Chapter 1 to 9 consists of the genealogies of Israel from Adam to the post exile period. The immediate purpose of these genealogies seems to be the resettling of the land in accordance with public records. Those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity were entitled to the lands formerly held by their own families. In the OT land had been apportioned to families and could not be sold in perpetuity out of the family (Lev 25).
In the same way, the priesthood was hereditary. A priest was to be succeeded by his son.
All scriptures are profitable, but not all scriptures are at the same profitability. These genealogies are useful for us to understand the genealogies on OT characters. For example we found that Moses is the great grandson of Levi (6:3), Absalom is the 3rd son of David (3:2), and all the kings of Judah is listed in one page (3:10-16). These genealogies however need not be read for devotional purposes as often as some other part of scriptures.
v1: [The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.] The writer reminds the Jews who have returned from Babylon that it was the unfaithfulness of their forefather that cause them to be exile by the Babylonian. This implies a calling to a faithful life in obedience to Yahweh. Later in chapter 10, the writer reminds the Jews regarding the unfaithfulness of Saul, which caused God to put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David. Have you been faithful to the calling the Lord has on your life?
v20: As the grandson of Aaron, Phinehas was in charged of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him. It is one thing to be in a leadership position in a church, it is another thing that the LORD was with the person. When we are put in a leadership position, let’s pray that the LORD be with us, else our service would have no power, and no value in the eyes of the LORD.
v28-34: [Some of them were in charge of…Others were assigned… But some of the priests took care of..] What a beautiful picture of God’s people faithfully serving the Lord in His temple together, each exercising his own gift and were faithful in the task entrusted to them. In the church, all members should exercise their spiritual gifts to serve God by serving each other.
