Have you ever wondered about all those “begats” in the Bible? I’ll admit I’ve grumbled about them as I’ve read through a long list of “so-and-so begat so-and-so” during my devotions. So it was a real eye-opener for me the day I realized that they really are there for a reason.
That moment happened when I began researching my husband Paul’s family tree. I began my search expecting dry bones and dusty books, but what I discovered was a treasure trove for a story-loving gal like me.
I discovered that over generations, some of Paul’s family lived in the same neighborhoods as we do today, and some even had the same occupations as in our family today including building and clergy.
Read More: The Family Tree Becomes a Vine
I learned that a family member who was one of the earlier settlers to our area had designed and engineered many of the roads in the area in such an amazing way that words like “brilliant” were used to describe him.
There’s a Civil War great-great-great grandfather who died from his wounds in battle, but before he died, managed to write a letter home to his wife telling her to raise the children for the Lord. I know that she was faithful to that request because research led me to a church in a neighboring county. She’s buried in the cemetery out front, which is appropriate because she and her daughter donated the land for the church, and her son built the log cabin for the church.
A brick building is there now. And six generations later, I stood in the cemetery of that church with my sons, showing them where that sweet lady is buried while the sounds of “Jesus Loves Me” drifted across the hillside from the children who were inside at vacation Bible school.
And the only way to journey through all those generations of family members to learn all of that was by way of going through the “begats” in the genealogy books, census records and courthouse documents.
The same is true in our Bibles. It’s only by going through the begats that we discover the lineage of Christ–links from one generation to another, links that produce amazing history about the folks whose names are written there.
June 14 is Family History Day. It would be a great time for you to discover more about your family—and it would be an even better time for you to delve into your Bible to learn more about your spiritual heritage. Just follow the begats.
