1 CHRONICLES LESSON 7


     We will begin this lesson in I Chronicles 5:1 "Now the sons of
Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was] the firstborn; but,
forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given
unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to
be reckoned after the birthright."

     This is an explanation why Reuben's family was not the first to
have their genealogy, since he was actually the firstborn son of
Jacob. There are two very good reasons that I can think of. One, he
was punished for sleeping with his father's wife. Reuben was Leah's
child. She, indeed, was the first wife of Jacob, but not the chosen
wife of Jacob. Rachel was his beloved. Joseph and Benjamin were her
children. The tribe of Judah would be the tribe that the promised
Messiah would come through. This is the reason for Judah being first.
The birthright of Reuben went to Joseph's sons.

     I Chronicles 5:2 "For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of
him [came] the chief ruler; but the birthright [was] Joseph's:)"

     The lineage from Adam to Jesus would come through the tribe of
Judah. The birthright was Joseph's for his two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh.

     I Chronicles 5:3 "The sons, [I say], of Reuben the firstborn of
Israel [were], Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi."

     Each one of these sons started a people. Hanoch was the father of
the Hanochites, Pallu was the father of the Palluites, Hezron became
the father of the Hezronites, And Carmi became father of the Carmites.
At the time of the numbering in the wilderness, Reuben's tribe had
46,500 men capable of fighting. Reuben's inheritance was east of
Jordan. We remember, God let him have this land for his herds.

     I Chronicles 5:4 "The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his
son, Shimei his son," I Chronicles 5:5 "Micah his son, Reaia his son,
Baal his son," I Chronicles 5:6 "Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser
king of Assyria carried away [captive]: he [was] prince of the
Reubenites."

     We are not told which of Reuben's sons these descendents come
through. We do know they are Reuben's family. The name "Joel" means
Jehovah is God. "Shemaiah" means Jehovah hath heard. There is really
very little known of any of these people, except what we see in the
verse above. Baal, in this instance, is a man's name. Beerah has to be
many, many years down from Reuben, because the Assyrian captivity was
hundreds of years after their stay in Egypt.

     I Chronicles 5:7 "And his brethren by their families, when the
genealogy of their generations was reckoned, [were] the chief, Jeiel,
and Zechariah," I Chronicles 5:8 "And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of
Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-
meon:"

     Jeiel was spoken of as being from the house of Joel in the time
of the captivity. This census was, probably, taken by Tilgath-pilezer.
It seemed, that Jeiel, Zechariah, and Bela were the leaders at the
time of the captivity. Aroer, Nebo, and Baal-meon were the boundaries
of where they lived. "Aroer" means nudity. It was a town on the north
bank of the Arnon. Nebo was a town east of the Jordan river in the
land of Reuben. Baal-meon was located 9 miles east of the Dead Sea.

     I Chronicles 5:9 "And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in
of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were
multiplied in the land of Gilead."

     All of Reuben's land was east of the Jordan river. It was a very
fertile land for the grazing of his cattle. As his cattle grew in
number, he needed more grazing land, and he expanded his land further
to the east. The Euphrates River flows through Syria, Mesopotamia, and
the city of Babylon.

     I Chronicles 5:10 "And in the days of Saul they made war with the
Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents
throughout all the east [land] of Gilead."

     The Hagarites were believed to be descended from Hagar and
Ishmael. The Reubenites seemed to be strong at the time of Saul, and
expanded their land at will by these little wars. The small families
around them were no match for Reuben's army. It seemed, he took
possession of whatever he desired.

     I Chronicles 5:11  "And the children of Gad dwelt over against
them, in the land of Bashan unto Salcah:"

     Gad was located on the east of Jordan and was neighbor to Reuben.
Gad was the seventh son of Jacob, and was born to him by Zilpah,
Leah's maid. At this time, Bashan, probably, covered the upper half of
Gilead. "Gad" means a troop. They were warlike people.

     I Chronicles 5:12 "Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and
Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan."

     There is very little known of these men, except that they were of
the tribe of Gad, and were their chief men in authority.

     I Chronicles 5:13 "And their brethren of the house of their
fathers [were], Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and
Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven."

     These people, above, are not mentioned anywhere else. In the 26th
chapter of Numbers, we read that Gad's family became the Zephonites,
Haggites, Shunites, Oznites, Erites, Arodites, and the Arelites. The
list of the sons of Gad is in the 46th chapter of Genesis.

     I Chronicles 5:14 "These [are] the children of Abihail the son of
Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the
son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;" I Chronicles 5:15
"Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their
fathers."

     There is nothing more known of these, except the fact that they
were Gad's descendents.

     I Chronicles 5:16 "And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her
towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders."

