What can we learn about God's comfort from Ephraim's experience in this verse? Setting the Scene Ephraim had just buried two sons slain by men of Gath (1 Chron 7:21). Grief was fresh and raw when we read: “And when he slept with his wife, she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house.” (1 Chron 7:23) The Pain That Prompted Comfort • Blood-shed sons, a shattered family line • Lengthy mourning (“for many days,” v. 22) • A household branded by “tragedy” (Hebrew berî‘â, calamity) Immediate Human Consolation, Ultimate Divine Source • “His relatives came to comfort him” (v. 22). God often wraps His comfort in ordinary people. • 2 Corinthians 1:3-4—He “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble.” Families, friends, church bodies become conduits of His consolation. New Life as a Sign of Divine Compassion • God answers loss with life: a son in place of fallen sons. • Psalm 30:11—“You turned my mourning into dancing.” • Isaiah 66:13—“As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you.” The newborn literally rests at a mother’s breast; Ephraim experiences the same nurturing from God. Comfort Does Not Erase Memory but Redeems It • The child’s very name—Beriah (“in misery”)—keeps the sorrow in view. • God’s comfort does not pretend pain never happened; it weaves healing into the memory. • Lamentations 3:31-33—The Lord “will not reject forever… He will show compassion according to the abundance of His faithful love.” Patterns Repeated Across Scripture • Job 42:10—After loss, God “restored [Job’s] fortunes and doubled all he had.” • Ruth 4:14-15—A child (Obed) becomes Naomi’s comfort after famine and widowhood. • John 16:20-22—Jesus compares sorrow turning to joy with a birth, echoing Ephraim’s experience. Lessons for Today • God is not distant in grief; He moves toward us with tangible mercies. • He often uses people—family, friends, church—to deliver His comfort. • New beginnings may come packaged in reminders of old pain, yet still testify to His faithfulness. • Receiving comfort equips us to pass it on; Ephraim’s lineage continues, eventually blessing others (Numbers 1:32-33). • Because Scripture records literal history, Ephraim’s story assures us that the same God who comforted him stands ready to comfort us now. |
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