And the sons of Hezron, who were born to him Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.
Hezron has already appeared in the line from Judah. Now the record pauses to name his three sons. Only one of them carries the royal line, yet Scripture keeps all three names. Why record men who lead nowhere? And why is the firstborn not the chosen one?
These names sit at the centre of the chapter. The chapter has one aim: to trace one family down to one man.
In 1 Chronicles 2:9-16 we meet the genealogy of David. This is in fact the main point of that chapter. David comes from Judah, and the line runs back through the ages by way of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Shem, and Noah to Adam.
Birth order decides who heads the list. It does not decide whose line God uses.
Fruitlessness is the mark of Jerahmeel's line above all. He was Hezron's eldest son (v. 9), yet here he stands in last place again (v. 25)... The traits of the natural man pass on just as surely as the traits of a man of faith like Caleb; the difference is that the traits of faith pass on by grace. David's line does not come from Jerahmeel, but from Ram, his younger brother (vv. 9-16).
Another writer finds the same order running through the whole opening section of Chronicles.
The first nine chapters form an opening section. In them we find the principle that the apostle Paul put into words long afterward: not the spiritual first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. Even the general genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1 serves this purpose of God. The genealogy of the sons of Israel, starting in 1 Chronicles 2, follows the same rule.
The third son is the one who raises questions. Rossier sees a purpose in the unusual form of his name.
Verse 9 calls Caleb by the name Chelubai, and I think there is a purpose in that. He is the son of Hezron and the great-grandson of Judah. We find his genealogy in verses 18-20... The record calls him the brother of Jerahmeel (the son of Hezron, v. 9). But right at the end of this list we suddenly meet Achsah — the daughter, as we know, of Caleb the son of Jephunneh (Joshua 15:16).
Commentators differ over how far to press the link between the two Calebs. Rossier reads the overlap as deliberate — the son of Jephunneh, who "by his origin really had no right of citizenship in Israel," being grafted into this family by faith. Darby is more cautious: "There is no proof that Caleb was the son of Hezron, son of Pharez; if it was the same Caleb as in Numbers, he was the son of Jephunneh."
Ram carries the crown. Jerahmeel and Chelubai carry nothing — and yet the Spirit stops the march toward David to name them.
Having brought the line down to David, the Holy Spirit pauses, as it were, and notes the sons of Hezron (Esrom in older versions of Matthew 1) other than Ram (Aram there) — that is, Jerahmeel and Chelubai, who is also called Caleb (see verses 9 and 18). The honoured line passed through Ram, but his natural relatives have a place in the records of Judah... Even Segub is named, though he was only half-brother to Ram. Is that not because of his link with David's ancestry, with that line which was always so precious to God that even the slightest tie to it earns a place in these genealogies?
The ten tribes vanished among the nations. Judah did not, and there was a reason for the difference.
God had set David on the throne, and that was a pledge that Christ must sit there too... So God keeps the tribe the King was to come from until the appointed time, when Jesus is born in Bethlehem. He keeps this tribe while the ten are hidden in the dust of the earth... During the captivity, when Gentile rulers held the throne, God carefully guarded the line of the true heirs. After the return from Babylon, Matthew carries that line on to the birth of Christ, and in Him it ends.
- Aim — Verses 9 to 16 are the heart of the chapter. They trace David back through Judah, Jacob, Abraham and Noah to Adam.
- Order — The natural comes first, then the spiritual. Jerahmeel is named first as the eldest and ends up last; the line runs through Ram, the younger brother.
- Grace — A man of faith passes on his character only by grace; the natural man passes on his by birth. That is why Jerahmeel's branch is marked by unfruitfulness.
- Reach — Chelubai is the Caleb of verse 18. Judah's records also hold relatives who carry no crown, because the least tie to David's line earns a place.
- Result — God keeps the tribe and the family safe through Babylon. Matthew then carries the same line on to Christ, and in Him it ends.
And Ram begot Amminadab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
The names from Judah down to David can read like dead weight. Then you notice which ones the Spirit stops to describe. This verse holds two of them: Amminadab, and his son Nahshon, singled out as leader of the tribe of Judah.
Ram, named at the head of this verse, was not the eldest of his family. One writer compares the two brothers:
Unfruitfulness especially marks the line of Jerahmeel. He was Hezron's eldest son (v. 9), yet here he is put in last place again (v. 25). This fits what we have already seen of Chronicles in chapter 1. The features of the natural man pass down just as surely as the features of a man of faith like Caleb. The difference is that Caleb's pass down by grace. David's line does not descend from Jerahmeel, but from Ram, his younger brother (vv. 9-16).
