Who's He?

Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. Genesis 10:24 NIV

Arphaxad. The sum total of what we know about him from the Bible is found in a few verses in Genesis. Although he is also mentioned in a couple of the Apocryphal books, there is still very little information about him. We do know he was a son of Shem, Noah’s eldest son.

In Genesis 11:12-13, we find that he was 35 when his only listed son, Shelah was born.   later had other “sons and daughters”, and died at the ripe old age of 403. Quite humbling to have your life’s work summed up in only a few sentences, and that only to name your progeny.

So who was he? What did he accomplish? Was he a good father, a good husband? We may never really know.

What we do know is that he was there. He married and raised a family. One can only assume that he worked, built, traded, upgraded, learned, cried, laughed, loved, and lost. He lived 403 years; he surely must have seen and felt every emotion possible to man.

Yet for all his time lived, we know very little. So why is that important? Even though the Scriptures do not detail any of his mortal accomplishments, there is one thing that stands out. He existed, and made sure his children carried on the lineage. Without Arphaxad, there would be no Shelah, consequently, no Abraham, David, or Joseph the stepfather of Jesus Christ. He may not have been important enough to be mentioned as a great leader or hero, but he was vital to the continuance of the kingly line.

So what does that mean for us? It means it is OK that we are not famous. It means it doesn’t matter that only a few hundred people may ever know we exist. The fact that we do exist, and that we can influence our family, friends, and those around us to life meaningful lives and live up to their true potential, matters. We may not be the noteworthy individual of our generation, but one of our descendants may be. Live for those around us. Live for future generations.  Live for eternity!