Pedigree or Legacy?

And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which [are] in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

Judges 10:1-5

The book of Judges is a gut wrenching book. It chronicles the spiritual struggles of national Israel. They are seemingly trapped in a cycle of mediocre success and dismal failure. When they turn from serving God, God withdraws his blessing from them. Their enemies overtake them. Then they are oppressed. They cry out to God. He delivers them. They live in peace and prosperity, and then they backslide into idolatry again.

Now, certainly many of the judges that we read about in this book are themselves severely flawed characters, and we know most of them by their failures as much as their successes.

These two judges, however, are different. We actually know very little about them, which probably means they are the two most successful of all of the judges.  Good times are good to live in, but they don’t make for very interesting history.

I. The first judge is Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.

We know he defended Israel.
We know who his daddy was.
We know who his grandfather was.
We know he was from the tribe of Issachar.
We know he lived in Shamir of Mt. Ephraim.
We know he judged Israel for 23 years.

II. The second man is Jair.
We know he was from Gilead.
We know he judged Israel 22 years.
We know he had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and ruled 30 cities.

III. The Similarity. These men each governed successfully for a little more than 20 years.

IV. The Difference. Tola was known by his pedigree, Jair by his legacy.

There is nothing wrong with a good pedigree. In fact, the Bible says:

Pro 22:1-2   A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all.

Pro 27:10   Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not…

But a good legacy is better:

Psa 127:3   Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

While your good legacy may very well involve rearing a family that will be about the Kingdom of God, that legacy may also reach well beyond the walls of your own home.

For instance:

• Elijah acted as a father figure to Elisha who then in turn became a mentor to a group of young men known as “the sons of the prophets”.
• Jesus spent over 3 years teaching his disciples the things of the kingdom.
• Titus 2 tells us that the “aged women” are to “teach the younger”.
• Barnabas mentored Paul and Mark (and probably others) who did great things for God.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about your pedigree. It is what it is. (The truth is, even those who brag about their family tree have probably pruned a few branches first.)  

You can however do something about your legacy.  It is unlikely that any of us will ever have thirty flesh and blood son's like Jair, but we can certainly have a positive life altering impact on the lives of thirty people. Make a legacy, my friend, and impact your world for Christ.