Biblical genealogies are easy to speed-read. At least for me they are. For one thing the names are usually tongue-twisters. For another there is usually nothing to know about each individual. So when I come to a long list of names that begin, “And so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so…. I whip through that list in nothing flat. Is that a sin?
About four years ago I did something that I had always wanted to do. I began to research my own genealogy. There was this site on the Net and it had a free trial so I began to dabble.
The site had a huge database and it would offer suggestions as to who I might be related to. They were tantalizing tidbits for someone who wanted to know about where he came from and just how much royal blood he had.
There was a catch, however. When I would come to an crook in my family tree. That is bend in a branch and not the bank robber type crook. There would be a slight charge. “For just $3.99 you can dig a little deeper into our databank. Or for a full subscription we’ll spill our guts!”
I paid the first fee and got an interesting clue. I discovered that my paternal grandparents…. Ah never mind. Wouldn’t you just love to know? Get a subscription!
It wasn’t too long before I realized two things. One, that genealogy is BIG business. And two, genealogical research is a seemingly endless prospect. You could die of old age before you discovered the tap root of your family tree. It makes one wonder how on earth Alex Haley did it for Pete’s sake?
In the short span of my research I went back about twelve generations. However, after the fourth generation all of the names were suspect. To me they seemed to be carrot-on-a-string suggestions to whoever would pay the price for a nibble. Was Jedediah Cravits really my great, great, great, great, great, grand father’s brother by a second marriage to his own sister? I doubt it.
So what does this discussion have to do with Heman the singer man? I found out that researching one’s genealogy was NOT easy even with computer help. I went back four generations and after that the genealogical waters became murky.
In 1 Chronicles 6 we have an authoritative Scriptural record of Heman’s family tree. Twenty-four generations that end at Israel. That is impressive. The author could have easily gone to twenty-six generations if he would have simply included, Isaac and Abraham.
However, the chronicler wanted us to highlight Heman’s priestly bloodline. Heman was God’s man for this historical hour. His roots were embedded in none other than Levi, Jacob’s priestly son. Who better to lead worship? Worship was important and Heman was THE man. Once again, remember the ends to which God goes to highlight how serious worshipping Him must be. Don’t let it become frivolous, endless and worthless.
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