1 Chronicles 7:20

1 Chronicles 7:20 says, And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,  Now, we have a list of the descendants of Ephraim.  Verse twenty-one adds, And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.  Some of Ephraim's descendants were killed by the men of Gath when they tried to take away their cattle.  Being a part of God's chosen people did not always protect someone from suffering defeat in this world, just as being a Christian doesn't protect us from suffering at the hands of the people of the world in this lifetime.  Still, if they were truly a part of God's people by faith, the defeat was only temporary and they are with Him forever, as we as Christians will be.  Verse twenty-two continues, And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.  Ephraim mourned for his descendants for many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.  If we lose a child today, no matter how old they are, we may mourn, but if they were a follower of Christ, we should also celebrate the fact that they are at home with Jesus forever.  I believe even more than friends and relatives, the Holy Spirit will comfort us, if we allow Him to.  Matthew Henry says this adds up to seven generations of descendants, but Ephraim was still alive.  Verse twenty-three states, And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.  Ephraim then had another son who he called Beriah, which means in trouble.  We really cannot replace one child with another and we should never attempt to.  Verse twenty-four adds, (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether, and the upper, and Uzzensherah.)  We are also told that one of Ephraim's female descendants built two cities, even though we don't usually hear much about daughters in the Bible.  Verse twenty-five continues, And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son.  Verse twenty-eight says, Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Non his son, Jehoshuah his son.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And their possessions and habitations were, Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:  We are told of the land they possessed in this verse and the next.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Bethshean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.

1 Chronicles 7:13

1 Chronicles 7:13 says, The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. We are simply told the names of the sons of Naphtali.  We aren't given any more than his sons, Matthew Henry says because maybe his genealogy record was lost.  Of course, I believe that if it was important, God would have preserved it.  Verse fourteen adds, The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:  Next, we have the sons of Manasseh, including the son of Aramitess, his concubine, who gave birth to Machir, Gilead's father. Even though they weren't born to the wife or first wife, who should have been the only one, they were included in the descendants of the heads of the tribes of Israel were included.  We cannot help how we were born into the word, but we are all of equal importance to God.  Verse fifteen continues, And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters.  Machir took a wife from the tribe of Benjamin, even though his father had married a Syrian according to Matthew Henry.  I still believe that Christians should marry Christians, no matter what our parents may have done.  We are only responsible for our own relationship to God, and not for our parent's relationship to Him.  Verse sixteen states, And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.  Verse seventeen adds, And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.  We are then given the names of Machir's sons and grandsons by Maachah his wife.  Verse eighteen continues, And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah.  We are even given the names of some men who were born of a daughter of one of the men of Israel, though that wasn't usually the case.  Verse nineteen says, And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.  Shemidah was one of Gilead's sons, though it doesn't make that clear here.   

1 Chronicles 7:1

1 Chronicles 7:! says, Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four.  Next, we have a list of the descendants of Issacher.  Verse two adds, And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred.  The sons of Tola, one of Issachar's sons were known as valiant men of might and by the reign of David had grown to twenty-two thousand, six hundred in number.  It would be nice if we could multiply the number of Christians, God's people, by that number and that we would be valiant in our faith.  Verse three continues, And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men.  We are given a list of the sons Uzzi, one of the sons of Tola and told that they were chief men in Israel.  Verse continues, And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons.  We are told these sons of Uzzi, who were said to be bands of soldiers of war, numbered thirty-six thousand, since they had many wives and sons.  Verse five concludes, And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.  We are then told that the total of the rest of the family of Issachar was eighty-seven thousand men.  Matthew Henry says the total of all the descendants of Issachar was one hundred forty-five thousand men.  Verse six states, The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. Next, we have the list of the descendants of Benjamen. Verse seven adds, And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four.  Then we have the number of the sons of Bela, the firstborn of Benjamin.  There were twenty-two thousand and thirty-four of them, and they were known as men of valor.  We need to be known as people of valor for God.  Verse eight continues, And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher.  Then we have the descendants of Becher, Benjamin's second born.  Verse nine concludes, And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred.  There were twenty-two thousand, two hundred of them, also known as men of valor.  Verse ten says, The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar.  Verse eleven adds, All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.  They were also known as men of valor, soldiers fit to go to war, and numbered seventeen thousand, two hundred.  Verse twelve continues, Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher.  Matthew Henry says these were the sons of Dan, who had worshipped the golden calf instead of God.  If we want to be counted among God's people, we must not worship anything or anyone else, but must put our faith in Jesus Christ alone.  If we don't, we can never be a part of God's family, no matter who our parents may be.

1 Chronicles 6:66

1 Chronicles 6:66 says, And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.  We continue with the listing of the cities controlled by various descendants of Levi.  Verse sixty-seven adds, And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,  The cities of refuge are also listed.  Verse sixty-eight continues, And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs,  Verse sixty-nine states, And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs:  Verse seventy adds, And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.  Verse seventy-one continues, Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:  Verse seventy-two says, And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,  Verse seventy-three adds, And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:  Verse seventy -four continues, And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,  Verse seventy-five concludes, And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:  Verse seventy-six states, And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.  Verse seventy-seven adds, Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:  Verse seventy- eight says,  And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs, Verse seventy-nine adds, Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs: Verse eighty states, And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,  Verse eighty-one adds, And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.  This was just a listing of the cities of the Levites throughout the tribes of Israel.  As Christians, we should have a presence throughout all the world, though we may not control any cities in some of the places.  

