July 6

1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4, Acts 24:1-27, Psalm 4:1-8, Proverbs 18:16-18



Pray: Today the Psalmist gives us our prayer:

“Answer me when I call to you,

    O God who declares me innocent.

Free me from my troubles.

    Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1

The genealogies mentioned today give us a clue that some skeletons exist in the history of Jesus. Pray for the skeletons in your closet as well. There is no greater witness to God’s redeeming love than realizing how God has worked through many different family dynamics to bring about His perfect will.

Read: When glancing at the record of King David’s sons there is a sobering reality that most of them did not share the same mother. Their commonality was their father. If their father was present in their lives then there could be continuity, if not then there might be potential division. What comes later with David and his sons is a sharp division which would impact Israel forever. No parent is perfect, we all struggle, but naming dysfunction and hurtful acts can help bring a family together rather than these things unspoken dividing the family over time.

Edify: King David passes the torch of leadership to King Solomon. David sets Solomon up for success, to coin a modern terminology, yet Solomon who was wise would eventually lower his guard and create a fractured home and kingdom as a result. The Kingdom would not divide under Solomon but under his son Rehoboam. The genealogy doesn’t tell us this, but it is understood as the larger story is read alongside the genealogy. We each have a past. Sometimes our past haunts us. Other occasions we may be proud of our past. A challenge for many of us today is getting past our past. Mistakes have been made, with an earnest heart of repentance, God can, not only remove the sin, but God can bring healing in our relationships.

Practice: The Psalmist, perhaps David himself, tells us that God has granted us deeper and lasting peace than those who have abundant harvest of grain and new wine. Joy is not found in the harvest but in the God of the harvest. Let us spend some valuable time with the God of the harvest today in prayer.