Dew Drops - II

Once again – as I read 1 Chronicles chapter 2 – I was confronted with a list of names. Were there any dew drops glistening on the family tree? I found one “on” verse 10.

Of the list of Judah’s descendants up until the time of King David, only one was identified as a leader: Nahshon. As a matter of fact, he was called the leader of the people of Judah, not a leader, but the leader. The ancestral head of the tribe – Judah – was not much of a “leader.” The next generations did not produce any who were called leaders. But with Nahshon, the leadership fortunes of the tribe turned around. Nahshon was the leader of Judah.

Verses 11 to 17 provide a few more details into the family tree of Judah. Do you remember Boaz? He was a respected member of his community – Bethlehem. Nahshon was his grandfather. Boaz was also the great-grandfather of David, the second King of Israel. God – through the leadership of Nahshon – had prepared for the coming of the King. Nahshon was used of God to lead the people of Judah to have the kinds of values that Boaz had (Read about him in the Biblical book of Ruth.) and that were passed on to David.

My prayer is that I would be a leader among God’s people – that all my “clan” would be leaders. I do not mean leading in the sense of wielding power or even in garnering respect, but leading in the sense of bringing about God’s kingdom, preparing the way for the King.

May you, too, be a leader in bringing the values and the person of Jesus to your community.

(PS – Did you catch any glistening rays off Peleg? I did, and sadly not all rays shed light on positive things. When I read 1 Chronicles 1.19, I was saddened that Peleg was remembered as a divider. I asked God for grace to be a uniter, not a divider…)