Family Ties
“Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, 1the son of David, 2the son of Abraham : 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, 3Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king. David 4was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon 5was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the 6father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the 7deportation to Babylon. 12 After the 8deportation to Babylon : Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, 9who is called the Messiah.”
Matthew’s Gospel lists 45 people in the genealogy of Jesus showing a direct line from Abraham to the Messiah. A few of these names are very familiar to many people, even if you weren’t raised in church.
Many people know the story of Isaac. How he was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, and then God’s test of Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice Isaac before God steeped in to save Isaac and provide a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in his place.
And a lot of people know the story of Rahab, and how she hid the Israelite spies; then she and her family were saved from the destruction of Jericho when God gave it over to the Israelite army.
Almost everyone knows of the story of David and Bathsheba; how King David had an affair with the wife of one of his generals who was off fighting in war. Then when Bathsheba became pregnant David had her husband killed, so he could take Bathsheba as his wife.
The list of the genealogy of Jesus is filled with some good people and a lot of bad people. If I were God I would not publicize the list of “trailer trash” that my Son, the Savior of the world, comes from.
But, when you step back and try to look at this list through God’s perspective then you see that there is a method to His madness! This list of murderer’s, adulterer’s and liars shows us that there is NO ONE that God can not, has not and will not use!
Like I said earlier, if it had been left to me I would have made the genealogy that led to Jesus look like a list Bible who’s who. (I guess it’s a good thing I’m not God. I heard that snicker.)
Along with these imperfect, ungodly people there are a lot of names mentioned that you had probably never heard before. Names like Shealtiel, Azor, Matthan, etc.
The only Biblical mention of Shealtiel is that he was the son of Jeconiah, and the father of Zerubbabel. He apparently did nothing worthy of mention other than that! Azor is not even mentioned in Scripture apart from these few verses! Matthan also has no mention other than here in the genealogy of Jesus!
Many people fall into the trap that they must have a recognizable name to be of use to God.(I must confess that I’ve fallen into this trap before.) But, as much as we want it to be about us, IT’S NOT! IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM!
We are called to be faithful to complete the task He has called us to, and we will receive the greatest acknowledgement that can be found; when we stand before HIS THRONE, and hear the words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant!”
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Father God, I thank You for choosing me as Your servant, and I ask that when I begin to doubt my worth in Your Kingdom that You would remind me of Your ability to use whosoever You will.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
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Yes, You Can Ministry 