Significance in Every Begot

Now these are the records of the generations

of Shem, Ham, and Japheth,

the sons of Noah;

and sons were born to them

after the flood.

Genesis 10:1

Before I studied the Word of God and before I knew God, I thought the seemingly endless list of genealogies with names I could not read, much less pronounce, was purposeless.

What I have learned is how very wrong I was for that view. Now that I am a student of the Scriptures and a follower of Christ, I see the importance of this record. These lists of genealogies are important on many levels.

It shows us that God cares about us, the individual us. He knows our names, our days of birth, our day of new birth, our day of death. After all it was he who knit us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139).

In these lists, we see the origins of the nations. In these lists we see where we came from. Acts 17:26 declares, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitations.” We see that we are not accidents; our place in history is not by chance, but by design.

Most importantly, we see how the promise God made Adam and Eve back in the garden has been carried out down through history, until its fulfillment in the one who came from his mother’s womb both fully man and fully God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh Father,

I worship You. My Jesus, my heart falls at Your feet. I praise Your name. I thank You for my life and for my place in Your story. How honored I am to be Yours; to know that You see me as an individual and not just one of many, like a man looking down on an ant bed. My God, You know me by name. You know the number of every hair on my head. You know when I get up and when I fall asleep. You know my thoughts. You know my heart. You brought me forth at this time, in this day, in this place, for Your purpose.

Oh Father, that Your will would be accomplished in me. My Jesus, I am thankful for Your life, for Your death, for Your resurrection. How amazing you are!

My Jesus, I love You.

In Your name I pray,

Amen.