Forgotten Father

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 1:1-27

Introduction

This is essentially a list of names. There all types of people presented here; the good the bad and the ugly. All tribes
are here. There are foreigners and those involved in mixed race marriages (2:2, 34-35; 4:18). There are ordinary
people, there are great people. But there are three are three types of people that I want you to notice:

FORGOTTEN PEOPLE

Ezra starts with the decedents of Japheth. These folks generally migrated quite some distance from Palestine, and so
would not have been in contact with the Israelites. Note, the descendents of Japheth included:

• Gomer - North-east Turkey

• Magog - Northern Turkey
• Madai - Northern Iran
• Javan - Greece
• Tubal - Eastern Turkey
• Meshech - Central Turkey
• Tiras - Western Turkey
• Ashkenaz - Uzbekistan
• Riphath - North-west Iraq
• Togarmah - North-east Iraq
• Elishah - possibly Eastern Cyprus
• Tarshish - Spain
• the Kittim - Cyprus
• the Rodanim - Rhodes

These folks were out of sight, out of mind. They were would not have featured in the thoughts of Israel too often, as
they were out of day to day contact. There was no interaction between the people of Israel and these distant nations.
These were forgotten people.

But, God includes these people in his book. Even though God’s people had forgotten these people, God had not. This
tells us something very special about God. God cares about people. If you feel forgotten in any way this morning,
then I have good news – there is an antidote for Forgotten People; it is the Father’s Passion. The Father’s Passion
is for people. If the first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles tells me anything, it tells me that God is passionate about people.
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“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16See, I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands...”
Isaiah 49:15-16

These 9 chapters are just a list of names. There are names upon names upon names. This is God reminiscing. I love
to reminisce – to go over old familiar stories, things that were significant, amusing, even disappointing. God is the
same. Here we see God reminiscing over names. As you read the names you will see that there are all sorts of
people here.

God takes an interest in people.

 Nimrod was a mighty warrior;

 Seled and Jether died without children;
 Sheshan had no sons, only daughters;
 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers.

Some of you here feel like you are forgotten people. People feel forgotten or abandoned for many different reasons:

 Forgotten by God. May be you feel that God has forgotten you this morning. May be you feel that your life is
worthless this morning. You fee that you are insignificant, unworthy, unlovable. Nobody could be interested
in you. You have nothing to offer – why would anyone be interested in you? You are a forgotten person.

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 You are not loved because you are precious; but you are precious because you are loved. Emily’s blankey.

 Maybe you feel that God has forgotten you because you prayed, but God didn't answer. You read the Bible,
but it didn't speak to you. The trials in your life made you think that God has abandoned you.

When the angel appeared, Gideon felt that God had abandoned him; David wrote a Psalm (22) “My God, My
God, why have you forsaken me?”; and Jesus quoted that Psalm whilst on the cross. I read recently that
Mother Teresa felt abandoned by God for most of her life.

Joyce. God is passionate about people.

 Forgotten by God because you feel that you messed up sometime, and now God has but you to the back of
his mind. God has lost patience with you – he has abandoned you.

God does not hold a grudge. The three most prolific authors in the Bible were Moses, David and Paul. All of
these committed murder. Moses led God’s people to freedom; David was Israel’s greatest king, and Jesus
called him a man after God’s own heart; Paul was the Church’s greatest oppressor before he became the
Church’s greatest evangelist. If God can use them, he can use you – why because he is passionate about
people.

 You feel that you have so much to offer; you have so much potential locked up inside that just needs to get
out somehow. You feel that you been over looked and under utilised. You feel frustrated, unfulfilled and
unappreciated.

I am a bit like this. I am ambitious in everything that I do. I want very much to achieve something for God; to
understand who it is that really am. But I have learnt that there something far greater than knowing who you
are – it is knowing whose you are!

I am my beloved’s and he is mine – and his banner over me is love. He wants the best for me; I feel secure
in that, even though sometimes I feel frustrated. I don’t believe that God will allow me to miss my calling.

FORGOTTEN PEDIGREE (PASSION & POWER)

But when we read this genealogy in 1 Chronicles, we don’t just see those that were forgotten people. We see those
that were remembered only too well. These people were remembered because they were not far away from Israel;
they were actually very close at hand. In fact, many of them were right next door.

