INTERESTING FACTS : JOHN DICKINSON - SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA; GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE; GENERAL IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

 

"RENDERING THANKS TO MY CREATOR FOR MY EXISTENCE AND STATION AMONG HIS WORKS, FOR MY BIRTH IN A COUNTRY ENLIGHTENED BY THE GOSPEL AND ENJOYING FREEDOM, AND FOR ALL HIS OTHER KINDNESSES, TO HIM I RESIGN MYSELF, HUMBLY CONFIDING IN HIS GOODNESS AND IN HIS MERCY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST FOR THE EVENTS OF ETERNITY."

 

"[GOVERNMENTS] COULD NOT GIVE THE RIGHTS ESSENTIAL TO HAPPINESS... WE CLAIM THEM FROM A HIGHER SOURCE: FROM THE KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF ALL THE EARTH."

 

DAILY READING : 1 CHRONICLES 3 - 5

 

TEXT : 1Ch 5:18  The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war. 1Ch 5:19  And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. 1Ch 5:20  And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

 

THEME : PERSEVERANCE

 

As we continue through 1st Chronicles, we read once again, the genealogy of the twelve tribes of Israel. Some think genealogies are unimportant, so they skip over them without reading them. Others wonder why God wrote - in several places, the pedigree of the Jews. Matthew Henry gives us insight.

 

"This chapter and many that follow it repeat the genealogies we have hitherto met with in the sacred history, and put them all together, with considerable additions. We may be tempted, it may be, to think it would have been well if they had not been written, because, when they come to be compared with other parallel places, there are differences found, which we can scarcely accommodate to our satisfaction; yet we must not therefore stumble at the word, but bless God that the things necessary to salvation are plain enough. And since the wise God has thought fit to write these things to us, we should not pass them over unread. All scripture is profitable, though not all alike profitable; and we may take occasion for good thoughts and meditations even from those parts of scripture that do not furnish so much matter for profitable remarks as some other parts.

 

These genealogies, were then of great use, when they were here preserved, and put into the hands of the Jews after their return from Babylon; for the captivity, like the deluge, had put all into confusion, and they, in that dispersion and despair, would be in danger of losing the distinctions of their tribes and families. This therefore revives the ancient landmarks even of some of the tribes that were carried captive into Assyria. Perhaps it might invite the Jews to study the sacred writings which had been neglected, to find the names of their ancestors, and the rise of their families in them.  2. They are still of some use for the illustrating of the scripture-story, and especially for the clearing of the pedigrees of the Messiah, that it might appear that our blessed Saviour was, according to the prophecies which went before of him, the son of David, the son of Judah, the son of Abraham, the son of Adam. And, now that he has come for whose sake these registers were preserved, the Jews since have so lost all their genealogies that even that of the priests, the most sacred of all, is forgotten, and they know not of any one man in the world that can prove himself of the house of Aaron. When the building is reared the scaffolds are removed.

 

When the promised Seed has come the line that was to lead to him is broken off. In this chapter we have an abstract of all the genealogies in the book of Genesis, till we come to Jacob.  I. The descents from Adam to Noah and his sons, out of Gen. 5, (1Ch_1:1-4).  II. The posterity of Noah's sons, by which the earth was repeopled, out of Gen. 10, (v. 5-23).  III. The descents from Shem to Abraham, out of Gen. 11, (1Ch_1:24-28).  IV. The posterity of Ishmael, and of Abraham's sons by Keturah, out of Gen. 25, (1Ch_1:29-35).  V. The posterity of Esau, out of Gen. 36, (v. 36-54). These, it is likely, were passed over lightly in Genesis; and therefore, according to the law of the school, we are made to go over that lesson again which we did not learn well."

