As part of my own spiritual journey, this year I am attempting to read through the Bible in a year. I can feel God already speaking to my heart and encouraging me through others who are doing the same thing.
However, one of the sections of the Bible where I tend to bog down a bit is… (You guessed it!) the genealogies. It seems to me that most Christians at some time or other get bogged down in the same place. I am sure that reading the genealogies are good for me to do because the Bible says that “all Scripture is profitable”. Someday a prominent Univertsity is going to prove by scientific research that reading things such as the genealogies and other structured material is profitable to the mind. 
So I decided to take a different approach this year as I read the genealogies. I am going to look for the places where God stops the writers from what that are listing and give pause to note something into the life of that person.
In Genesis, As the genealogies begin with Adam, our first stop is a man by the name of Enoch. He is the Great-Great Grandfather of Noah. The Bible says in Genesis 5:24, “And Enoch walked with God:and he was not; for God took him.” What a wonderful testimony to be known as a person who walked with God. It makes me wonder if one day while God and he were talking together and the fellowship was so sweet between the two of them that he took Enoch by the hand and said, “Come With Me” and Enoch was gone.
This one verse stirs in me the need of fellowship with God every day. It spurs me to immerse myself in his word and to pray more fervently. Sweet fellowship with God is such a wonderful blessing to me. I am asking God to teach me this year. He has started already and from a place that I at times in the past have dreaded.
Who knows? A study may be emerging at any time to prove that the genealogies are profitable to the multitudes, but then I already knew that anyway.
January 18, 2007 at 12:40 am
I’ve journeyed through 4 times now and I still get bogged down in the begats! What a great journey though…you inspire me to do it again.
Be blessed,
Trish
January 18, 2007 at 1:14 am
We started reading through the bible in August (when we started school) and are just now into Deuteronomy. So, I can relate to the feeling of being bogged down.
I like your perspective though, to pause and think about a person’s relationship with God–what it must have been like. It is an awesome thought. And to know that we now are able to have an even more intimate relationship with Him through Jesus Christ–that is something to be grateful for!
Did I tell you I’m soooo glad you’re blogging? Well, I am
January 18, 2007 at 2:31 am
Hi Amy good writing and something that is very rewarding .I have read the Bible through 3 times but that was over 40 years ago when I took Bible for a course the last 3 yrs in high school! Like you mentioned the genealogies were the hardest to remember! Our teacher was a walking example of Gods love and understanding! Her name was Mrs Majorie Stith.I guess that is why I took the course, and one of the requirements was to read all the way through the Bible each year! Blessings to you ! RON.
January 18, 2007 at 4:51 am
Amy,
Call me weird (on second thought, please don’t), but I have actually been blessed by reading the genealogies. I remember the last time I read through them, and it certainly hit me: These people represent God’s plan! From the very beginning, God planned to bring his son into the world, and he did it through these people!
It is amazing to think about Ruth and Rahab (in Matthew’s genealogy), and think, why in the world would God choose them? Then again… why did he choose me?
Well, anyway, I read the genealogies different now. That’s about all for now.
-Alan
January 18, 2007 at 11:13 am
I have a close friend who is also my OT guru. When he teaches you’ll sit spellbound as if you’re listening to a patriarch passing on the family history. His extensive knowledge of these genealogies allows him to begin every lesson with an insight that can only be gained through a detailed account of the people involved and their relative historical relationship to one another. Were it not for him I would think all genealogies were “vain”.
January 18, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Trish, I agree about the journey. It amazes me every time.
Christy, thanks again for the welcome and the visit.
Alan, Thanks for your insight. It seems that God shows me something new every time I read his Word. Ruth has always been one of my favorite people in the Bible.
KC, It’s wonderful for you to have a friend that can make it easy for you to relate to the O.T.. To look at it like a family history is a neat perspective. I’ll try that when I get to the really looooooooong lists. Thanks!
January 18, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Amy, Great article. Enjoyed reading and I know you are in for a treat reading the Bible through, and there are blessings in reading the genealogies. You ought to do a study of the names in the first one. That will peak your interest.
I have put your link on my blog. I really appreciate your husband. I hope we meet sometime soon. Maybe in glory.
January 18, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Tim, Thank You for link and your gracious comment. A study on the names in the first list will surely be a blessing. He has blessed me already by the reading of them.