Thursday, May 25, 2017

Thursday - 1st Chronicles 7 - Shuppim & Huppim

According to 1st Chronicles 7:6 & 12, the men Shuppim & Huppim were fathers in the tribe of Benjamin. However, Shuppim is called Muppim in Genesis 46:21. And, what does that have to do with anything? Well, for us, maybe not so much.

The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah cover a vast amount of time in relatively short order. The books begin with Adam and end with Cyrus King of Persia... covering some 3500 years.  The introduction and foundation to the rest of the book is based upon 2 vital yet brief periods of time around 1700 BC and 1000 BC. Those dates generally demarcate the days of Jacob and the days of David. In this mix is a heap of names of people who were surely important, but we don't know their stories.  Men like Huppim and Shuppim, or Muppim, if you please.

Essentially, in this chapter we find the names of the main men from the tribes of lssachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim and Asher. The sum of the numbers of soldiers which are enumerated in this chapter from these tribes during the days of David should come to a sum of 231,034. This can only be a partial numbering though since II Samuel 24:9 gives a total number which was several times larger than that.

The "big boy" tribe in this group (and the hero of that tribe) is discoverable briefly in I Chronicles 7:21- 27. The man was Joshua the son of Nun and his tribe was Ephraim. Joshua, the great general who led Israel into the land of Canaan, was yet another harbinger of Jesus. In fact, the name Joshua (in Hebrew) is the name Jesus (in Greek) and his role was a foreshadowing of one of the roles which Christ filled and fills. Jesus is the captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10). David's story points to Jesus as the last and best king. Aaron's story points to Jesus as our great high priest. Now, Joshua's story points to Jesus as our deliverer. Through following Him, we have entered into the land of victory, rest and peace. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

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