Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20060604.htm

1 AND 2 CHRONICLES: GAINING DIRECTION OUT OF THE AIMLESSNESS OF APOSTASY
Part I: Gaining Direction From God's Work In Our History From Furthest Antiquity, 1 Chronicles 1-9
B. Gaining Direction From Noting God's INTERACTION With Past Groups In The Faith, 1 Chronicles 4-8
1. Gaining Direction By Noting God's Work With The Tribe Of Judah
(1 Chronicles 4:1-23)
  1. Introduction
    1. One way to gain God's insight into the direction He has for us today is to trace how He has worked in times past with specific groups of people in the faith.
    2. God's work with notable people in the tribe of Judah offers a great lesson in our need to trust and obey God to the full that we gain His full blessing rather than waste our lives in partial or full spiritual defeat:
  2. Gaining Direction By Noting God's Work With The Tribe Of Judah, 1 Chronicles 4:1-23.
    1. Shelah represents the loss of the opportunity for God's BEST due to heartless DISOBEDIENCE:
      1. Judah's youngest son, Shelah is named in 1 Chronicles 4:21-23 as the father of those that had the ordinary fame of making linens and ceramics and once ruling Moab, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 596.
      2. Such ordinary achievement contrasts sharply with what COULD have been were he to have been considerate of his sister-in-law, Tamar to have fulfilled his father's promise to her regarding him:
        1. Judah had promised Shelah in marriage to his Canaanite daughter-in-law, Tamar, a woman who had been widowed when God slew her evil husband, Gen. 38:6-11. Such a pledge was a considerate deed at the time, one that preserved the deceased's line, Ryr. St. Bib., KJV, 1978, ftn to Gen. 38:8-9.
        2. Yet, when Shelah was not presented to her, Tamar seduced Judah and by it bore a son named Pharez through whom came David and the Messiah, Gen. 38:13-29 with Ruth 4:12, 18-22 and Mtt. 1:17!
        3. So, for inconsiderately failing to honor his father's promise, Shelah's line missed the opportunity to produce the Messiah, and had to settle for God's "second best" in performing an ordinary calling!
    2. Samson represents the partial gain of divine blessing through PARTIAL obedience:
      1. 1 Chronicles 4:2 names Reaiah in the line of Judah, and he founded the Zorathites through whom came the family that produced the judge, Samson, cf. Judges 13:2; Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., O. T. , p. 595.
      2. Now, Samson was greatly physically endowed by God to slay the Philistines who then plagued the people of Israel, but he only partially obeyed the Lord, producing limited success in his life's ministry:
        1. Samson was to be a Nazarite for life, to be blessed of God if he (1) drank no strong drink, (2) if he did not come near a dead body and (3) if he did not cut his hair, Judges 13:4-5; Numbers 6:1-9.
        2. Yet, Samson repeatedly violated these rules (Jud. 14:5-9, 17a; 15:15) and even had an affair with a harlot (16:1) until God finally removed his strength when Samson let her cut his hair, Judges 16:17.
        3. Samson was caught and abused until his hair grew back, so God let him destroy his foes, 16:22-30.
      3. Samson slew more in his death than in life, mixed success in ministry due to partial obedience, 16:30b!
    3. Yet, Jabez, Caleb, Othneil and Othneil's wife, Achsah gained great blessings by full faith and obedience:
      1. Jabez in 1 Chr. 4:9-10 was more honorable than his kin in that he hungered in great faith for God's blessing to enlarge his territory and so overcome the negative connotation of his birth name! (a) God answered his prayer, and (b) "the village named after him was celebrated as the home of scribes," Ibid.!
      2. Caleb in 1 Chron. 4:15 was a faithful spy sent out by Moses who urged Israel to trust God to conquer Canaan, Num. 14:6-9. For his faith, opposite the plight of the generation that died in the wilderness, God preserved Caleb's strength for 40 years so he could conquer his land, Num. 14:22-24; Jos. 14:6-13.
      3. Othniel (1 Chron. 4:13) was Caleb's son-in-law who was encouraged by Caleb to win the hand of his daughter, Achsah in marriage by conquering part of Caleb's land, Jos. 15:16-17. This set the stage for Othniel to be later used of God to deliver Israel from Gentile rule in the era of the Judges, Jud. 3:7-11.
      4. When Caleb gave his daughter, Achsah to Othniel in marriage, she asked Caleb for a field with springs, so Caleb gave her upper and lower springs with the land to honor her desire for blessing, Jos. 15:18-19!
Lesson: The line of Judah was marked by people who knew varying degrees of God's blessing in their lives and contributions to history due to their varying degrees of faith in God and obedience to Him.

Application: May we not WASTE our lives in UNBELIEF and DISOBEDIENCE, but DESIRE God's BEST blessing by WHOLEHEARTEDLY TRUSTING and HEEDING His Word in ALL our lives!