Legacy series, part 2

I'm so glad that you joined us today! Here is the verse that we are focused on this week:

Each of these descendants of Asher was the head of an ancestral clan. They were all select men—mighty warriors and outstanding leaders. The total number of men available for military service was 26,000, as listed in their genealogical records. (I Chronicles 7:40, NLT)

All these were the sons of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, heads of the princes. And the number of them enrolled by genealogy for service in war was 26,000 men. (NASB)

Again, there's a lot for us here.....hope you can hang in here with me, since this is likely to be a lengthy post!
I like the way the NASB reads, "heads of the fathers' houses." The word "head" means leader, captain, or ruler. I believe that Asher taught his sons and his grandsons the importance of home. The importance of leadership and standing for ones' principles. I don't believe that he sat them down and lectured them, though he may have led the worship and spiritual growth of his family. I think he also modeled this; I think he showed them be example. There's a couple of clues to this in the Bible. Indulge me here and let's look at these verses:

The sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. (Genesis 46:17)

The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah, and Serah their sister. (I Chronicles 7:30)

Each time that the children of Asher are mentioned by name, his sons are mentioned first, and then it says, "Serah their sister." Apparently, in Asher's family, the young women were valued just as much as the young men! This is all the more surprising when we think back on the usual perception of women at that time.  And here is another interesting note: Jewish tradition says that Asher was not Serah's biological dad. It's believed by the Jews that Asher married a widow that had a three year old daughter -- it appears that Asher took her in and treated her exactly as if she were his own child. In fact, when the descendants of Jacob are listed, Serah is the only granddaughter who is mentioned by name! Seems like Asher set a very high standard of how men should treat their wives and their daughters....he set a great example for his descendants.

The scholars tell us that there's at least one thousand years between the time that Asher lived and the mention of his family in the book of I Chronicles. If we use the rule of thumb that a generation is normally considered to be forty years, that means that even after twenty-five generations, Asher's family was still "on track." Wow! Think about all that the nation of Israel went through during that same time period!
It's amazing what a man or woman of faith can start.... in the early years of the United States, there was a man of God, Jonathan Edwards, who married a woman of faith and began a family. Jonathan and Sarah were parents to eleven children, pastored a church, authored many sermons and books, and much more. A study done in 1900 noted that in their descendants were:

• 100 lawyers and a dean of a law school
• 80 holders of public office
• 66 physicians and a dean of a medical school
• 65 professors of colleges and universities
• 30 judges
• 13 college presidents
• 3 mayors of large cities
• 3 governors of states
• 3 United States senators
• 1 controller of the United States Treasury
• 1 Vice President of the United States

(Thank you to Familylife.com for that information.) I think we can see that the decisions that you and I make today can affect multiple generations after us! (Grin)

Let's look back up there at our verse - you scroll up and I'll wait here, OK?
The Bible tells us that Asher's descendants were "choice" men. The word choice can mean many things, but I picked some synonyms from the thesaurus that should help us: polished, chosen, those who excel. So Asher's sons were not lazy; they were those who would strive always to be their best. They were workers and prospered in all that they did.
Here in the United States, many of us have heard of Ben Carson. His story is an inspiring one. He has journeyed from humble beginnings to being a gifted and noteworthy neurosurgeon, currently serving in the government as a cabinet secretary. Ben's parents divorced when he was eight, and his mom struggled to raise her sons, often working two or three jobs at a time. Remember what we said about Asher? Ben had that problem; he struggled with self-worth and once called himself the dumbest kid in the fifth grade. Like Asher, he had a lot going against him; but his mom was a dedicated Christian and would not allow him to flounder. She required her sons to read two books a week, and even do book reports! She also set a limit on television, and had a short list of acceptable programs that they could not stray from. Because of his mom's encouragement, Ben went from the bottom of his class to the top. He earned a scholarship to Yale, and from there went on to share his God-given talents with many, many people. He returns to the community by sponsoring scholarships for students who strive to do their best.
Ben's mom told her sons that they could do anything if they would work hard at it. We shouldn't push our kids to be best in their class, but we should push them to be the best they can be!

Another legacy that Asher left his children and their children was bravery. That same verse says they were mighty men of valor....
What's valor? Courage. Bravery. Asher raised children and grandchildren who were brave and courageous. I like the thoughts of raising sons and daughters who are brave. Doesn't have to be our biological children, either. We can raise up children in the faith, by witnessing to and counseling new believers in the paths they should follow. Make sure that they are bolstered by the promises of God, and that they are courageous to stand for what they know is right. I believe that Asher's descendants learned to stand and stand firm, and to sacrifice themselves if need be, for what was right.

Lastly, Asher's sons were the best of the best. One translation says it this way: "outstanding leaders."
Another says "distinguished leaders." Perhaps the best translation of "heads of the princes" (NASB) would be this: "leaders of leaders." What was it about them that caused them to stand out above all the rest? Maybe it was their God-given wisdom. Maybe it was the courage we spoke about before. Perhaps it was a strong work ethic. Or, perhaps it was their determination to always do what was right.

In any case, we can see now that Asher's descendants were left an awesome legacy. Perhaps we can meditate on these concepts and apply them to our own lives...... we'll do that tomorrow.