 

Like the testimony and verification of Jesus life and ministry, we have four accounts of His days on the earth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke [the "synoptic gospels"] record the same events with varying details, such as we would find in reading several newspapers on one story or event. Then, John, gives account of some things not included in Matthew through Luke, and elaborates further still on those events found in the synoptic gospels. Thus, we have the Scriptural fulfillment of two or three witnesses validating the truth of an event. In the case of Jesus life - the synoptic gospels and the Johanine gospel. In the case of the history of the Jews, multiple genealogies found in both Old and New Testaments.

 

Further, genealogies are important if, or when, the Jews were to come back to Israel prior to Christ's return. It solidifies the record of their families and origins for the time when they would return to the land and be built back up again [as we see today], preparing themselves and the world for the return of Christ. We also consider genealogies as an evidence of divine inspiration. For what nation or ethnic group ever had their origins and family histories in the hands of the people of the entire world, that is, every nation on earth? There are none. Yet, we see this phenomenon in the presence of the Holy Bible and its translation into nearly every language on earth. Therefore, because the Bible has so well preser ved the pedigree of the Jews, and put a copy of their lineage in the hands of [almost] every nation in the world, we see the importance of genealogies with respect to inspiration, fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and the 2nd coming of Christ.

 

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "WHERE IS GOD WHEN YOU DON'T NEED HIM?"

 

In chapter five, we find encouraging and cautioning lessons in the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. Given a great victory in a battle against the descendants of Abraham's concubine Hagar [i.e. the "Hagarites"], they obtained this triumph because they called out to God for His aid. Keil and Delitzsch give a detailed analysis of this event.

 

1 Chronicles 5:18-22

 

War of the trans-Jordanic tribes of Israel with Arabic tribes. - As the half-tribe of Manasseh also took part in this war, we should have expected the account of it after 1Ch_5:24. Bertheau regards its position here as a result of striving after a symmetrical distribution of the historical information. "In the case of Reuben," he says, "the historical information is in 1Ch_5:10; in the case of the half-tribe of Manasseh, in 1Ch_5:25, 1Ch_5:26; as to Gad, we have our record in 1Ch_5:18-22, which, together with the account in 1Ch_5:25, 1Ch_5:26, refers to all the trans-Jordanic Israelites." But it is much more likely that the reason of it will be found in the character of the authorities which the author of the Chronicle made use of, in which, probably, the notes regarding this war were contained in the genealogical register of the Gadites.

 

1Ch_5:18

 

חַיִל מִן־בְּנֵי belongs to the predicate of the sentence, "They were the sons of Valour," i.e., they belonged to the valiant warriors, "men bearing shield and sword (weapons of offence and defence), and those treading (or bending) the bow," i.e., skilful bowmen. מִלְחָמָה לְמוּדֵי, people practised in war; cf. the portrayal of the warlike valour of Gad and Manasseh, 1Ch_12:8, 1Ch_12:21. "The number 44,760 must be founded upon an accurate reckoning" (Berth.); but in comparison with the number of men capable of bearing arms in those tribes in the time of Moses, it is somewhat inconsiderable: for at the first numbering under him Reuben alone had 46,500 and Gad 45,650, and at the second numbering Reuben had 43,730 and Gad 40,500 men; see on Num 1-4 (1:2, S. 192).

 

1Ch_5:19

 

"They made was with the Hagarites and Jethur, Nephish and Nodab." So early as the time of Saul the Reubenites had victoriously made war upon the Hagarites (see 1Ch_5:10); but the war here mentioned was certainly at a later time, and has no further connection with that in 1Ch_5:10 except that both arose from similar causes. The time of the second is not given, and all we know from 1Ch_5:22 is that it had broken out before the trans-Jo rdanic Israelites were led captive by the Assyrians. הַגְרִיאִים, in Psa_83:7 contracted into הַגְרִים, are the Ἀγραῖοι, whom Strabo, xvi. p. 767, introduces, on the authority of Eratosthenes, as leading a nomadic life in the great Arabico-Syrian desert, along with the Nabataeans and Chaulotaeans. Jetur, from whom the Itureans are descended, and Nephish, are Ishmaelites; cf. on Gen_25:15. Nodab, mentioned only here, is a Bedouin tribe of whom nothing more is known.

