Wed.’s Devo -Descendants of Hezron -

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 28:16-18 Yesterday we read where Judah had three son Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er and Onan were both so wicked that God killed them. Shelah was suppose to be given to his brother’s wife Tamar, to have children through for his brother’s name but Judah never followed through. Tamar took matters into her own hands and tricked Judah into having sex with her and had twins named Perez and Zerah. Perez’s first born was Hezron. Boaz, and Jesse came from his line. Jesse was the father of David. Today, we continue reading about Hezron’s line. We start reading about his son Caleb who married two women. He had three sons and then died. His second wife Epharathah had a son named Hur. The last line of our reading mentions Hur again and his mother and says that they are the ancestor of Bethlehem. Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah named for his son, Caleb and his wife, Ephrathah. Before Hezron died, he married again at the age of 60. He married a woman from the tribe of Manasseh even though he was from the tribe of Judah. From that time on he was incorporated into the tribe of Manasseh and all his land went to that tribe. When Hezron died, his wife was pregnant. She birthed Ashhur who never saw his father. Jehu, who usurped the kingdom from Jezebel came from Hezron’s son Ram. From Caleb’s descendants we have the father of Hebron. Hebron became a city of refuge. Caleb’s first born of Ephrathath was Hur and his son Salma founded Bethlehem. They became the Kenites and the Recabites. The Recabites were the family that Jeremiah used in his example in Jeremiah 25. They had been told not to drink wine and had obeyed for generations. Next we are given the sons of David. We read about all the sons born in Hebron except the second one Daniel. He was the son of Abigail from Carmel. He had six sons in 7.5 years then moved to Jerusalem where he had nine other sons. David had a sister named Tamar. She was the “Tamar” that was raped and the sister of Absalom. Solomon’s line was the kingly line and we can recognize all his son’s names. Chapter Four gives the descendants of Judah from his fifth son, Shobal. In Acts, Paul’s case was to be tried. The high priest, Ananias came from Jerusalem with his lawyer, Tertullus to testify against Paul. Tertullus presented his case first. He called Paul a troublemaker who constantly stirred up riots all over the world. He also called him the ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. And thirdly, Paul was caught trying to desecrate the Temple when they arrested him. (Sounds like accusations being used today against patriots.) Next, Paul spoke. He reminded them that he had been in Rome 12 days and had yet to stir up a riot in the Temple. His accusers had no proof to anything they were saying. Paul told them about his meeting in Jerusalem and how it was quiet until he mentioned the resurrection of the dead. When Paul said this, Felix called a recess and delayed the trial until Lysias could arrive. Paul was kept in custody with some freedom and visits. They reconvened when Drusilla, Felix’s wife arrived. She was a Jew and Felix wanted her input. Paul met with them and told them about his faith in Jesus. He covered the topics of righteousness, self-control and the day of judgment. Conviction hit Felix and he called a recess. He hoped that Paul would bribe him so he sent for him time after time. They met for two years until Feld was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Festus kept Paul in jail to gain the favor of the Jews. Lord, may it be said of you that we built a foundation of righteousness for our descendants to follow. May we bless your name.