Day 1
Todays Reading comes from the book of Matthew Chapter 1:1-17. Put your hands up if you normally skip the part of the bible when reading genealogies. However, it is a good place to start when we are focusing on Jesus.
In many cultures, your genealogy shows people who you are. Your name and its meaning tell people where you come from and where you are going. It gives you your identity. I used to be proud of my name-Anderson-especially because people used to make fun of the names of foreigners growing up, and Anderson sounded cool and was easy to pronounce. That was until I learned about slavery and realised the name-Anderson-did not give me the identity that I wanted.
In the book of Matthew, the first Chapter tells us Jesus’s ancestry. I will share some points why I think this is important and why it is more than just telling us who His parents and grandparents are.
1. The prophecy-Jesus is the Messiah, born out of the house of David-by the Old Testament Prophets (Isaiah & Samuel) is confirmed. We see King David is in Jesus’s lineage.
2. Jesus is very much human. As Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus being human means that he resonates with us. He understands the highs and lows of life, he knows what we are going through because he went through it also.
3. Jesus’s ancestors were not perfect, which shows us that people are made righteous because of Jesus and not by their actions or works! God can use imperfect people (us) to do his will. We just have to have faith in Him. Let us look at some of his ancestors,
- Jacob stole his brother’s’ birthright.
- Rahab was a prostitute.
- David committed adultery and murder, and his son Solomon was born from the woman whose husband he killed.
- Ahaz did what was evil in the eyes of God (2 kings 16)-sacrificed his sons to foreign gods.
- Solomon disobeyed God by taking foreign wives and storing up earthly riches
So let’s summarise, and please share in the comments below if you have any thoughts about today’s devotion as God does not just reveals things to Brenda and I.
- Jesus’s genealogy shows us that his identity is in God the Father.
- God is not waiting for you to be perfect before He can use you.
- God sees your heart and character before your actions.
Prayer
Thank you Lord that our genealogy is in Christ Jesus, T
Thank you Lord that the blood of Jesus can break generational/genealogy curses and that we are made free through his righteousness ,
Lord we pray that your Holy Spirit guides us through these 40 days as we devote our time to you,
May we encounter you a fresh ,
In the name of Jesus ,
Amen!
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.
David the king begot Solomon by her [b]who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot [c]Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot [d]Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot [e]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring Isaiah 11:1-10
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
2 Samuel 7:12-16
12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
2 Kings 16:2-3
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel.
Thanks for this Mike. Isn’t it wonderful that as children of God, we are right there in Jesus’ geneology by merit that we are descendants of Abraham!
With that being said, unless we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, we cannot be accepted into God’s family. We miss out on eternal life and the spiritual blessings that come with being a true child of God.
I pray that in the next 40 days we will learn more about what God did for us and why He did it.
To God be the glory!
Amen!