Who's missing?

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Scripture

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright.
(1 Chronicles 5:1 NASB)
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
(Matthew 1:1 NASB)
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
(Matthew 1:2 NASB)

 

Observation


As much as we would like to believe that there are no consequences for our behavior that is simply not true. Again and again we discover that not everything can be made right again. Reuben the oldest son of Jacob was responsible to care for his siblings. He allowed his brothers to take action against their little brother, Joseph and for this reason he loses his birthright. Note that back in 1 Chronicles it mentions that he is not enrolled in the genealogy. We can see that this is true when the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah is listed in the New Testament. Who is missing? Reuben. Instead, we find that Jacob is listed as the father of Judah and his brothers.

 

Application


These days we don't really want to take responsibility for our actions. We find this by simply listening to the news! It's always someone else who is at fault. And yet, there are consequences to our behavior.

This week the news has been filled with the Trayvon Martin case. We don't know the whole story and it appears that there is finger pointing on both sides with no one wanting to take responsibility for any action. These things don't just happen in a vacuum. There is a reason that this tragic accident occurred in Sanford, Florida and sadly, there are consequences. There are consequences for the Martin family who have lost their son and there are consequences for the Zimmermans as well.

Just saying "I'm sorry" and thinking that we can go on with our lives is not enough. Reuben allowed his brothers to take action against Joseph and then thought he could go back and make it right. He couldn't! His brother had already been sold into slavery. He was too late because he had not done the right thing in the moment. Later in life Reuben's relationship with Joseph was restored, but there were still eternal consequences for his behavior.

At the end of all time there will be a list of those within God's family. There are eternal consequences to the choices that we make in life. Just as Reuben was missing from the genealogy of Jesus Christ, who will be missing from the "Lamb's Book of Life?"

 

Prayer


Lord, please help us to be faithful in the choices that we make in life. Amen.

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