“Two sons were born to Eber; One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.”
~ 1 Chronicles 1:19
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know that you are a branch? You are a branch of a genealogy. You are a branch of a family tree. Do you know what a genealogy is? Do you know what a family tree is? A genealogy starts with one guy or gal and ends up with a specific guy, gal or kid. A family tree also starts with one guy or gal but instead of only naming one guy or gal and then going to the next guy or gal – such as going from your great grandpa to your grandpaa to your dad and finally to you – which is what a genealogy does, your family tree includes every family of every guy and gal from every kid who was born to your great grandpa – or even before great grandpa, to your dad’s family. Your dad’s Uncle Drew has been working at putting together a family tree on your grandmaa’s side of your family. Genealogies are scattered throughout the Bible. Genealogies can be difficult to read. A genealogy found in the Bible sometimes has strange names recorded in it. Why do you think that a genealogy would be so important to God that God would have genealogies be included in a number of the books that He inspired different guys to write and which became included in the Bible? Each book in the Bible is part of a canon. To be a part of the Bible’s canon, each book that is in the Bible was considered, measured and ruled as being genuine and God inspired. Each God inspired book that is found in the Bible was for hundreds and thousands of years carefully rewritten as the book had been originally written. All the books that are in the Bible were almost 2000 years ago put together in one book. The Bible is the only book that has ever been written that is alive. Besides the genealogies that are found in the Bible, poems, songs, laws, prophecies, teachings, historical events and a lot of other things are found throughout the Bible. The books in the Bible were either written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. When you read the Bible, you are actually having God talk to you. God uses the Bible to help you to know Him. God wants you to see yourselves in the family tree or the genealogy which began with Adam. God created Adam. Adam’s genealogy goes through Seth to Noah to Abraham to . . . and finally stops at Jesus’ dad and ma. Do you know how you can be in Jesus’ family tree? When you make a decision of faith to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God adopts you and drafts you into His family tree.
The chronicler wrote one book which became two books – 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. God inspired the chronicler to begin the book that He had the chronicler write with a genealogy. Adam is the first word or name that is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 1. The chronicler begins his book by recording the names in Adam’s genealogy. The chronicler ends Adam’s genealogy by recording the names of the kings who ruled Edom. Where do you think that the chronicler found the information that he needed to have to make such a definitive list of names? Your grandpaa thinks that Moses had access to written genealogical records. It was very important when Moses was alive that carefully recorded genealogical records be kept of each Israelite people group family unit. In order to be considered a Jew, a Jew had to prove that he or she was a member of one of the tribal clans that made up the Israelite people group’s tribal clans. The Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids were God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. Even though Cain and Abel were Adam’s first two sons, the chronicler does not mention Cain or Abel – let alone Cain and Able being Adam’s kids. The chronicler jumps from Adam to Seth. Seth was the third boy born to Adam and Eve. Seth’s name means granted or supplied. Seth was born after Cain killed Abel. The next guy in the chronicler’s genealogical list is one of Seth’s sons – Enoch. Nine family generations later, Noah was born. Some of the guys who lived during the first 1500 years or so after God created planet Earth lived to be over 900 years old. Do you know what took place during Noah’s lifetime? God completely flooded planet Earth. Do you know why God covered all of planet Earth with water? Almost every guy, gal and kid at this time was rejecting God as being the Creator and Controller of all things. Only Noah, Noah’s wife, their three boys and their boy’s wives believed that God created and controls everything. What do you think happened to all the guys, gals and kids who did believe that God was the Creator and Controller of all things? God drowned all these guys, gals and kids in the flood that He used to totally cover planet Earth. God started over with Noah and Noah’s family.
The chronicler seems especially intrigued with what happened during Peleg’s lifetime. The chronicler recorded in verse 19 that “Two sons were born to Eber; One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.” Your grandpaa is curious, too, about what may have happened during the life of Peleg. There are unexplainable mysteries in the Bible. It cannot be explained how planet Earth’s different land areas came into existence. Some guys believe that planet Earth’s land areas may have been at one time just one piece of land. Something happened during Peleg’s life that may have caused planet Earth’s land area to split apart. There is a way that all the land areas on planet Earth can be fit together just like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Africa’s west coast – as an example, fits well with South America’s east coast. Planet Earth’s crust is made up of plates that move. When a plate moves, that area of planet Earth will shake. Not long after your grandmaa and grandpaa arrived in Guatemala, your grandmaa and grandpaa felt a tremor. The tremor was not a strong tremor but . . . the tremor still scared your grandmaa and grandpaa. Your grandmaa and grandpaa over the years that they have lived in Guatemala have felt even stronger, scarier tremors. It is important to accept that God is in control of what is happening on planet Earth.
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