“…I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ…. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 11

Genealogy

My grandmother did considerable research on our family tree, tracing at least as far back as the American Revolution. My mother then continued the work, filling in several huge charts that show names, places and dates of birth and death, places of burial, children born, and marriages and divorces.

I called my mother awhile back and asked her if she had any information on the occupations of anyone on the family tree. She did not have concrete information as far as she had researched, but she did have knowledge passed on through conversation. What we do know is that in our family line we have mostly farmers, with a few preachers, politicians, teachers, and soldiers thrown in among them. (Side note: One oddity is that someone in my lineage had a “keeping house,” circa 1870. Please leave a comment if you know what that is!) I was particularly interested in finding out if I had any Christian heritage—anyone who might have prayed and labored for their descendants to come to know and love Jesus.

In the Scriptures, genealogies are important to God. In Matthew, Jesus’ family is traced back to Abraham, and in Luke it goes all the way back to Adam. In many other places we read the names of this son who begot that son who begot that son. Though God may have had any number of reasons for including genealogical information, we do know that at least one intent was to prove the rightful ownership, leadership, inheritance, or position within a family, particularly among His people, Israel.

Because we have been adopted into God’s family, Israel’s genealogy has become our own. And what do we see there? A legacy of faith, with occasional disbelief or rebellion. We should pay attention as we read the Word to see what we can learn from these spiritual ancestors, for “… he, being dead, still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Our spiritual forefathers are speaking to us still by the stories of their lives. 

You may know who you look or act like in your birth family, but do you know who you most resemble among God’s children as recorded in the Bible? Give this some thought—we could probably have a great discussion if we were sitting together around a table!

“Father, thank You for adopting us into Your eternal family. May we resemble Christ more and more as we follow Him until the end of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”