1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 3: God keeps David's line alive

Begin in prayer

Before we read the family of David, let us quiet our hearts and speak to the LORD together. Ask Him to show us that He kept David's line alive, and to help us look to the King who came from it.

I will also make his offspring endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

Psalm 89:29

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You kept David's family alive through every trouble, and show us Jesus the King. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

This chapter lists the family of David. David reigned seven years and six months in Hebron, where six sons were born to him (verses 1 to 4). In Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years, and four more sons were born, including Solomon (verses 4 and 5). Then the list follows Solomon and the kings after him, from Rehoboam to the sons of Josiah (verses 10 to 16). It reaches Jeconiah, called the captive, so the line went into exile (verse 17). Even then the list goes on to Zerubbabel and his children (verses 19 to 24). Readers who had come home could see that David's family still stood.

As you read 1 Chronicles 3, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God kept David's family line alive through many kings and through the exile.

David's family was a royal line, and the exile took it from the throne (verse 17). This chapter lists David's sons, then the kings after Solomon, then Jeconiah the captive, and then the family after the exile. The list matters because God had promised David a lasting throne (1 Chronicles 17 verses 11 to 14). A promise that long needs a family record to carry it, and this chapter is that record. Even after Jeconiah went into captivity, the names go on, to Zerubbabel and his children (verses 17 to 19). Zerubbabel is the leader who took the first exiles home (Ezra 2 verse 2). This shows God as the One who keeps His word through kings who failed and through years of exile. Matthew's list for Jesus includes Zerubbabel and these kings (Matthew 1 verses 6 to 13). The angel told Mary that God would give her Son the throne of His father David (Luke 1 verses 32 and 33).

How does 1 Chronicles 3 show us that God kept David's family line alive through many kings and through the exile?

David had many sons, and Solomon was one of them.

Six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months (verses 1 to 4). He reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem, and four more sons were born there (verses 4 and 5). Solomon is the fourth of these (verse 5). God had chosen Solomon to sit on David's throne (1 Chronicles 28 verse 5).

The kings of Judah follow, and the line goes into exile.

From Solomon the list goes down through the kings of Judah, one son after another (verses 10 to 16). Josiah's sons come at the end of that list (verse 15). Jeconiah is called the captive (verse 17), which shows the royal family was taken away. David's descendants are still named after that (verses 17 to 24).

God kept David's line until Jesus, the promised King, was born.

Zerubbabel, named in verse 19, is in Matthew's list of the family of Jesus (Matthew 1 verses 12 and 13). Matthew counts three sets of fourteen from Abraham to Christ (Matthew 1 verse 17). The angel told Mary that Jesus would receive the throne of His father David (Luke 1 verses 32 and 33). The names in this chapter lead to Him.

Memorise

The sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son

1 Chronicles 3:17

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, do I look to Jesus, the King from David's line, to rule me?

Verse 17 calls Jeconiah “the captive,” and the royal family seemed finished. But the list keeps going, and Zerubbabel's name stands in verse 19. Matthew writes the same names in the family of Jesus, the King from David's line (Matthew 1 verses 12 and 13).

Jesus did not take His throne by force. He went to the cross and carried His people's sin, and His death paid the whole debt, with all that was needed. Then He rose from the grave, and now He reigns.

A king taken captive could not rescue himself, and we cannot rescue ourselves from sin. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus the King. Forgiveness is given to all who trust Him, with a place in a kingdom that has no end.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God kept David's family alive through kings and exile, until Jesus the King was born. Parents, please read verses 1 to 5 and 15 to 19, and tell the rest in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He kept David's family alive until Jesus was born, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

Father, thank You that You kept the family of David alive through every trouble, until Jesus came. Show each of us our sin, and lead us to trust Him as our King. Keep us in His care this week. Amen.