for an introduction to God's plan and provision for marriage, the marring of that through the fall, the first person in the Bible to have more than one wife, and the abuse of such relationships that was connected to the picture of a debased world just prior to the flood.

There were many sexual abominations that the Lord would never tolerate, yet God was well aware of human weakness regarding marriage and procreation and permitted such arrangements as we see with Caleb in this passage, but it was not so from the beginning. Stated positively, the Lord has an exclusive relationship with His bride, the church, and expects us to follow Him in this pattern. Yet God also recognized and saved people in all kinds of questionable situations and showed them the power of divine redemption. As we see the way that Jesus related to the woman at the well in John 4, we find the perfect example for us of salvation in a fallen world with much disorder. Furthermore, God has a plan for personal and marital perfection by His grace that will remove all manner of sin from His beloved bride. One day we will be fully sanctified.

The best place to learn what Jesus taught about marriage is from His own plain instruction in Matthew 19:3-9.

[3] And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” [7] They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” [8] He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” See also His words on singleness (10-12) and the value of all children (13-15) and you have an even fuller picture.

God's teaching on marriage has been clear from the beginning. Nonetheless, as with poverty, so too adultery and marital complexity “you will always have with you.” Embrace the children as gifts of God and receive your own genealogy with its own special twists and turns, known and unknown to you. Then “commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.” (Psalm 37:5) Set your heart on the holy faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the descendant of Judah by Tamar, is the Son of God, and the narrow gate to a perfectly holy and eternal life.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 15 – Who shall dwell on Your holy hill?

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:13-14 – [13] Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.