In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males”, and in chapter eight and verse nine of Ezra, Ezra shared about, “the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel” where we read,
Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
The verse reads, “Of the sons of Joab;” Ezra began with the words, “of the sons” which means “the male offspring, progeny and family” “of Joab” or “belonging to Joab whose name means Jehovah is father”. Ezra included the male offspring of “Joab” among the “chief men” who went back to “Jerusalem” with him.
The verse goes on to say, “Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.” Ezra continued with the word, “Obadiah” which means “the servant of Jehovah and was the fourth of the twelve minor prophets; nothing personal is known of him but it is probable that he was a contemporary with Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel” “the son of Jehiel” or “the male offspring, progeny and family belonging to Jehiel whose name means God lives”, “and with him”which means “and alongside and accompanying him, Jehiel” “two hundred and eighteen males” or “two hundred and eighteen male human beings”. Ezra added “Obadiah” along with “two hundred and eighteen” other male human beings who returned to “Jerusalem” with him.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover through Ezra how “the male offspring” of “Joab” as well as“Obadiah” and “two hundred and eighteen” other males accompanied him back to “Jerusalem”. One by one and family by family Jehovah God was bringing His people back to their homeland, and He would reestablish their worship services with these “chief men”. God loves Israel, and He loves us. When He gave His Son Jesus to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind, He made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and used in His Kingdom when we put our faith and trust in Him. Let all who read these words know the importance of the names “Joab and Obadiah” in God's Kingdom and realize the importance of their names as well.
Next time Ezra shares about, “the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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