You Are Not Defined By Your Crazy Family Tree
These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” - Exodus 6:26 ESV
Have you ever used Ancestry.com? According to a 2022 report, the Utah based company has gathered over 30 billion digital family records – the largest collection in the world. While I have never used Ancestry.com, I have always wondered what I might find if I climbed the family tree.
In Exodus 6:14-30, we get a look at what we would find if we researched Moses' ancestry. While biblical genealogies often seem foreign to us, this list is meant to give great hope to broken people like us. If you have ever felt like your family was crazy, buckle up! God chose to use Aaron and Moses who were born of the priestly, but far from pristine, line of Levi.
In Exodus 6:14-16 the genealogy begins with the sons of Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel. We read briefly about Rueben, Simeon, and Levi; Jacob's three oldest children. It is through Levi that Moses and Aaron would come.
This is significant for a few reasons. First, it establishes that Aaron and Moses were of the priestly line. The tribe of Levi alone would serve as priests for the nation of Israel.
But this list also shows us that God's chosen men, Aaron and Moses, come from imperfect families. Levi was a big sinner. He is remembered by the events of Genesis 34, where in a fit of revenge he slaughtered a whole city of Shechemites on behalf of his sister! He even received a curse from his father in Genesis 49 because of it. Moses and Aaron didn’t come from a squeaky clean family.
Then, in verse 17-19, we read of the generation of Levi’s children. Moses and Aaron came through the line of Korath and Amram. Then we read shocking words in verse 20,
Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. - Exodus 6:20 ESV
All God's people said, "Gross!" This family tree is a mess. Amram married his aunt which meant that his children were also his cousins. Moses' mother was also his great aunt and his father was his great uncle. Imagine the family reunions!
This is a reminder that human life matters regardless of how it comes into the world. God used horrible circumstances to bring about good purposes in the world. God brought Moses into the world through an incestuous relationship. All life matters, regardless of how it is conceived.
Finally the genealogy finishes in verses 21-27 with an emphasis on Aaron, Moses' brother. Verse 23 offers us a glimmer of hope in the darkness of this family line. Verse 23 reads,
Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. - Exodus 6:23 ESV
Notice that Aaron didn't follow in the footsteps of his sinful father. Aaron didn't repeat the same sinful cycles and patterns of his family. He doesn't marry within the family, but rather marries into a very significant family. He married the daughter of Amminadab and Nahshon.
Those names are not significant at first glance. But we learn elsewhere in the Old Testament that both Amminadab and Nahshon come from the family of Judah, which is the line through which God's promise was to continue. In fact, in Matthew 1 we learn that Aaron is an in-law to Jesus Christ. Be encouraged: even Jesus had crazy in-laws!
This means that no matter how dysfunctional your family line may seem, God can still use you. Regardless of your Ancestry.com results, the blood of Jesus is stronger than the blood of family. You are not ultimately defined by who you come from, but by the God who calls you to be His own.