1 Chronicles 9:20 (NET) — 20 Phinehas son of Eleazar had been their leader in earlier times, and the Lord was with him.

1 Chronicles 10:13–14 (NET) — 13 So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits.14 He did not seek the Lord’s guidance, so the Lord killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

Let’s be honest – the first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles is anything but a page-turner. Names upon names upon names. Cities, towns, villages, obscure and otherwise unknown. Acts of seeming insignificance and events of no note – to us. But God knows them all. All are in His sight, under His care. Observed. Weighed. Tested. Provided for. Chastened. Blessed and noted. Nothing and no one escapes His notice and care. And so I am encouraged that He knows my name, my town, and all those I will know in my lifetime no matter how obscure. None of God’s people are unrecorded or unobserved by Him. None are neglected.

That said, in 9:20 and 10:13-14 we have 2 extremely brief but powerful legacies laid out before us. That of Saul could not be more tragic. The main points? He was unfaithful to the Lord, did not obey God’s instruction, and turned to superstition and the supernatural rather than seeking the face of God. So the Lord killed him. Staggering isn’t it? What an epitaph.

Contrast that with Phinehas. “The Lord was with him.” How profound. How simple but stunningly profound. And it bids me ask myself, what will my own legacy be? It bids me pray, may what is said here of Phinehas be said of me – though men never know another thing. May my child know this about her father, and her children and her children’s children – as many generations as the Lord shall tarry. If I leave nothing else behind, let it be this: “The Lord was with him.”

How about you?