Wednesday, Fourth Week in Advent
Matthew 1:1-17 (NRSV)
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, 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, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
DEVOTION
My husband is a historian and extremely interested in genealogy!
At first, I was confused about his interest in dead folks we would never meet.
But, after being the joyful recipient of his research, I now take great pride in knowing where I come from, who my ancestors are, and what it is that they overcame to allow me to be who I am in the present moment.
Like me, Jesus' ancestory shaped his life upon the earth. The faithful, and not so faithful, saints who were his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents, etc...were used by God to ultimately bring Jesus into the world to live, die, and rise again to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.
When we read Jesus' genealogy, we are amazed about the lengths God went to wrap himself up and flesh and dwell amongst us!
CHRISTmas morning was not an accident! God had a plan from the foundation of the world, to save and redeem us from our sin and sorrow. That plan manifested generation after generation in the bodies of Jesus' ancestors and finally came to fruition in a Bethlehem stable.
How great is our God and marvelous is God's love toward us!
Let us pray: Oh God, you are amazing! I am so glad that you can see both the beginning and the end simultaneously! Thank you for saving the whole world through Christ! I praise you for your glorious victory! In Jesus' Name, Amen...
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
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