Most of the men between Judah and David get no description at all. Nahshon is a rare exception, and the other two exceptions are remembered for their sin:
From Judah to David there is only a run of names with no distinguishing mark. There are three exceptions, and two of them stand out because of their sin. Er, whom the Lord killed; Achar, the troubler of Israel; and Nahshon, the prince of the children of Judah. Having brought the line down to David, the Holy Spirit pauses and notes the sons of Hezron other than Ram. The honoured line passed through Ram, but his natural relatives have a place in the records of Judah.
So Nahshon's title is not decoration. In a chapter where silence is the norm, the words "prince of the sons of Judah" carry the Spirit's own emphasis.
One commentator ties both names in this verse to the meaning of Judah itself:
Nahshon means "a diviner." Satan inspired some diviners, but God inspired others, and the second kind is meant here. Judah's name means "praise," and God gives the true worshipper grace to discern all things, even the future, as he takes in the word of God... Amminadab (the father of Nahshon) means "the people of the liberal giver." God is indeed the Liberal Giver. Praise and discernment of God's ways always go with knowing that God's grace freely gives us all things to enjoy.
The two men in this verse are not obscure. Their family sat at the meeting point of Israel's royal line and its priestly line:
Ram is sometimes called Aram (Matt. 1:3). Amminadab was the father of Elisheba. She married Aaron, the brother of Moses. Aaron was the first high priest of Israel, and the office then passed down through his family (Ex. 6:23). Nahshon (Naason) was the brother-in-law of Aaron (Ex. 6:23), and prince or head of the tribe of Judah (Num. 1:7; Num. 2:3; 1 Chron. 2:10). Salmon (Salma), son of Nahshon, married Rahab the prostitute and was the father of Boaz (Matt. 1:5).
Nahshon's rank showed itself in the march: his tribe went first. It also opened a door for Rahab, a woman with no claim on Israel at all:
She married Salmon (Matt. 1:5), who was the son of Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah (1 Chron. 2:11), the leader of the tribe that had marched first through the wilderness (Num. 10:14). And so she came straight into the royal line of Israel. She entered one of the most honoured families of all, and became an ancestor of the promised Messiah. She is one of the four women mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord.
Why record any of this? Because the list had a destination, and God was watching over it:
The pedigree shows the distinct line of constitutional royalty promised to the nation. The names given in it are not always those of the eldest in the family. David himself, for instance, was the seventh son of Jesse (1 Chron. 2:15). God decreed that the line of descent from Pherez would end with the Messiah. So He watched over it without a break.
- The line chosen. The royal line skips the firstborn Jerahmeel and runs through Ram, his younger brother. What passes down here passes down by grace.
- The line marked. Between Judah and David only three men get a description, and Nahshon's title, prince of Judah, is one of them.
- The line named. Amminadab means "the people of the liberal giver." Nahshon means "a diviner." Praise and discernment rest on a God who gives freely.
- The line opened. Nahshon led the tribe that marched first. Through his son Salmon, Rahab entered the royal family and the genealogy of the Lord.
- The line kept. The eldest was not always chosen. Yet God Himself guarded this line all the way to the Messiah.
and Nahshon begot Salma, and Salma begot Boaz,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse;
Three names, one line: the kinsman who redeemed, the son of a Moabite mother, and the unknown farmer whose son became king. Chronicles lingers here because the line to the Messiah runs through this short chain.
Chronicles opens with chapter after chapter of names. One commentator notes that one tribe among the sons of Israel gets far more room than the rest.
This chapter sets the sons of Judah before us in detail — not those of Reuben or of Simeon. The object of the book is purpose. Judah was the tribe chosen first of all for the kingdom, and chosen with a view to the Messiah. So we can understand why the record traces his sons at such length.
Another writer traces David's line through this chapter and points out what Chronicles leaves out.
In 1 Chronicles 2:9-16 we have the genealogy of David, and this is the main thrust of that chapter. Chronicles says nothing at all about David's history and his sufferings as the rejected king. It sets forth David as the object of God's counsels about the kingship, counsels that Christ, the Son of David, will fully accomplish.
The first name in the verse carries its own meaning. In the book of Ruth a nearer relative came first in line, but he could not redeem.
