Year 6, Day 282: 1 Chronicles 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

1 Chronicles 7 gives us a really neat perspective.  Yes, it is the genealogy of Saul.  The Chronicler gives us Saul’s ancestors and then he gives us Saul’s progeny.  One might read this chapter and not think anything of it.  After all, Saul was the first king of Israel, right?

Let’s not forget who Saul was.  Saul was the man the people chose when they rebelled against God and told God that they wanted a human king instead of Him.  Saul was a mighty warrior, but a mighty warrior who eventually tried to kill of David time and time again.  Saul hunted David like a pack of dogs hunts a fox.  In the grand scheme of things, if David is the revered king of Israel, Saul should be the easily forgotten antithesis.

But Saul’s genealogy is still remembered here.  Saul has his place.  There is forgiveness.  God doesn’t strike Saul and his family from the record.  God guides the chronicler to place Saul in the history and to be remembered.  We all make mistakes.  God forgives.

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