Bible study · 1 Chronicles 7:1-40
1 Chronicles 7: Ephraim their father mourned
Read 1 Chronicles 7:1-40 before you meet.
In a few lines
In a chapter of names and numbers, 1 Chronicles stops for a father's grief: "Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him" (7:22), with Genesis's Hebrew for Jacob's grief: mourned, many days, to comfort him (Genesis 37:34-35). Then he named a son Beriah, "because there was trouble with his house" (7:23), and his line runs on to Joshua (7:27).
The verse to carry
“Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.”
1 Chronicles 7:22
To talk about
1. When Ephraim mourned, "his brothers came to comfort him" (7:22). Who has come to you in a time of grief or loss, and what did they do that helped? Who near you might need someone to come this week?
2. Ephraim named his new son Beriah, "because there was trouble with his house" (7:23). The name kept the hard time in the family's memory. When you look back on a hard season, do you tend to leave it out of your story or name it? Why?
3. In a chapter of sons and numbers, Sheerah is remembered for what she built (7:24). What are you building with your life right now, and who do you hope will live in it after you?