1 Chronicles 8

In 1 Chronicles 8 and 9 we conclude the genealogical information that begins this book. Our focus in these chapters is on the tribe of Benjamin and on the family line of Saul. Saul was the first king of Israel. Certain details of his heritage and progeny are listed twice here in these two chapters. Despite being the first king of Israel, Saul was unable to pass on the throne to his son. The Messiah would not be from the tribe of Benjamin, but from the tribe of Judah and from the lineage of David.

When we begin the narrative section of this book in 1 Chronicles 10, we will start with the death of Saul and his sons and the beginning of the reign of David, the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah. The little tribe of Benjamin was important to the history of David and to the account of the return of the exiles to the Promised Land after their seventy years away from the Land was completed. Though there was a great conflict between Saul and David, David did not desire that conflict, and many within the tribe of Benjamin would seek a close religious association with God's purposes through the line of David reigning in the city of Jerusalem.

Certain military details regarding the tribe of Benjamin were included in 1 Chronicles 7. The names in 1 Chronicles 8 and 9 were different and included none of the large numbers of the thousands of fighting men from the days of David. The names of clans and leaders in Chapter 8 helped establish the connection of the returning people from the tribe of Benjamin with God's purposes in a restored Jerusalem. Verse 28 included this important historical note: “These lived in Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem was important to the purposes of God. Among many things that could be said about this city, it was there that Jesus would die for our sins. Before His death, the Son of David rode into that city as a humble king, receiving the praise of even the children. He wept for the city of Jerusalem, and the daughters of Jerusalem eventually wept for Him.

Yet Jesus' fullest passion was not for the Jerusalem that is below, but for the eternal Jerusalem above. The story of the Benjaminites who desired to be associated with David and with the Lord's city should inspire us to rejoice all the more in our great King and in His everlasting Kingdom. We are happy to see the kingdom of darkness defeated here below whenever we have the occasion to observe that, but we are even happier to know that our names are written above in the eternal city of God. We rejoice in our association with the Resurrection Man and the entire new world that He is bringing into being.