And these neighbours were not the best of friends. These people were the decedents of Ham, and they included:

A. Cush - Egypt
B. Nimrod - Assyria
C. Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines
came) and Caphtorites.
D. Canaan - the Canaanites occupied Palestine when Israel took the land
E. Hittites - A fierce and aggressive nation, Turkey
F. Jebusites - David conquered them and claimed Jerusalem from them.
G. Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites
H. Asshur - Assyria; who carried off the ten tribes of Israel into exile.
I. Arphaxad - from whom came the Chaldeans and the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar
established the Babylonian empire. He was of the “Chaldean” dynasty. It was he that had defeated
Judah, taking the remaining two tribes of Israel into captivity in Babylon. It was to the descendants
of these exiles that Ezra wrote this book, so that they may know their history, and their pedigree.

These, then, were people that had forgotten their pedigree, their passion and their power – or at least their source of
power. All of these people were descendents of Noah. They had been saved from the worst calamity ever to affect
the earth. When the flood came it wiped the whole of the human race from the face of the planet – except for the
people that God had closed up inside the ark. This was the worst disaster ever to affect the earth. And yet a few
generations on, we see many, many people who have forgotten their pedigree. They have completely forgotten that
the whole reason they exist is because God saved them from the greatest disaster in history. They have forgotten
their passion, for it was Noah’s passion for God that caused God to look upon him and his family with favour. And

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they have forgotten their power – they have turned from God, who was powerful to save their progenitors, and they
have turned to other gods, such as the sun (big in Egypt); the moon (big in Chaldea); bulls, other animals, anything
except the one real and true God.

Often we forget our own pedigree. God has saved us from the worst calamity ever to before mankind – this is not a
flood or any kind of natural disaster – it is much worse than that. I am talking about spiritual disaster – the fall of
mankind. We have been saved from the worst thing that could ever happen to man – eternal separation from God.
God has intervened in our life, and has wrought the greatest act of selfless sacrifice in order to pull of the greatest
rescue in history. He saved us. And yet, so often, we like to put our trust in something other than him.

We like to put our trust in ourselves; in our own ability. “Oh I am strong enough to carry this burden”; “Oh I am smart
enough to sort out this problem”; “Oh I have enough influence over people in high places – so I can solve this
problem”. But how often do we turn to the man in the highest place? God is often our last resort.

I tell you the truth; I very frequently discover the limit of my own abilities. I frequently get to point where I cannot cope
in my own strength, and I find that I have to throw myself into His arms.

I can do all things – but how – through him who strengthens me.

There are people here this morning who are struggling. You may be struggling at work, you may be struggling,
marriage; you may be struggling in your ministry. Could it be that you have forgotten your pedigree? Who is it that
saved you from the worst disaster ever? May be, just may be you should turn to Him right now and ask Him, once
again to help you. Whatever you are struggling with, the problem is tiny compared with the issues He has already
dealt with.

I am not saying that life is easy. It is not. I am not saying that God will always take away all our pain. He won’t. But He
does promise to strengthen us. He does promise to never leave us. He does promise that we will be over comers.
And He does promise to make us more than conquerors.

The antidote for a forgotten pedigree is the Father’s Promise, because the Father’s promise is assurance of the
Father’s presence.

• “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

• Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified ....for the LORD your God goes with you; he will
never leave you nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6

• The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be
afraid; do not be discouraged. Deut. 32:8

• As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Jos. 1:5
• I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go....I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you. Gen. 28:15

Ada – even in extreme pain, she puts her trust in God alone.

John has said to us that the mountain tops are always very pleasant, but that nothing grows there. Sometimes we
need to go through the valley. God has not promised that we will never have to have a valley experience, but has
promised to be with us every step of the way.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your
rod and your staff, they comfort me. ( Ps. 23:4)

Richard Wurmbrand.

Again, we need to be secure in our relationship with God. The root of dissatisfaction, disharmony, and depression in
many Christians is their reluctance to lean on God in times of trouble.

I am secure in my relationship with Helen because I know she loves me, and she knows that I love her. We don’t get
to spend as much time as we would like together – we live very busy lives. But our relationship is strong because our

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love is strong, our trust in each other is complete and our respect for each other is solid. When things get hard, the
relationship can take the strain.
FORGOTTEN PURPOSE

The last thing that this genealogy tells me is that God has a sovereign purpose in this world. He has a purpose and
plan, and that is to reach mankind with the news of his great love.

You see, I find it interesting that Ezra repeats some of the names at the end of this passage. He recaps a from little,
and then goes forward in time, giving the names of a number of Israel’s ancestors Shem to Abraham. In doing so he
just gives the names:

• Shem
• Arphaxad
• Shelah
• Eber
• Peleg
• Reu,
• Serug
• Nahor
• Terah
• Abram (that is, Abraham).

