Genealogies Are Important

Why we do we have so many geneaologies in the Bible?  What's the point of them?  Can't we just skip over them?

There is a lot of confusion surrounding genealogies in the Bible, and maybe the confusion is well deserved.  Because we don't right history the same way or see family lines the same way, they seem so far removed from anything of importance.  But is this really the case?

In Exodus 6 there is a genealogy inserted in what seems likes a random spot, but it's not random at all.  it's there for a reason.  Like all genealogies in the Bible, there are many things we can learn from this one.  Here are some of my thoughts on what we can learn from the genealogy in Exodus 6:14-25;

• It connects the story to history – what is recorded in this book is actual, historical events.  This is not fantasy, this is not legend, and these are real things that happened, involving real people.
• It connects this story to the original readers – the original readers of this book would have known these names, and known the genealogies.  To have this here shows continuity, and that the plan of God has not been de-railed.
• It points to the future – because it tracks the line of Levi to Aaron and his sons, it is pointing ahead to a special role that they play in the future of Israel.  The Levites, the descendants of Levi will be the priests who serve in the tabernacle and the temple and the descendants of Aaron specifically will serve as the high priest.  This genealogy shows that God’s purposes have been set in motion from the beginning.

So the genealogy grounds us in history, shows how this is part of God’s plan and that he is sovereign over it and it shows that God has a plan for the future.  It is inserted here in the book to show the readers that God’s plan marches on regardless of what looks like setbacks to us.  There's much more to learn by exploring the names and tracking where else they show up in scripture, but suffice to say, Genealogies are Important!

Blessings,

Pastor Steve