Genealogies are no one’s favorite, obviously. You can’t miss them, though; otherwise you wouldn’t be reading through the entire Bible. If you skip that dull passage, then you are more vulnerable to the temptation to skip another dull or difficult-to-understand passage, and you will ultimately miss the reward of gaining light on a difficult passage.
I once heard the story told by a missionary who was translating the Gospel of Matthew, I believe it was, into the obscure language of the people to whom he or she was ministering. This missionary presented the eager readers the finished work with the encouragement to skip over the dull beginning passages, the genealogies, concerned that the readers might form a poor first impression of the Scriptures. Instead, the readers wept with joy over those genealogies, explaining that now they knew Jesus was real, because here was His lineage in black and white for them to read! I have had a greater value for the genealogies of the Bible ever since I heard that story. Imagine the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to these people through the genealogy of Jesus! If that is the case, then He can speak powerfully to any of us through passages of Scripture that we might be tempted to pass over for dullness or difficulty.
The genealogies are there because they would have meant something to the original readers. Mostly I skim through them quickly. If we learn nothing else from them, we can understand a little better the loose attitude their documenters had toward family relationships. A person may be documented as a grandson or great-grandson, or even more distant relative, and then later be called a son of the more distant ancestor. Sometimes they were literal and sometimes they focused only on the more pertinent connections, leaving out the intermediate connections they felt were unimportant for their purpose. Understanding this approach of the writers helps clear up apparent discrepancies that might arise later.
Remember the name Edom; it is a nation of people that is an occasional problem for the nation of Israel throughout much of the Old Testament. Prophecy also deals with them in a rather dramatic fashion, which we will discover down the road.
Do you suppose Joseph, the man we know as a hero, was a brat as a boy? No one could blame the brothers for being resentful, but their remedy was horrifying, and their reaction when the deed comes back to haunt them in the future shows that they continued to struggle with guilt for it. I can identify with Jacob’s inconsolability, for I have also lost a child. What about your own life and/or character does the Holy Spirit teach you through the pain of this family? What about God do you learn?
Today’s reading isn’t the most inspirational, but we do have to exercise patience sometimes to allow God to give the background and set up the story so that it is most meaningful. Tomorrow’s reading will be better!