Today’s reading is: 1 Sam. 1:1-8; Ruth 4:13-22; 1 Chr. 2:9-55; 4:1-23
1st Samuel Chapter One
- The Book of Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel (1st Sam. 1:1-27).
- Samuel’s father was Elkanah.
- אֶלְקָנָה ’elqānāh #511: God has possessed (begotten).
- Elkanah was a Levite, of the clan of Kohath, of the faithful descendants who stood back from Korah (1st Chr. 6:33-38).
- Elkanah is an Ephraimite, because his Levitical city was located within the land-grant of Ephraim (Josh. 21:5).
- Elkanah was polygamous.
- Hannah. חַנָּה channāh #2584: grace.
- Peninnah. פְּנִנָּה peninnāh #6444: jewel.
- Peninnah was the mother of multiple sons and multiple daughters, but Hannah had no children.
- Hannah was a woman of prayer, but Peninnah was a woman of provocation.
- Grace is always presented in the highest possible way, but every use of pearl/jewel (פְּנִינִים peniyniym #6443) draws comparisons to something better (Job 28:18; Prov. 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10; Lam. 4:7).
- Peninnah’s provocation of Hannah produced a bitterness of soul that Elkanah was unable to minister to.
- Elkanah possessed a love for Hannah (1st Sam. 1:5; Eph. 5:25), but not an understanding (1st Sam. 1:8; 1st Pet. 3:7).
(Chapter One continues tomorrow)
Ruth Chapter Four
(Outline continues from yesterday)
- Boaz & Ruth are promptly blessed with a son (Ruth 4:13).
- The uttered blessings by the court witnesses to Boaz (Ruth 4:11-12) and the neighbor women to Naomi (Ruth 4:14,15) speak not just to the literal baby (Obed) on Naomi’s lap, but prophetically to the Ephrathite, Head of the House of Bethlehem (Jesse) who comes through this particular lineage (Ruth 4:16,17; 1st Sam. 16:1; 17:12; 2nd Sam. 20:1; 23:1; 1st Kgs. 12:16; Isa. 11:1,10).
- That lineage is traced, as The Generations of Perez, from Perez through David (Ruth 4:18-22).
- This genealogy demonstrates the grace of God in action by exalting a Levirate-marriage foster-son.
- The author/authoress of this Book clearly identified the historical significance of King David, and the eternal Messianic significance of the Son of David.
- Why are the names of Elimelech & Mahlon not preserved? (Ruth 4:21; 1st Chr. 2:11,12; Matt. 1:5; Lk. 3:32). Two possible answers, either possible by virtue of Obed’s dual lineage as son of Mahlon and son of Boaz.
- It’s possible that despite Boaz and Ruth’s good intentions, the names of Elimelech, Chilion and Mahlon actually were cut off as a divine judgment for their wickedness (Josh. 7:9; 1st Sam. 24:21; Ps. 109:13; Isa. 48:19; 56:5).
- It’s also possible that their names were not cut off, but were only significant to the House of Bethlehem, Clan of Ephrathah (the court of his birth place, Ruth 4:10). Beyond that small context, they are obscure names not worth mentioning among the more significant clans of Judah (1st Sam. 17:28; Mic. 5:2), and certainly not appearing in the genealogies of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1; Lk. 3) being utterly irrelevant to the Seed of the Woman, Seed of Abraham, Seed of David promises.
1st Chronicles Chapter Two
- Chapter 2 delineates the 12 Tribes of Israel, with a focus on the Tribe of Judah.
- The 12 Tribes of Israel (1st Chr. 2:1,2; Gen. 46:8-27).
- The Tribe of Judah (1st Chr. 2:3-55).
- The early line from Judah to Hezron (1st Chr. 2:3-8).
- The Davidic line, from Hezron to David (1st Chr. 2:9-17).
- The descendants of Caleb, son of Hezron, form the core of the non-Davidic lines of Judah (1st Chr. 2:18-20,42-55). This is not the same Caleb as Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the faithful spy with Joshua (Num. 13:6).
- The focus on the Tribe of Judah is a continuation of the Seed of the Woman unfolding revelation: through Shem, through Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, and through Judah (Gen. 49:10).
- The dominance in the Tribe of Judah belonged to the clan of Caleb (Chelubai) (1st Chr. 2:9,18,42), and followed the heroic exploits of Judah’s commanding general of the Conquest—Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
- The gracious selection of the LORD came through the clan of Ram, down through a Jericho harlot and a Moabite widow to the seventh (or eighth) son of an old man in an obscure village (1st Chr. 2:15).
1st Chronicles Chapter Four
- The genealogies of Judah continue with additional notes concerning Hur (1st Chr. 4:1-4) and Asshur (1st Chr. 4:5-8).
- Jabez “sorrow” appears here along with his “famous” prayer (1st Chr. 4:8-10).
- The men of Recah, the Kenezites (including Caleb, son of Jephunneh), and the clan of Shelah are other clans of Judah that are described here (1st Chr. 4:11-23).
(Chapter Four continues on Day 248, September 5)