1 Chronicles 2

These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. The sons of Judah: Er and Onan, and Shelah, three born to him from the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the first-born of Judah, was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and He killed him.

(1Ch 2:1-3)

The sons of ISRAEL. This is Israel the person, not the nation… it is the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s prophecy to make Abraham a nation. Do you remember this guy? Formerly JACOB, the dirty-rotten-sneaky-thief, the heal-catcher, the usurper… transformed by a touch from God into ISRAEL, the man who was governed by God. This man who’s life has been touched by God begins to bear some serious fruit in the form of 12 sons. These 12 sons will become the 12 tribes of Israel the nation.

As we see these 12 sons listed, our focus is turned to the lineage of one son in particular; Judah. Check out what we are told about Judah in Genesis, when Jacob prophesied about his future. "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.” (Genesis 49:8-12) A promise that from his seed, the king of the nation would rise… “The SCEPTER and the LAWGIVER”, these told us that his seed would provide leadership over the other 12 tribes… “until Shiloh comes”; this is a reference to the coming of Jesus, the messiah; ultimately the TRUE KING OF ISRAEL.

Lastly our attention is turned to the HOUSE OF JESSE. Tomorrow we will see the man David, the fulfillment of the prophecy. So already the focus is being turned to the WAY THAT GOD WAS WORKING. Look at the people he worked through… not perfect men, but men who had been touched by HIM. If you want to be a part of HIStory, if you want your life to be used by the Lord; then you need to be submitted to God. We don’t need perfection… we just need submission to the Lord.