 

1Ch_5:20

 

The Is raelites, with God's help, gained the victory. יֵעָֽזְרוּ, "it was helped to them," i.e., by God "against them" - the Hagarites and their allies. שֶׁעִמָּהֶם contracted from עִמָּהֶם אֲשֶׁר. נַעְתֹּור is not an uncommon form of the perf. Niph., which would not be suitable in a continuous sentence, but the inf. absol. Niph. used instead of the third pers. perf. (cf. Gesen. Heb. Gramm. §131, 4): "and (God) was entreated of them, because they trusted in Him." From these words we may conclude that the war was a very serious one, in which the possession of the land was at stake. As the trans-Jordanic tribes lived mainly by cattle-breeding, and the Arabian tribes on the eastern frontier of their land were also a shepherd people, quarrels could easily arise as to the possession of the pasture grounds, which might lead to a war of extermination.

 

1Ch_5:21

 

The conquerors captured a great booty in herds, 50,000 camels, 250,000 head of small cattle (sheep and goats), 2000 asses, and 100,000 persons - all round numbers; cf. the rich booty obtained in the war against the Midianites, Num_31:11, Num_31:32.

 

1Ch_5:22

 

This rich booty should not surprise us, "for there fell many slain," i.e., the enemy had suffered a very bloody defeat. "For the war was from God," i.e., conducted to this result: cf. 2Ch_25:20; 1Sa_17:47. "And they dwelt in their stead," i.e., they took possession of the pasture grounds, which up to that time had belonged to the Arabs, and held them until they were carried away captive by the Assyrians; see 1Ch_5:26.

 

A similar parallel is found in our American Revolution. Vastly outnumbered and without the wealth and resources of Great Britain, the Americans prevailed against the mighty British becaus e of a singular dependence on God. In an article entitled -" Dependence on God: An American Tradition," Brian Tubbs writes - 

 

"In his First Inaugural Address, President George Washington offered his "fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect." In virtually the same breath, Washington declared: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."[1]

 

Benjamin Franklin on the floor of the Constitutional Convention said this abou t the war of Independence from Great Britain -

 

"In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor."

 

Many other citations concerning our victory over the  British could be given. However, suffice it to say we as Americans are greatly indebted to God for His aid in the founding of our country. Thus, we have the example in 1st Chronicles 5 that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh prevailed over the more powerful Hagarites by the intervention of God. Moreover, the Bible declares the "war was of God."  This was exactly how the founders felt about the war with Great Britain. That is, the American Revolution was God ordained.

 

Yet, where is God when you don't need him? For we see that not only did Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh share a victory together, but they also shared defeat and subjugation at the hands of the Assyrians. How, or why do people forget God? When we are in great need, we invoke His aid. However, human nature tends to drift from God when all is well, or when we [think] we have a grasp on our problems; that we can settle our conflicts in life by ourselves. So, where is God when you don't need Him?

 

God always wait on Man to respond to His goodness and grace. However, there are lines of demarcation when it is too late to call on God. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh called on God once, and He came to their air. Yet, when they called on Him against the Assyrians - it was too late. Their prayer went unanswered and they went into captivity. From this we learn a lesson.

 

It is not for us to presume upon God's goodness that we can do what we want, that is break His laws and offend Him, then call on Him as we wish when we are in need. The teaching that God never says no, always forgets, etc. is inaccurate. Surely He is long suffering. Yet, the Bible is full of examples of times when it was too late to call on Him, and He delivered His own people to their enemies. Surely, the New Testament indicates the same. That is, there is coming a time when it will be too late to call on God and receive His aid. If it were not so, the Book of Revelation would not exist.

 

Therefore, let us serve God each day, not presuming on His grace, but living and depending on it daily. For God is good, even when we don't need Him. Let us not take advantage of that fact by neglecting Him when all is well.