1 Chronicles 6:49

1 Chronicles 6:49 says, But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.  Aaron and his descendants were appointed to offer the sacrifices on the altar and were also appointed to the work in the most holy place and to make atonement for the people of Israel.  The Levites were priests, but they served under the priests who were Aaron's descendants.  As part of the priesthood of believers, there is no one who stands between God and us.  We all have equal access to God through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse fifty adds, And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son.  These next several verses list Aaron's descendants.  Verse fifty-one continues, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son.  Verse fifty-two says, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,  Verse fifty-three adds, Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.  Verse fifty-four states, Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.  These next verses give the cities of the descendants of Aaron throughout Israel.  Matthew Henry says that these cities were particularly under the providence, or protection, of God.   We as followers of Christ, no matter where we live, are equally under God's protection.  Verse fifty-five adds, And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.  Verse fifty-six continues, But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.  The sons of Aaron had possession of the city of Hebron, but not the fields around it, because they were to rely on God to provide for them.  Verse fifty-seven says, And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,  Aaron's descendants were also given other cities in Judah, including Hebron which was a city of refuge.  God will provide for those who are doing His work, no matter where they are, and our refuge is in Jesus Christ and not a place.  Verse fifty-eight adds, And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,  Verse fifty-nine continues, And Ashan with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs:  Verse sixty states, And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities. Verse sixty-one adds, And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.  They were given ten cities in the half of the tribe of Manasseh.  Verse sixty-two continues, And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.  This is a continuation of the list of the cities in various parts of Israel or Judah, after the kingdom was divided.  Verse sixty-three concludes, Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.  Verse sixty-four states, And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.  This verse seems to divide the cities given to the Levites from those given to the descendants of Aaron, though Matthew Henry lists them all as cities of the Levites.  Either way, they were given to the priests throughout all of the land of Israel and Judah.  Verse sixty-five adds,  And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

1 Chronicles 6:31

1 Chronicles 6:31 says, And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.  The Levites had been charged with taking care of the Tabernacle, and had grown in numbers, so David, as Matthew Henry points out, by God's direction now appointed some of them to other tasks, starting with some who were put in charge of the music.  We still have different roles in the church today, and need to pray that we are serving by God's appointment.  Verse thirty-two adds, And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order.  They first served before the tabernacle, and when Solomon built the temple, they continued to serve inside the temple.  The place changed, but their role in the congregation didn't.  Church buildings may change today, but what God calls us to do will still be what He calls us to do.  Verse thirty-three continues,  And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,  We are then given the names of those who served the people in the temple services.  Heman is noted as being a singer, but the for the rest we  just given their names.  Heman penned the eighty-eighth Psalm, was a sorrowful man, the grandson of the prophet Samuel, and the son of Joel, who did not walk in God's ways, as Matthew Henry points out.  Heman followed his grandfather and nor his father.  We cannot skip a generation in following Christ.  Verse thirty-four states, The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,  Verse thirty-five adds, The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,  Verse thirty-six continues, The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,  Verse thirty-seven says, The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,  Verse thirty-eight says, The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,  Asaph was called Heman's brother, because they served in the same office, even though he was from a different tribe.  He was on Heman's right hand in the choir according to Matthew Henry.  He also penned several Psalms, Matthew Henry said either writing them or setting them to music, but since we don't have the music preserved, I would think he penned them under God's inspiration.  We as followers of Christ are brothers and sisters no matter where we were born or what our role in the church is.  Verse forty adds, The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah,  Verse forty-one continues,  The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,  Verse forty-two states, The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,  Verse forty-three adds, The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.  Verse forty-four continues, And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, Ethan stood on Hemans left side.  Verse forty-five says, The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,  Verse forty-six adds, The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,  Verse forty-seven continues, The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.  Verse forty-eight concludes, Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.  Both Asaph and Ethan were traced back to sons of Levi.  Their brethren were also appointed to various place of service in the tabernacle of the house of God.  As Christians, we all have a purpose in God's kingdom. 

1 Chronicles 6:16

1 Chronicles 6:16 says, The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.  We have a repeat of the list of the sons and grandsons onward of Levi.  Again, these would be the priestly tribe.  Verse seventeen adds, And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.  First, we have a list of just their sons. Verse eighteen continues, And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.  Verse nineteen concludes, The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.  Verse twenty states, Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,  The, we start to have a listing of the children of Levi's sons, again, starting with the oldest. Verse twenty-one adds, Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.  Verse twenty-two says, The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,  Verse twenty-three adds, Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,  Verse twenty-four continues, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.  Verse twenty-five says, And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.  Verse twenty-six adds, As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,  Verse twenty-seven continues, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.  Matthew Henry says Samuel was the first to be both a priest and a prophet.  As followers of Christ, we are part of the priesthood of believers, but the only prophecy that we can give is of His return.  Verse twenty-nine states, The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,  Verse thirty adds, Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.