All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. – 1 Chronicles 9:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 6, 2019): 1 Chronicles 9

As parents, our primary job is to make our children ready to meet the world. At every age, we have to be prepared for the battle, because one day they will leave our homes and go out to greet society on their own with the tools and weapons that we have given to them. We hope that they will have been prepared to go and make a difference, to the very best of their ability. The skills that they will need are varied. For me, the first thing I want for them as they meet the world is a relationship with their God; because when things go wrong, and they will, they need to have someone to whom they can turn and a belief system that will encourage them to do right things in troubling times.

More than that, the world in which I live is one where our children need to know how to handle money. It is the one thing that their formal education will not likely teach them. They need to understand the benefit of denying their wants and wishes now so that they can have what they want in the future. They need to know how to connect with people so that they can live in an increasingly social world.

There are so many more lessons that they need to learn and our task is essential, but our tools are few. We have the act of modeling concepts in front of them, and giving them rewards and punishments as we shape their behavior, all with a purpose of preparing them to leave our homes and go out and make a difference. And almost every day, we come in contact with the ones who were not prepared. These are the people with big dreams stuck at home with no way to achieve them. They are filled with potential long past the time when that potential should have shifted more into the arena of reality. They are the ones still stuck in their parent’s basements playing video games and hiding from a world that they are afraid to greet.

The genealogy of Israel revealed the potential of the nation. They were positioned perfectly in the ancient world to make a difference. Existing at the crossroads of what we know of as Asia, Europe, and Africa, and making their homes on the fertile shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the world would literally come to them. And in that moment of meeting the world, they would have a choice to either be the influencers of the world or be influenced by the world.

They chose to be influenced. God, acting as a parent, tried to shape them to be the influencers, but the people refused to listen. The writer of Chronicles, writing after the Babylonian Exile, wants to give perspective to his readers. The Babylonian Exile happened because Israel refused to fulfill its role in the world. Even with all of the advantages that God had given to them, they chose a lesser path. And so God took that path away.

Now, as the nation began to move back to their place beside the Mediterranean Sea, the Chronicler needed to remind them that nothing had changed. If they wanted to remain in their home by the Mediterranean Sea, they had to turn their unfaithfulness into faithfulness.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 10