To me, these names spell out God’s purpose.

• Shem - Renown
God is looking to glorify His name. Shem is the start of God’s process in establishing a people that will both
bear and revere his name. Shem is renowned as the progenitor of what we call the Semitic peoples. These
include Israel. Israel means “God strives”. And so Israel bears his name, and through them God strives to
achieve his purpose, of preserving his name, recording his word, and making known his great love.

• Arphaxad - Healer
God, through this chosen line will bring a healer. This healer will bring spiritual health back to world. The
whole book of Isaiah likens mankind’s condition to that of a sick man. According to Isaiah, our sin is like:

i. an injured head;
ii. an afflicted heart;
iii. wounds;
iv. bruises;
v. open sores;
vi. blindness.

God views mankind as sick. But what a sick man needs is a healer. And God’s purpose is that people that
he raised to ensure his glory, that would preserve his word, and make known his great love, would also
produce a healer for this sick world. That healer is Jesus Christ; by his strips we are healed. Our sickness of
sin can be removed.

• Shelah - One that Breaks

Because in Jesus we have one who breaks the power of sin over our lives. One of the great old hymns says:
“He breaks the power of cancelled sin, he sets the prisoner free.”

• Eber - One that Migrates

One that leaves his home, to go to another place. This is because Jesus left his home in heaven, to take on
the form of a man, and to die a human death in my place, and in your place on Calvary’s cross.

• Peleg - Division
In Peleg’s day the nations were separated at Babel. Do you remember what they actually said? They said,
“Let us make a name for ourselves”. And so God separated the nations, and chose for himself a people that
would be proud to bear his name rather than make their own name.

This will find its’ fulfilment at the end of time, when Jesus will separate out his followers from the others. In
Matthew’s gospel Jesus talks about the separation of the sheep from the goats; the believers from the
unbelievers.

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• Reu - His Shepherd
Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd. He knows his sheep. He finds us good pasture. If you are one of
our regular congregation, and you think that God has left us in a place where we have little support, then you
are calling God a liar. Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd, and a good shepherd always finds the best
pasture; the best food; the best place; for his sheep.

• Serug - to Weave Together

Because the promised Messiah would weave together man and God. Jesus himself is both fully man and
fully God. In him, so the Bible tells us, dwelt the fulness of the diety in bodily (human) form.

• Nahor - to Breathe
Because, having brought new relationship, Jesus would breathe new life into his people. When he left this
earth he said that he would send the Holy Spirit. Spirit and breathe or breathe are one and the same in both
Greek and Hebrew.

• Terah - a Place to Camp for a While

We don’t know what Terah means exactly. But there was a place that Israelites camped at for a while
between captivity and the promised land. Also Terah, was Abraham’s father. He came out of Ur of the
Cahaldean’s because of their idolatry, and camped at Haran, before Abrahan completed the journey to the
promised land. We are somewhere between captivity and the promised land.

• Abraham - Father of a Great Multitude

Because there will be a great multitude of followers who make it out of captivity to sin, into the arms of God -
our promised land. The promise to Abraham was:
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"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will
be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3

The antidote to a Forgotten Purpose is the Father’s Plan; and the Father’s Plan is written in the lives of the Father’s
people. This was the line of humanity through which God would bless the earth.

How is God’s plan being written or displayed in your life? Some months ago we looked at Paul’s prayer and saw that
there is a process through which we must all go. Firstly that we are rooted or planted in love, and then we must be
established in love. Having been strengthened, we must then go on to comprehend the height and depth and breadth
and width of God’s love; having grasped the extent of his love intellectually – having understood it, we must go on to
experience this love. But finally we must go on to live a life of love.

And so my question to you this morning is this – are you living a life of love? To whom are you pouring out your love?
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"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 …32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
Even 'sinners' love those who love them. (Luke 6)

The antidote to a forgotten purpose is to implement the Father’s Plan – love one another. Being loved is not enough,
we also need to love. Belonging is not enough, we also need to contribute. Receiving is not enough, we also need to
be giving. I don’t want to hear the phrase “there’s no love in this Church”. If there isn’t, then how about you put some
in?

CONCLUSIONS

• Forgotten People – The Father’s Passion

• Forgotten Pedigree – The Father’s Promise

• Forgotten Purpose – The Father’s Plan

Draw me close to you

Never let me go
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I lay it down again
To hear you say that I’m your friend
You are my desire
No-one else will do
Cos nothing else can take You’re place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find a way
Bring me back to you

You’re all I want

You’re all ever needed
You’re all I want
Help me know you are near

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