Boaz, who is the instrument of blessing, the kinsman redeemer, is a type of the risen Christ. The name means "In him is strength." When the nearest kinsman failed, Boaz had the power of redemption. The nearer kinsman represents the law, and he could not redeem the inheritance. As the apostle wrote, if the inheritance comes by law, it is no longer by promise, and Ruth must receive everything as the gift of pure grace. So Boaz stepped in. No claim rested on him, though he was a kinsman. He acted out of his own heart of love and grace, bought the land, and married Ruth.
The middle name belongs to a man with almost no recorded story. What he has is a name, and a place in four short lists.
Obed means "servant." He was the son of the wealthy Boaz. By his name at least, and perhaps also by an obedient and dedicated life, he bore a quiet witness. It pointed to his coming grandson David, who "served the purpose of God in his own generation" (Acts 13:36). It pointed further to David's Son and David's Lord, whose service to God is unequalled. The record shows that in Obed's descendants his name became "renowned in Israel." Apart from the brief record in Ruth, it appears in only three places: 1 Chronicles 2:12, as the grandfather of David, and Matthew 1:5 and Luke 3:32, as the ancestor of the Messiah of Israel. But what remarkable honour for the son of a Moabitess — this association with the Anointed of Jehovah in His family line!
Obed's mother was Ruth, and the law shut her nation out of the Lord's congregation.
Ruth was a loving woman, but she came from a source a Jew found deeply offensive. She was a Moabitess, and so forbidden by the law to enter the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation. Jews loathed the Edomite and the Egyptian less, and their children could enter in the third generation (Deut. 23:3-8). Here was a still deeper testimony that grace would go out and bless the very worst of the Gentiles. Whether the Jews like it or not, God has brought Rahab, the once immoral Gentile, and Ruth, the meek daughter of Moab, into the nation. More than that, He has brought them into the direct line from which the Messiah was to arise.
The verse stops at Jesse, not at his famous son. One writer explains why the smaller name is the one that gets used.
The name "Jesse" stands here, we believe, to heighten the contrast. David had become a name of great renown. Jesse only reminds us of the otherwise unknown farmer from whom David sprang. From one small and unknown the great Messiah was to spring, and yet to be the Root from which Jesse himself sprang.
- Strength. Boaz means "in him is strength." No claim rested on him, yet he redeemed, where the nearer kinsman, who stands for the law, could not.
- Service. Obed means "servant." His name survives in only four places in Scripture, this verse among them, always as a link toward the Messiah.
- Grace. The law barred Ruth the Moabitess from the congregation. Yet she stands in the direct line from which the Messiah came.
- Smallness. The line rests on Jesse, an unknown farmer, so that the great Messiah springs from him and is also the Root from which Jesse sprang.
- Purpose. Chronicles follows Judah because the book is about the kingdom. It presents David as the object of God's counsels, which Christ, the Son of David, will fully accomplish.
and Jesse begot his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third,
The verse opens the list of Jesse's sons, a list that ends with David. Two questions follow: why count brothers who never reign, and why is David the seventh son here when Samuel calls him the eighth?
Why record six brothers who never rule? One writer finds the answer in the numbering:
Notice the care and precision with which the sons of Jesse are given, named, and numbered in their order: clearly to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for God's purpose is bound up with that.
Eliab stands first by birth, and the whole opening section of Chronicles follows that same pattern of the natural coming before the chosen. Commenting on the arrangement of these genealogies, one writer names the rule:
In the nine chapters that make up the opening section we have the principle that the apostle Paul formulated long afterwards: not first the spiritual but the natural, then the spiritual. Even the general genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1 is governed by this divine purpose.
Eliab's position and his impressive appearance counted for nothing when a king was being sought. One writer draws out why the firstborn's rank actually told against him:
Eliab has a beautiful name and a stately presence: his name means "my God is Father." Yet notice that Eliab is the firstborn, and David stands at the other end, the eighth. This is against Eliab, though his fine appearance may appeal even to a prophet. He comes under the law of Genesis, and shows the rule: "it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual." But there is no natural Christ, and so none of the old creation. The eighth speaks of the new, and Eliab must give place to David.
The second son's name points to a generous father, yet he is passed over too:
So Abinadab is doomed as well, although as the second son he suggests help or salvation. His name fits that too: "my father is a generous giver." And why, man argues, should God not freely forgive sin? He is good, and the Father of men; why should He not pardon simply because it pleases Him? Why must the Christ be a David, an eighth son, taking man's ruin on Himself and going down to the depth of man's condemnation to redeem him? But it cannot be. Sin is the dark, basic opposite of God, and He cannot dwell with it.
