When was the last time we made an agreement or promise, and broke it? As humans, this is all too familiar.
Now imagine if God was just as faithless as us. What if the promises of God that we so tightly cling to today can be changed or removed in an instant?
We know that will never happen. But through 1 Chronicles 3, let us pause to appreciate just how faithful our God truly is, even in the face of our unfaithfulness to Him.
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."
2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV
If we are faithless...
Reading through 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, one thing immediately stands out: the number of wives David had.
His firstborn was by Ahinoam, his second born by Abigail, his third by Maacah, the fourth by Haggith, the fifth by Abital, and the sixth by Eglah. His first six children were each born to a different wife.
1 Samuel 25 tells the story of Abigail, a wise woman who stepped in to prevent David from taking revenge and shedding blood.
When Nabal died, David proposed to Abigail and she became his wife. A valiant man, a wise woman, it seemed like a beautiful beginning.
Yet almost immediately after, David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel as his wife. Just like that, we see that David's heart was already divided.
Long before the infamous events of 2 Samuel 11, where David sinned in the matter of Bathsheba, the seeds of unfaithfulness had already been sown.
Yet, God's design for marriage has always been clear.
In Matthew 19:4-9, Jesus explains that Moses only permitted divorce because of the hardness of people's hearts. This was never God's original design. From the very beginning, God's intention was clear: a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
He remains faithful
The same chapter that reveals man's unfaithfulness also quietly testifies to the faithfulness of God.
From 1 Chronicles 3:10-16, we see a list of kings, and notably, unlike the northern kingdom of Israel, every king of the southern kingdom of Judah was a descendant of David.
Through the history of the kingdom, we see God faithfully preserving David's line, despite the sins of His people. For instance, in 1 Kings 11:36, God promises to preserve a tribe for Solomon's son, so that David would always have a lamp before Him in Jerusalem, a picture of his line never being extinguished.
Later, during the time of the wicked king Jehoram (1 Chron 3:11), God still refused to destroy Judah, for David's sake, even though Jehoram walked in the ways of his father-in-law Ahab (2 Kings 8:19).
Even after the fall of Judah, David's line continued to be preserved in exile (1 Chron 3:17-24). Among them was Zerubbabel (1 Chron 3:19), not a king, but a governor who led the first wave of exiles home to rebuild the temple.
1 Chronicles is traditionally attributed to Ezra the scribe, written long after the fall of the southern kingdom. For the faithful remnant still awaiting God's promises, this careful record of David's preserved line was a reminder and a source of hope.
God had not forgotten about them.
In fact, God's faithfulness is seen even in David's own lifetime. When David fled Jerusalem in shame, hunted by his own son Absalom as a consequence of his sins (2 Samuel 15-18), God did not abandon him. Even in his darkest moment, David was preserved.
In Jeremiah 33:20-22, God declares that just as His covenant with day and night cannot be broken, so His covenant with David will not be broken as there will always be a son to reign on his throne.
Ultimately, this genealogy does not end in 1 Chronicles, but finds its completion in Matthew 1.
"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:"
Matthew 1:1 NKJV
The New Testament opens with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. God's ultimate act of faithfulness was sending His own Son into the world to die for our sins.
While man is weak and unfaithful, God's faithfulness is abundant seen in our lives and continues on even after our death.
Reflection Questions
When was the last time we thanked God for being faithful to us, even when we let Him down?
In what ways might we be unfaithful to God?
What changes can we make in our habits, routines and choices to be more faithful to God?
