Advent Challenge Day 20
Faithful Through Generations
Read Together
Matthew 1:1-17
Light three candles and say together
Come, O Wisdom of our God Most High.*
Reflection
Genealogies aren't usually anyone's favourite part of Scripture. It is easy to brush right past them onto the good parts — the stories and the lessons! Reading through a list of names, especially the hard-to-pronounce ones, can feel dry and boring with very little to offer. But please, don't brush past them. Especially not this one.
Genealogies tell a story, just like your family history tells a story. Someone can look at you and get a sense of who you might be, but knowing someone’s personal story and their childhood memories is a great way to start getting to know someone personally. And in Scripture, we have the opportunity to not just know the story of the person at the end of the genealogy, but we get to know the story of many of the names listed! By reading through this list of generations, we get a wide view of the plan God set into motion long before Jesus showed up in a manger.
The book of Matthew was written for a Jewish audience, so it placed great importance on lineage. From the very first verse of this passage (which is the very first line of the Gospel of Matthew,) Jesus is noted to be a direct descendent of both King David and Abraham. This is important because in the Old Testament we are able to see that God promised that Abraham's descendants would bless the nations and that the Messiah would come from the line of David. So right away, Matthew is making a bold claim that Jesus is the promised Messiah and that He is the fulfillment of God's promise. The genealogy ahead (and all of the book of Matthew,) continues to make this point.
With Abraham at the beginning of the genealogy, we are reminded of the covenant relationship God made with His people. (This video is a really helpful tool to understand covenants better.) This covenant was made with Abraham's family, but it was intended to bless the whole world and so this is the moment all of us who are not biological relatives of Abraham are welcomed into the genealogical story too.
Abraham's son was Isaac was the first sign of God's fulfillment of a promise. He was born to Abraham and Sarah when they were 100 & 90 years old respectively. Jacob, later named Israel, was Isaac's son. Notably, Jacob wrestled with God and was blessed, which points to the type of relationship God is willing to have with us. We can come to Him and wrestle. Jacob's twelve sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.
When we get to Jacob’s son Judah, things get really interesting, and we also see the first of five women's names in this genealogy. This is incredibly unique because it wasn't customary to include the names of women in Jewish genealogies. Scholars also suggest that other than Mary, all the women named in this genealogy were not Jewish. This is such an incredible inclusion, and it emphasizes that the promised Messiah was to be a blessing to all nations and peoples (even those who are culturally marginalized). If you want some really compelling Bible stories, read the passages where these women are mentioned in Scripture. (Tamar: Genesis 38; Rahab: Joshua 2 & Joshua 6:22-25; Ruth: Ruth:1-4; Uriah's Wife (Bathsheba): 2 Samuel 11:1-17, 26-27 & 1 Kings 1:11-31; and Mary: slightly too many references to list here). God used these women in powerful roles to help fulfill His plan.
After 14 generations, we get to King David, and what follows him is a list of kings (many who weren't all that great). That Jesus came from David's line points to Jesus's royal heritage and that He is the true, better, and eternal King who fulfills the covenant promise God made to David. David was not a perfect king or a perfect man. He disobeyed God and sinned against others. But He remained close to God, seeking repentance, which is why He can be called a man after God's own heart.
David's son Soloman was the last king to reign over a united Israel. The generations of kings who followed ruled over disunity and strife. Of all of them, from Rehoboam to Jeconiah, only Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah were described as being faithful to God.
Another 14 generations after King David, Scripture mentions exile. This is a key moment in Israel's history. Both the divided nations of Israel go into Exile but at different times. Israel was taken into captivity in 722 BC by the nation of Assyria. The kingdom of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon in a series of events between 605 to 586 BC. Exile represents a season of discipline, struggle, and marginalization. Jesus came for the kings and the exiles.
Matthew mentions that there are 14 generations between the exile and Jesus but we don't know as much about many of these names listed until we get to Mary and Joseph. The family has seemingly lost its royal lustre, and so a king born in a place where animals feed somehow fits this genealogy perfectly.
As we draw nearer to Christmas, reading a list of names may feel as tedious as reading that to-do list on your fridge. But this genealogy is our family history that proclaims God's faithfulness despite our failures. Through it, we see God's purpose and plan. It is full of flawed individuals who all were necessary for this cosmic plan to play out. God had a purpose for each one of them, and His plan persisted whether these people followed God or not. While we are on the other side of this genealogy, we are welcomed to see ourselves in it, whether we are waiting for a promise or wrestling with God or experiencing marginalization or messing up or even if we feel we haven't been following God. We can see ourselves in the wealthy kings and in the struggling exiles. We can see ourselves in a divided nation. And we can see ourselves in God's plan, as someone that Jesus came to save.
Talk About
- Who in this genealogy do you relate to most?
- Who would you like to learn more about?
Pray Together
O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.*
Amen.
Put it in Action
Make Christmas cards for people in your family tree and in your faith family tree! Who has helped lead you towards Jesus and deeper in faith?
* During the final days of Advent, we will pray seven ancient prayers based on biblical prophesies about Jesus called the O Antiphons. Each prayer begins by addressing Jesus with one of the titles used for Him in Scripture.