A plan that was not implemented would have been useless, but so would activity that lacked a clear purpose. The two things must go together and we ought to retain both in our interpretation.46 The genealogical records preserved in the Bible are there to remind us of the faithfulness of past generations who preserved God’s revelation to them and passed his promises on intact to their successors. As Christians, we have inherited those promises and must be grateful for that. When we read the Old Testament