Bird's-eye view
In the midst of the long genealogical records of Israel, which many a modern reader is tempted to skim, the Chronicler pauses the record-keeping to insert a brief, poignant, and instructive narrative. These lists are not just names; they are the skeletal structure of God's covenant faithfulness through history. This short story within the Ephraimite genealogy is a striking example of what we might call hard providence. It is a story of presumption, disaster, grief, and ultimately, of God's grace in bringing forth life and inheritance out of calamity.
The passage recounts a disastrous cattle raid by the sons of Ephraim, their subsequent death, and the profound grief of their father. But the story does not end in mourning. It moves to the birth of a new son, Beriah, whose name memorializes the tragedy, and then highlights the remarkable work of a daughter, Sheerah, who builds up the family's holdings. The genealogy then culminates in the great name of Joshua, the son of Nun. This is a microcosm of the gospel story: from death, new life; through suffering, a greater leader is raised up to secure the inheritance. It teaches us that God's sovereign plan is not a stranger to human tragedy and folly, but rather works through it to bring about His ultimate and good purposes.
Outline
- 1. The Line of Ephraim and a Disastrous Raid (1 Chron. 7:20-21)
- a. The Initial Lineage (v. 20)
- b. Presumption and Death (v. 21)
- 2. Grief and a New Beginning (1 Chron. 7:22-24)
- a. A Father's Legitimate Mourning (v. 22)
- b. A Son Named for Calamity (v. 23)
- c. A Daughter Who Builds (v. 24)
- 3. The Line to the Deliverer and the Promised Inheritance (1 Chron. 7:25-29)
- a. The Genealogy Resumes (vv. 25-26)
- b. The Culmination in Joshua (v. 27)
- c. The Concrete Inheritance (vv. 28-29)
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 20 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son,
The Chronicler begins, as is his pattern, with the straightforward business of listing names. These are not just names, they are links in a covenant chain. God promised to make Abraham a great nation, and these lists are the inspired accounting of that promise. Each "his son" is another testament to God's faithfulness. The repetition of names like Tahath is common in such lists and simply reflects family naming conventions. This is the ordinary, steady work of generations, the quiet backdrop against which the drama of our lives, and this one, unfolds.
v. 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take their livestock.
And here, the placid listing of names is violently interrupted. After tracing one line, the Chronicler notes two other sons, Ezer and Elead. And they are dead. The reason given is crucial: "they came down to take their livestock." This appears to be a premature and presumptuous attempt to possess the land's wealth. They were still in Egypt, or at least this event occurred before the formal conquest under Joshua. The men of Gath were "born in the land," meaning they were the established locals. The sons of Ephraim acted as freebooters, not as covenant executioners under God's command. They went on their own authority, and the result was disaster. This is a standing warning against "zeal not according to knowledge." They wanted the blessings of the inheritance, but on their own terms and in their own timing. The men of Gath were simply defending their property, and in this instance, they were in the right. The Ephraimites were the aggressors, and they paid for it with their lives.
v. 22 And their father Ephraim mourned many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.
Ephraim's response is not stoic indifference. He "mourned many days." This is the proper and righteous response to such a staggering loss. Faith in the sovereignty of God does not cauterize our human affections. The Bible is not written by stoics for stoics. Grief is not a sign of unbelief. Jacob mourned for Joseph, David mourned for Absalom, and Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Ephraim's relatives came to comfort him, which is the proper function of the covenant community. We are to bear one another's burdens and weep with those who weep. This is a deeply human moment, preserved in Scripture to show us that our faith must be lived out in the midst of real-world pain.
v. 23 Then he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because calamity had come upon his house.