The third son's name appears in more than one form. ESV spells it Shimea here, where older translations read Shimma:
Son of Jesse and brother of David. 1 Samuel 16:9; 1 Samuel 17:13. Called SHIMEAH in 2 Samuel 13:3, and SHIMMA in 1 Chronicles 2:13.
Commentators differ here. One writer, asked why Samuel makes David the eighth son and Chronicles the seventh, answers plainly:
Keil supposes that one of Jesse's sons may have died without children, and so dropped out of the list in the later book. I have nothing better to offer.
Another treats both numbers as deliberate, each fitting the book it stands in:
Is there not a truth hinted at in Samuel which is not needed for the Holy Spirit's purpose in Chronicles? We know that "eight" is right in Samuel and "seventh" in Chronicles. Each is just as much from God as the other. Seven speaks of rest in creation, and eight of rest in resurrection power and glory. David, being in Samuel the eighth, points to the true David who will restore everything, and who will reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man. For rest in creation became impossible once sin came in. Eight means God stepping in with grace when all is lost.
These brothers are the family God chose from. One writer traces the steps of that choice:
The Lord had chosen him, David, to be king over Israel forever; He had chosen Judah as prince; in Judah He had chosen the house of Jesse. Among the sons of Jesse He had taken pleasure in David, to make him king. The Lord's free choice and God's good pleasure rested on the least and most humble of them all.
- Named — Scripture records Eliab, Abinadab and Shimea by name and in order; the third also appears as Shimeah and Shimma elsewhere.
- Numbered — Scripture counts the brothers only so that David arrives as the seventh, and God's purpose hangs on that number.
- Passed over — Eliab's rank and fine looks told against him: the natural comes first, then the spiritual.
- Disputed — Samuel says eighth, Chronicles seventh. Some suggest a son died childless; others hold each number is true to its own book, where eight speaks of rest in resurrection.
- Chosen — God narrowed the choice: Judah, then the house of Jesse, then the least of Jesse's sons, by His own free good pleasure.
Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
A fourth son and a fifth pass by in one line, and Scripture tells us nothing else about either man. Yet the count is deliberate, and it is running toward someone.
Why count sons whose stories Scripture never tells? One commentator finds the answer at the end of the list:
Look how carefully and exactly the sons of Jesse are given, named and numbered in their order. Clearly this is to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for the purpose of God is bound up with that. So "David the seventh" has a meaning far beyond the bare fact of his order. And in fact David was the eighth son, not the seventh. Before God he was both; but in His book God is giving us His thoughts, and not listing natural events here.
That raises a question. In Samuel, God refuses seven sons of Jesse and chooses the eighth. Commentators explain the shorter count here in different ways, and the same writer weighs one of them before settling the matter on other ground:
If the seven are refused and the eighth chosen according to Samuel, why is he numbered the seventh here in Chronicles? Some have supposed that one of Jesse's sons died, and that David would therefore be the seventh. Is that supposition satisfactory? ... We know that "eight" is right in Samuel and "seventh" in Chronicles. One is as divine as the other. Each agrees perfectly with the truth God is communicating there.
The two numbers each carry a picture of rest:
Seven is clearly connected with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. David, being the eighth in Samuel, points to the true David who will restore everything and reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man. For rest in creation became impossible once sin came in. Eight signifies God stepping in with grace when all is lost.
Here in Chronicles the number falls on the earthly side:
David, the type of God's rest in His Son when He sits on His earthly throne, is numbered the seventh here. It is God's rest in the renewed earth. But even this could not happen except through One who had passed through death. This seventh-day rest can only come by Christ as the risen Man. How wonderfully the "seventh" and the "eighth" are combined in the Person of Christ!
God's choice passed over Nethanel, Raddai and every older brother. It rested on the least of them:
The Lord's free choice and God's good pleasure had rested on the least and most humble of them all. In God's eyes he was strong and mighty, no doubt, in his struggle with the lion and the bear in the wilderness. But in the eyes of men he had nothing that they should desire him. Was he not a picture of the Perfect Servant? The Lord acclaimed Him as the object of His good pleasure at the very moment He was taking a public place of deepest humiliation in the baptism of repentance.
The same pattern runs through the chapter. The family line does not run through the eldest:
Unfruitfulness especially marks the line of Jerahmeel. Although he was Hezron's eldest son (v. 9), he is once again placed last here (v. 25)... David's line does not come down from Jerahmeel, but from Ram, his younger brother.
