Year 9, Day 282: 1 Chronicles 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

1 Chronicles 8 is a bit of an enigma.  There is nothing wrong with the chapter.  Saul was a king prior to David, so his lineage is recorded.  It makes sense, right?

Actually, not so much.  Remember that Saul was a rival king.  Saul tried to kill David to preserve the throne for his own son.  As the conflict between David and Saul aged, Saul grew more and more unstable.

Why is Saul’s lineage listed here if he had such an antagonistic relationship with David, who is well remembered and whose lineage continued on the throne?  There isn’t an obvious answer to that question, but we can speculate.

Remember that when David took the throne, he looked for a way to remember his relationship with Jonathan.  Jonathan had been killed in battle, and Jonathan was one of David’s closest friends.  David found Mephibosheth, also called Merib-baal in this chapter.  Mephibosheth was pulled into David’s court where he lived in peace and comfort.  He even acted as a spy under Absalom’s revolt!

Saul was a rival king to David.  He even tried to kill David, whom God had appointed as king.  Saul actively worked against the Lord at the end of his life.  Yet, here his lineage remains intact.  He is remembered.  One might even say it is a display of generational forgiveness.  God judged Saul and replaced him with David.  However, God did not wipe the memory of Saul from the history books.  In spite of Saul’s error, because of David’s love for Jonathan the lineage remains.

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