Matthew 1:1 – 2 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers
There is something about genealogies in the Bible that makes most people’s eyes start to glaze over. A list of mostly unfamiliar names seems so irrelevant to us. We read the Bible to learn about God, to be encouraged, or receive instruction. Genealogies don’t seem for meaningful for any of those purposes.
However, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (ESV) According to God’s Word, every part of the Bible (all scripture) comes from God. Every passage is useful to teach us about God, encourage us, and instruct us. Since the genealogies are part of “all scripture”, they hold value for us.
God purposefully put the genealogies in the Bible for our edification, teaching, reproof, correction, training, and equipping. The problem is that too many Christians are not willing to put in the extra effort required to mine the vast resources to be found in biblical genealogies. Unlike many of the more famous or favorite passages, genealogies are not obvious in their riches. They require digging, thought, and contemplation to uncover the wealth contained within them.
By definition, a genealogy is a list of names that describe the relationship of the people listed. These lists provide some information at face value. From this genealogy in Matthew we learn that Joseph’s family line passed through Abraham and David. Despite being a humble carpenter, the man who raised Jesus as his son was of a royal bloodline. That probably meant more to the original Jewish audience than it does to us but that alone would merit its inclusion in the book. There is much more to be gained from this list though.
Matthew lists 45 people by name. Each of these people has a story. If we were to dig down into the life of every person listed we would have a myriad of lessons available. Original readers would have recognized many of the names and their mention would have brought various stories to mind. Even casual students of the Bible should recognize several of the people listed and therefore should have some impressions from seeing/hearing their names.
Verse 2 mentions four men; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (AKA Israel), and Judah.. All four of them should be well known to Christians as the book of Genesis relates their stories in chapters 12 through 50. Like everyone in this list, except Jesus Himself, these men were flawed human beings. Each of them was a liar and a deceiver. Most of them exhibited a measure of cowardice. Yet these are the men known as the Patriarchs. God at times identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It is easy for us to read about the exploits of great men of faith and be tempted to think that they are a breed apart. Just remember that their righteousness came from the same place ours does … it is credited to us by God. God chose them and He chooses each of us who believe in His name. It is only by God’s grace and mercy that Abraham was a great man of God and it is only by that same grace and mercy that we can do anything for God.
Since that same grace and mercy is available to us, we can, and should, live lives holy and pleasing to God. Despite our flaws and failures, we can choose to obey God and He will give us the strength and power to live a life that glorifies God and draws others to Him. We can let God’s strength, not our weakness, define us.
Heavenly Father, help me to focus on You and not myself. Let me see Your strength and not my weakness. Grant me the vision to see everything, including myself, as You see them. Empower me to live a holy life that is pleasing and to You and a witness to the world. Amen
Devo from seeds…”It’s so important that we learn to recognize our Father’s voice and that only comes through spending time in relationship with Him, in the quietness of time set apart together. There’s so much in life that the enemy uses to drown out the sweet call of God to “come, spend time with ME”. So many things that numb us into a false sense of security thinking we can do without His voice each day in our lives. Whether it’s the practicalities of life, fear of God, the delusion we’re doing OK on our own – we can easily become distracted from the source of life, truth, reassurance, hope, peace and courage that we so desperately need.
The Lord speaks in many different ways but rarely, I believe, does He shout! Unless we quiet our hearts, laying down all the busyness of our emotions, we may miss what He has to say. We may still think we’re hearing, and can guess His answer, but is that enough when times get hard and confusing? When times get difficult and uncertain we need a deep assurance that we can recognize His voice above all the other commotion – tuning out all else and concentrating on Him.” unquote