Nethanel and Raddai are never heard of again. Yet God keeps their names:
He records at the same time the names of those who had gone through the trials mentioned in this history without being blotted out of the book. Here it is only the outward picture of this blessed memorial of the people of His grace; but in fact this is what we find here.
These names are not filler:
This special mention of Hezron's family and descendants is not a bare family list running from Judah to David, where the evil simply take their turn in order beside the good. These are men of renown. As long as the book of God is read, their names will stand out as the names of men whom God would honour.
- Counted. God numbers Jesse's sons in order for one reason: so the last name, David, lands in its place in His purpose.
- Counted twice. Samuel makes David the eighth son; Chronicles makes him the seventh. One writer calls both numbers God-given, each fitting the truth its own book teaches.
- Chosen. God's choice fell on the least of Jesse's sons, the one men would not have wanted. In the same way, David's line runs through the younger Ram, not the eldest son Jerahmeel.
- Crowned. Seven speaks of rest in creation, eight of rest in resurrection glory. Both meet in Christ, the risen Man who will reign.
- Kept. God writes down even the names with no story attached, keeping the record of the people of His grace.
Ozem the sixth, David the seventh;
One line in a family list carries the weight of the chapter. The writer counts off six brothers, then names David. But Samuel's record says Jesse had eight sons. So why is David the seventh here?
The six older brothers get no story, only a number:
Notice the care and precision in the list of Jesse's sons, named and numbered in order. Clearly this is to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for with that the purpose of God is bound up. So "David the seventh" means far more than the bare fact that he came seventh. And in fact, David was the eighth son, not the seventh. Before God he was both; but in His book God is giving us His thoughts, and not here listing natural events.
Commentators differ on the two numbers. One answer is simple — a son dropped out of the record:
Keil supposes that one of Jesse's sons may have died without descendants, and so the later list leaves him out. I have nothing better to offer.
Another treats both numbers as deliberate, each suited to the book it stands in:
The neglected one is the chosen one. Not one of the previous seven was chosen, so the youngest must have been the eighth. … Is there not a truth hinted at in Samuel that the Holy Spirit did not need for His purpose in giving us the books of Chronicles? We know that "eight" is right in Samuel, and "seventh" in Chronicles. One is as divine as the other. Each agrees perfectly with the truth God is teaching there. The numbers seven and eight have a symbolic meaning in Scripture as well as a natural one. Seven is connected with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. Eight means God stepping in with grace when all is lost. The coming kingdom is for the earth, yet it must have a link with resurrection so that it may be stable. That link is the glorious risen Man as King.
The number reaches past David to Christ:
But He is also God's rest in creation. And here, in connection with the earth and God's earthly people, Christ is the "seventh." He is the Creator, and Scripture says, "On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested." Chronicles does not give the wonderful resurrection-like power found in Samuel. David appears suddenly at the death of Saul, and the tribes gather to make him king. It is simply the earthly kingdom, set up among men. Wonderful as this picture is, it stands far below the reality of the Lord reigning in glory! What is the power of David or the splendour of Solomon compared with the millennial glory of Christ? … But even this rest comes only through One Who had passed through death. So this seventh-day rest can only be by Christ as risen Man. How wonderfully the "seventh" and the "eighth" are combined in the Person of Christ!
The same writer reads David's rise in Samuel as a picture drawn from the far side of death:
Was it not like a resurrection from the dead when David came into the scene of Israel's ruin? For a little while he had been lost to Israel, hidden in the court of Achish. Israel lay crushed on the mountains of Gilboa, and the Philistines were triumphant. … Was he not like one risen from the dead? In resurrection power, as it were, he led Israel from Gilboa, the scene of ruin and death, to take possession of Mount Zion. … David was only a picture of Christ, Who, as the risen Man, is the "eighth."
David's place in the list also tells us how the royal line ran:
The pedigree shows the distinct line of constitutional royalty promised to the nation. The names given in it are not always those of the eldest in the family. David himself, for instance, was the seventh son of Jesse (1 Chron. 2:15). God had decreed that the line from Perez, the son of Judah, would end with the Messiah. So He kept it under His own constant oversight.
The same pattern appears in David's own family:
David, the head of this family, was the lastborn of his father's house, and his family bears the same clear mark of election according to grace. Amnon comes first, the son according to the flesh and the shame of his father's house. He is rejected, like everything that springs from nature. … Once again, nature's order is of no value.
- Counted — Six brothers get a number for one reason: so David can stand as the seventh. God's purpose is bound up with that name.
