1 Chronicles 2:25-40: a reflection

25The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were Ram the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah. She was the mother of Onam. 27The sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. 28The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. 29The name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail; and she bore him Ahban and Molid. 30The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim; but Seled died without children. 31The son of Appaim: Ishi. The son of Ishi: Sheshan. The son of Sheshan: Ahlai. 32The sons of Jada the brother of Shammai: Jether and Jonathan; and Jether died without children. 33The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 34Now Sheshan had no sons, but only daughters. Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. 35Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as wife; and she bore him Attai. 36Attai became the father of Nathan, and Nathan became the father of Zabad, 37and Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal became the father of Obed, 38and Obed became the father of Jehu, and Jehu became the father of Azariah, 39and Azariah became the father of Helez, and Helez became the father of Eleasah, 40and Eleasah became the father of Sismai, and Sismai became the father of Shallum,

Tucked into this genealogy is a notable little story. A man named Sheshan had no sons, only daughters, which threatened the continuation of his family line. So Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant, an Egyptian named Jarha, and through this unlikely union, a servant, and a foreigner at that, the family line continued, generation after generation. What might have ended was carried on through an unexpected, unconventional means.

Notice how the line was preserved: through an unlikely means. Sheshan had no sons; by the ordinary reckoning, his line would end. But God's purposes were carried forward through an unconventional path, the marriage of his daughter to a foreign servant, and the line went on. What looked like a dead end became, through an unlikely union, a continuing line. God worked through the unexpected and the outsider to carry his purposes forward.

That reflects how God often works: through unlikely, unexpected means, and through outsiders and the overlooked. We may assume God's purposes must proceed through the ordinary, the expected, the conventional; but again and again God carries his work forward through the unexpected, the unlikely, even the outsider grafted in. When your situation seems a dead end, when the ordinary path forward is closed, do not assume God's purposes are stopped. He is able to work through unlikely and unexpected means, through paths you would not have chosen, even through the outsider and the overlooked. Trust that God can carry his purposes forward through the unexpected; what looks like a dead end may become, in his hand, a continuing line through means you never imagined.

Lord, when Sheshan had no sons and his line seemed about to end, you carried his family forward through an unlikely means, the marriage of his daughter to his foreign servant, and the line continued. Thank you that you work through the unexpected and the unlikely. I may assume that your purposes must proceed through the ordinary and the conventional, but again and again you carry your work forward through unexpected means, through the outsider and the overlooked. When my situation seems a dead end, when the ordinary path is closed, keep me from assuming your purposes are stopped. Help me trust that you can work through unlikely and unexpected means, through paths I would not have chosen. What looks like a dead end may become, in your hand, a continuing way. Help me trust your ability to work through the unexpected.