What If The Pages You Skip Hold The Point?

The pages you’re most tempted to skim might be the ones doing the most work. We talk about the “quagmire” many Bible readers hit in 1 Chronicles 1–9, where the genealogies can feel like endless names with no payoff. But once we slow down and look at what’s happening, those lists stop being random and start reading like a record of identity, responsibility, and God’s faithfulness across generations. 

We connect the Chronicles genealogies to a key historical moment: Judah’s slide into exile and the urgency of preserving who belongs to Israel. From there, we jump to Ezra 2:61–63 (and the parallel in Nehemiah) where genealogical registration becomes a real-world test. Some priestly families can’t locate their records and are kept from serving until there’s clarity. That link reframes the “boring parts” as practical safeguards for worship and leadership, not just ancient trivia.

We also wrestle with a bigger question: what else are we misusing or not using in Scripture because we don’t understand it yet? I share why I’m convinced God can handle honest questions about intent and application, and how the Holy Spirit can keep bringing fresh insight even after decades of reading. 

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Transcript

What Woe FO Yo Means

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Hey everybody, welcome to another Woe Foyo, short the Siceda. When I'm getting in the Word for myself, everybody, what does Woe FO YO mean? It means get in the Word for yourself. When I'm getting in the Word for myself, especially if I'm reading the Bible straight through, you know, there's no revelation or instruction from the Lord. I want you to get in this book. I want you to study

Why 1 Chronicles Feels Like Quicksand

SPEAKER_00 0:40

this. Hey, you need to turn here. When I'm doing that, the quagmire of Bible reading, the thing that gets you bogged down, at least it does me, the thing where my mind will start to wonder is 1 Chronicles chapters 1 through 9. It is the genealogies. The thing once you realize what's going on, some of these genealogies will go up to a certain point and then they'll backtrack. So in the long term, yes, it's chronological, but it's going to take a couple steps back because Charlie might have had three kids, okay? But they're going to give the whole genealogy of Charlie's first kid, his then go back and give the whole genealogy of his second kid, and then go back and give the genealogy of his third kid. You know, that that's the way this thing is written. And they break these up for the tribes of Israel. They talk about what happens. And you can also tell if you read and are paying attention that this

Genealogies And The Babylonian Exile

SPEAKER_00 1:45

thing is not written until right about the time that uh Israel and Judah are going into exile into Babylon. These things are happening. I'm going to bring that up here in 1 Chronicles chapter 9, verse 1, says, So all of Israel was enrolled in genealogies, and behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel, and Judah was taken into exile to Babylon for their infidelity. So we have this enrollment in genealogies as they're being taken into exile into Babylon. Now, granted, a lot of the families, a lot of the Israelites, a lot of the nation of Judah, because they split, a lot of them already had these genealogies. It was important to be able to trace their heritage. And even when the late the Samaritan woman, if you understand who the Samaritans really are, she's going, well, our fathers say worship in this mountain. But you say you're supposed to worship over in Jerusalem. And she's going back to her genealogies, which the Samaritans back then would have been a mixed genealogy, because the Assyrians brought in other inhabitants of other nations, and they served Yahweh, yet at the same time they were serving other gods, and there was intermarriage, so there's this whole conglomeration

Ezra And Nehemiah Put Records To Work

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of things. So even then, they're aware of their genealogy. That being said, it occurred to me, you know, I'm kind of doing a little bit of okay, Lord, let's get through this. When I'm reading it, and then the Lord calls to mind, it reads the same. You're going to find this in Ezra. I'm going to read Ezra chapter 2, verses 61 through 63. There's a one-word difference in Nehemiah 763 through 65. I mean, other than that, it is verbatim. Just to give a little synopsis of what's already happened here. There's been a return. They're trying to see who can serve in the house of the Lord. And they're listing the priest and what they're doing in this section. Verse 61 of the sons of the priest, the sons of Hobiah, the sons of Hakaz, the sons of Barzali who took a wife from the daughters of Barzali the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their genealogical registration, but could not be located. So they were considered defiled and then excluded from the priesthood. The passage in Nehemiah, they were considered instead of defiled, it uses the word unclean. Everything else is verbatim. Verse 63. And if you want to know what that looks like, and I'm not trying to be sacrilegious for any of those that grew up in the late 70s, early 80s, they had this thing that you would do called the magic eight ball. When they didn't know, when they couldn't find it in the word, when they needed a direct word from the Lord, and people weren't hearing like prophetically, what we do know is that they had these in the ephod, and one was basically yes, and the other one

Asking God Better Questions About Scripture

SPEAKER_00 5:35

stood for lights and perfections. But basically, you're going to get a yes or no answer from the Lord, and one of them was going to light up. However, that worked. So what occurred to me, you're getting bogged down in these genealogies. It occurred to me these are the very same genealogies that were used. And maybe not this form, but it's the exact same genealogies. It might not have been we're going to resort to 1 Chronicles and see what's in there. Probably wasn't like that. But some form of what is in First Chronicles was consulted. So the the Lord just kind of showed said, hey, you know, if if it wasn't for this, then you might have had people serving that didn't need to serve. It was important to be able to prove your heritage in that way. So I'm going, okay. It does it make it any easier to read? Not necessarily, but but it kind of occurred to me that just wasn't using the word right. At least that that section of it. You know, uh, not just using them properly, but not using them at all, uh what other parts of the word are we not applying properly? What other parts of the word are we misusing or not using because we don't understand or maybe we've been taught a wrong concept? Uh I'm always going to be a big proponent of asking questions of the Lord, not necessarily questioning the validity of the word of God, but questioning the intent. Uh the Lord is not as insecure as a lot of his followers are. Believe you me. He doesn't mind being asked questions, he might make you wait years before you get the answer, but it is his pleasure to give you the kingdom. So just like these genealogies had a purpose, and it was revealed if you're willing to link things together and let the Lord lead you. And you know, I've been reading the Bible, having been baptized, and the Holy Spirit made the thing come alive. But that's 30 years of reading the Bible. And yet you're still just getting new revelations about how things would have been used, what the purpose is, what the intent is. And the Lord's not going, hey dummy, you should have got this by now, so I'm not going to tell you. That's not the way he's handling it. But if if I'm just seeing this after 30 years, what what else is there that perhaps we're missing out on? Uh we're missing out on how to apply it. We're missing out on how this can positively affect our walk and deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ. So I just want to encourage you, be open to the idea that there are ways to apply the Bible and apply what's written in there that we haven't got yet. And that if we're willing to listen, if we're willing to be obedient, and if we're willing to just go out and take a chance and even be wrong at times, Lord knows I am. If you're willing to do that, then the

Wrap Up And Where To Find Us

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Lord's going to show you how powerful his word is, and it will change your life, and it'll change other people's lives as well. Woe FO Yo. Hey everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to grow. You can always check us out at woefo.org or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible, or even check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is C Dum, reminding you that if you're going to grow, you got a woefo yo. Get in the word for yourself.