     We do know that Gad's inheritance was east of the Jordan river in
the land of Gilead.

     I Chronicles 5:17 "All these were reckoned by genealogies in the
days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of
Israel."

     There was a set of chronicles for Judah, and a set for the ten
tribes of Israel. Verse 17 is speaking of a time after the twelve
tribes had split into ten, and two. Jeroboam was the first king of the
ten tribes of Israel. Jotham of Judah was a much later king. These
times were many years apart. This is speaking of two entirely
different genealogies.

     I Chronicles 5:18  "The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half
the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and
sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, [were] four and
forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the
war."

     This is speaking of the two and one half tribes that were on the
eastern side of the Jordan river. It seems, they had a census separate
from the other tribes.

     I Chronicles 5:19 "And they made war with the Hagarites, with
Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab."

     We learned earlier that the Hagarites were descended from Hagar.
Jetur was one of the twelve sons of Ishmael, as well. His descendents
were Ituraeans. Nephish is, probably, the same as Naphish, who was the
eleventh son of Ishmael. Nodab is unknown.

     I Chronicles 5:20 "And they were helped against them, and the
Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that [were] with
them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of
them; because they put their trust in him."

     The army, spoken of here, is the two and one half tribes that
were on the east side of the Jordan. It appears, they prayed to the
LORD, and he helped them. The word "entreated" means surrounded.

     I Chronicles 5:21 "And they took away their cattle; of their
camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand,
and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand."

     This shows what a vast amount of animals these people had
accumulated through the years. These hundred thousand men were taken
captive to work as slaves for the two and one half tribes of Reuben,
Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

     I Chronicles 5:22 "For there fell down many slain, because the
war [was] of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity."

     The captivity, spoken of here, is the Assyrian captivity, where
Israel was defeated and taken captive. They won the war, because God
was with them.

     I Chronicles 5:23  "And the children of the half tribe of
Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-
hermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon."

     Manasseh was the son of Joseph. He and Ephraim both received a
portion from God. This verse, above, shows how their land allotment
grew, when they won this war. The other soldiers took captives with
them back to their homes. Manasseh just extended his border to include
this land.

     I Chronicles 5:24 "And these [were] the heads of the house of
their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and
Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men,
[and] heads of the house of their fathers."

     These heads of the tribe of Manasseh are not mentioned in another
place, so they, possibly, do not enter into further parts of the
genealogy.

     I Chronicles 5:25  "And they transgressed against the God of
their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the
land, whom God destroyed before them."

     As long as there had been an Israel, they had been unfaithful to
God.  It seemed, every time God helped them, it was not long until
they would turn from Him to other gods. The worst part about marrying
those who were not of God, was the fact that they might pick up their
worship of false gods.

     I Chronicles 5:26 "And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of
Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of
Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the
Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah,
and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day."

     Notice, it is God who brings this punishment on His people for
their unfaithfulness. In this particular instance, God uses people who
are not followers of God to carry out His mission. We are all God's
creation, and we are all subject to His will. We are not all sons of
God, however. We become sons of God, when we accept the Lord as our
Saviour. Only believers in God are His children. The Reubenites,
Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh were on the eastern side of
the Jordan.  They were some of the fiercest fighters Israel had. They
were supposed to protect Israel from attack from the east. We see,
when God decided they were to be punished, they seemed to have no
power at all. Assyria did not kill them, but took them captive as
slaves.  They would never be a united Israel again, and come back into
the land. They would be scattered forever. The town and the river
mentioned were in the area of Padan-aram.













































                      1 Chronicles 7 Questions


1.  Who was the firstborn of Israel?
2.  What terrible sin did he commit?
3.  Who was his birthright given to?
4.  Reuben's mother was _________.
5.  Who did Jacob truly love?
6.  What tribe would Messiah come through?
7.  Who were the two sons of Joseph?
8.  How many fighting men did Reuben's tribe have?
9.  Where was Reuben's inheritance?
10. What does "Joel" mean?
11. What does "Shemaiah" mean?
12. Who took the census?
13. What does "Aroer" mean?
14. What kind of land did Reuben inherit?
15. Who were the Hagarites?
16. Who was Gad's mother and father?
17. "Gad" means what?
18. Jeroboam was the first king of the ______ ________.
19. Who was Jetur?
20. Who was Nephish?
21. How many camels did they take in battle {mentioned in verse 21}?
22. Who occupied the land won in this battle?
23. What did they do, that angered God?
24. Who stirred up Pul and Tilgath-pilneser against these Israelites?
25. What happened to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of
    Manasseh?
26. Who are the creation of God?
27. How do we become sons of God?