After the mourning, there is movement. Ephraim does not remain paralyzed by his grief. He acts in faith. He goes in to his wife, fulfilling the first command to be fruitful and multiply. And God is gracious. He grants a son. The naming of this son is theologically rich. He calls him Beriah, which sounds like the Hebrew for "in calamity" or "in evil." Ephraim does not pretend the tragedy did not happen. He doesn't try to "get over it" by forgetting it. He inscribes the memory of the pain, and God's sovereignty over it, into the very name of the son of his comfort. This is what faith does. It looks the calamity square in the face and says, "God is God even here." This is a profound picture of the gospel. Out of the disaster of the cross, God brings forth a Son, the firstborn from the dead, and a new family named for a redemption that occurred in the midst of the greatest calamity.
v. 24 And his daughter was Sheerah, and she built lower and upper Beth-horon, also Uzzen-sheerah.
Here is another remarkable turn. The Chronicler, in a book filled with the names of men, pauses to highlight the work of a woman. This is not to make some modern egalitarian point. Rather, it is to show the surprising ways God works to restore and build His people. Sheerah, this daughter of Ephraim, was a builder. She established three towns. In the wake of a disaster caused by the rashness of her brothers, this woman acts with wisdom, industry, and foresight to secure the family's inheritance. She is a true daughter of the covenant, using her gifts for the glory of God and the good of her people. She is not usurping male authority; she is strengthening her father's house. Her work is a testament to the fact that God uses all His people, men and women, in their respective callings, to build His kingdom.
v. 25-27 Rephah was his son along with Resheph, Telah his son, Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Non his son and Joshua his son.
The genealogy now resumes, tracing the line through Beriah. And look where it ends. After this story of failure, grief, and partial restoration, the line culminates in one of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament: Joshua, the son of Nun. This is no accident. The Spirit of God arranged this genealogy to make a powerful point. The first attempt by Ephraim's sons to take their inheritance by force and presumption failed miserably. But God, in His sovereign plan, was raising up another son from this very line who would lead all of Israel to take the land according to God's command and in God's timing. Joshua is the great type of Jesus. His name is the Hebrew form of Jesus, meaning "Yahweh saves." Through the line of calamity, God brings the deliverer.
v. 28-29 Now their possessions and settlements were Bethel with its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer with its towns, and Shechem with its towns as far as Ayyah with its towns, and along the borders of the sons of Manasseh, Beth-shean with its towns, Taanach with its towns, Megiddo with its towns, Dor with its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.
The passage concludes not with a person, but with property. This is the tangible inheritance. These are not mythical places in a fairy tale; they are real towns, real plots of land. This is what the struggle was for. The covenant promises of God are not ethereal abstractions; they have to do with dirt and rocks and real estate. The sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, possessed their portion. God's promise, made centuries before to Abraham, was fulfilled. This list of towns is God's title deed, written into His holy word. It is the concrete proof that what God promises, He performs. For us, this points to our even greater inheritance, the new heavens and the new earth, a real place that our Joshua has secured for us.
Application
This short narrative embedded in a genealogy is a picture of the Christian life. Our family histories, and our personal lives, are often a mix of the mundane, punctuated by rash decisions, followed by sharp and bitter consequences. We, like Ephraim's first sons, often run ahead of God, seeking His blessings on our own terms, and we get knocked flat for it.
When this happens, we are permitted to grieve. Godly sorrow is a gift. But we are not permitted to stay there. Faith gets up, as Ephraim did, and trusts God for a new beginning, even if it means naming that new beginning "Calamity" as a reminder of our dependence and God's sovereignty. We must look our sins and sorrows in the face and confess that God is Lord over them.
And God is a God of restoration. He raises up builders from unexpected places, like Sheerah, to restore the family fortunes. And most importantly, He has raised up for us the true and better Joshua. Our own efforts to seize heaven will always end in disaster, just like the raid on Gath. But our Joshua, Jesus Christ, has gone before us. Through the ultimate calamity of the cross, He has conquered our enemies and secured for us an eternal inheritance. Our task is not to raid, but to follow Him in faith, knowing that the title deed to our promised land has been signed in His blood.