Sun.’s Devo - Enlarge our Influence on the Earth

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19
I have to admit that I can get lost in the genealogies trying to figure out where everyone came from, especially Judah’s five sons who in chapter 2:3 were Er, Onan, Shelah, Pharez and Zerah. But in chapter 4:1 they are named Pharez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. I know that God killed Er and Onan because they were so wicked but what happened to Shelah and were they replaced by these other names? Who knows!
Then we have Jabez of whom a whole book was written called the Prayer of Jabez. God singled this man and his prayer out for a reason. His prayer was that God would bless him and enlarge his territory or his scope of influence in the earth and that His presence would be with him and keep him from sin. It is a great prayer and God thought so too because he answered it.
Judah’s family multiplied more than the other tribes so they received the largest territory. Judah’s family became the kingly tribe and their descendants attended to the throne.
Simeon’s family had to take the land of the Edomites and the Amalekites which they did as long as they trusted in the Lord.
Rueben lost his firstborn birthright because he went in to his father’s concubines and laid with them defiling his father’s bed. His birthright was given to Joseph who was Rachel’s first born. When Jacob (Israel) was on his death bed, he blessed Joseph’s sons to stand in both Joseph and Rueben’s place as a tribe of Israel. So Ephraim and Manasseh took the place of Rueben and Joseph. We are still given Rueben’s line up until the days when Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.
In Acts, Festus went to Jerusalem where the high priest and leaders of the Jews met with him and begged him to send Paul back to them. They planned to kill him on the way, but Festus refused and told them that they had to come to Caesarea for the trial.
Many did come and gave their slander against Paul. Festus asked Paul to give his defense and he said that he hadn’t sinned against the Jewish law, against the temple or against Caesar but he would not go back to Jerusalem. Paul did the only thing that would assure his being kept alive; he appealed to Caesar.
King Agrippa and Bernice came to visit Festus while Paul was being held there awaiting his trip to Rome. Festus told them about Paul and his dilemma. Paul had appealed to Caesar and he had to send a statement of why he was sending him when he didn’t understand himself. He could find nothing that Paul had done worthy of arrest much less death. Agrippa asked to meet Paul so he could help with writing his papers to Caesar.
This reminds me of what the Jews did with Jesus. They manipulated the Romans to kill him and now they wanted to do the same with Paul. The Romans were getting tired of being their pawns.
Lord, we pray that you would enlarge your name upon the earth through your Church. May we be blessed to bless the earth and may we not sin against you.