And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth, for God blessed him. Also to his son Shemaiah were sons born who were rulers in their fathers' houses, for they were men of great ability. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers were able men, Elihu and Semachiah. All these were of the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers, able men qualified for the service; sixty-two of Obed-edom. - 1 Chrn 26:4-8
Isn't this the family you always wanted: eight children that follow in your respectable line of work and ton of grandchildren who are extremely able and eventually become leaders among their peers. The problem is that often our children don't become the Olympic stars or state senators that we hoped they would. Or worse, they scorn our line of work, vowing to never follow in our footsteps. I do not want to detract from the blessing of children, but there is a deeper meaning here than trying to get your kids to be productive in society. These men are not simply listed because they worked at a time when the king had enough sense to jot down who was doing what. King David was seen as the 'ideal' king, the father of an unbroken line of kings. The time is of critical importance in what God is doing in the world - to be named here is to be named in a time and place where God was working out salvation for the world. But like Lord of the Rings, this line of kings fails, but God still provides a king from the line of David - Jesus. And right now we don't have a kingdom like David did, with armies, gatekeepers, and tribes leaders, but there is still a need for "able men qualified for the service" of Christ. The point is this: what matters most is not a person's profession, but their commitment to the Lord. Our prayers for others should not be consumed with material goals that we have for them (or, as we often think, that they should have for themselves), but for their spiritual vitality; that they would be counted as a blessing of God. These men were used by God at an important time - isn't that what we should want for those we care about?