- Chosen — The royal line does not follow birth order. God kept it in His own hands until it reached the Messiah.
- Seventh — Seven is rest in creation. David the seventh pictures a kingdom on earth, far below the glory of Christ's reign.
- Eighth — Eight is rest in resurrection power. David's rise from ruin at Gilboa to Zion reads like a man raised from the dead.
- Combined — Both numbers meet in Christ: God's rest in creation, and the risen Man who makes that rest secure.
and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.
This verse sits in a long list of names running from Judah down to David. It stops to record two women and three fighting men: the king's sisters, and the nephews who would command his army. Why does a record built around the throne pause for them?
This verse ends the chapter's opening run of names. One writer traces where that line comes from.
In 1 Chronicles 2:9-16 we have the genealogy of David — in fact this is the main thrust of that chapter. He is descended from Judah, and the line runs back through the ages via Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Shem, and Noah to Adam.
The list makes David the seventh son of Jesse. One writer reads that number as deliberate.
Notice the care and precision: the sons of Jesse are given, named and numbered in their order. This plainly tells us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, because God's purpose is bound up with that. So "David the seventh" carries a meaning far beyond the simple fact that he came seventh in order. In fact David was the eighth son, not the seventh. Before God he was both.
Commentators differ. Another writer offers only a guess:
Keil supposes that one of Jesse's sons may have died without children, and so was left out of the later list. I have nothing better to offer.
The verse names two sisters. One reference work gathers what Scripture says about Zeruiah — and what it never says.
Zeruiah is described together with Abigail as "sisters of the sons of Jesse." They may have been half-sisters (Abigail was the daughter of Nahash, 2 Sam. 17:25). Zeruiah had three sons, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the leaders of David's army; but it is not stated who her husband was. David declared, after the murder of Abner, that the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him.
So the sons are known by their mother, and through her by the king.
Abishai, Joab and Asahel were David's nephews. One writer draws out what that nearness produced in them.
David's three nephews — Joab, Abishai and Asahel — were bound to God's anointed by ties of family and affection. They shared his trials when everything seemed to go wrong for David. Devotedness to Christ — known and loved in closer and lasting relationships — will keep us on the path that leads to glory in this present time. Joab was the "chief and captain" of them all. His brother Abishai was chief of the second three. Asahel's career was cut short by too much zeal, unbalanced by the grace and wisdom he needed. The spear of one of God's own people suddenly ended what might have been a brilliant path of service. Asahel had insisted on chasing that man, in spite of a timely warning. It is not for the servants of Christ to seek the hurt of any of God's children.
Nearness to the king could also be pressed as a claim to rank. One writer weighs what that claim was worth.
The sons of Zeruiah might claim this rank according to the flesh, but according to God they had no greater claim to it than the others — quite the opposite. Abishai did not reach the "first three"; Asahel was among "the thirty." Joab is not even named among the mighty men.
One writer notices what this book does not say about Joab.
Here he is not the ambitious, vindictive man, but the man appointed, according to God's counsels, to conquer the fortress of Zion for the king. Not a word about his character, or about anything he had done up to this moment. His struggle with Abner, his revenge on that noble captain, the murder he committed — all are passed over in silence. If we had read only the account in Chronicles, would we not say that Joab was an upright man beyond reproach? The truth is simple. Here Joab is only the instrument prepared to install the Lord's anointed at Jerusalem — the king according to God's thoughts.
Earlier in the chapter, the line to David passes over an eldest son.
Although Jerahmeel was Hezron's eldest son, he is placed last here once again. This agrees with what we have seen of the character of Chronicles in chapter 1. The features of the natural man pass down just as readily as the features of a man of faith like Caleb — only the latter pass down by grace. David's line does not descend from Jerahmeel, but from Ram, his younger brother.
- Line. Verses 9-16 are the chapter's main thrust: the genealogy of David traced back through Judah, Abraham and Noah to Adam.
- Grace. The throne skipped the eldest. Jerahmeel is placed last, and David comes from the younger brother, Ram — grace, not birth order.
- Names. Zeruiah and Abigail are named; their husbands are not. The sons are known by their mother, and through her by the king.
- Nearness. The three nephews were bound to God's anointed by family and affection, and shared his trials. Yet family ties gave them no rank before God, and Asahel's zeal cut his service short.
- Silence. Chronicles leaves out Joab's revenge and his murder. It shows him only as the instrument prepared to seat the Lord's anointed in Jerusalem.