Baruch 4:21-29
Psalms 93, 96, 148, 150
Galatians 3:15-22
Luke 1:67-80 or Matt 1:1-17
Matthew 1:1-17
Today’s reading comes from the 1st chapter in Matthew. You know, the FIRST chapter. The chapter where we hear about how so and so became of so and so, and then what’s his name was the father to what’s his face. Blah, blah, blah. Skip to chapter 2.
How could all of these names, lineage and generational data really matter or be important? Let’s skip ahead to the good stuff… the interesting miracles, the heroic battles, the sin, the romance, the fall. Right?
As I began to study the scripture for today’s devotion, I thought, “Well, I’ll definitely not choose the Matthew passage.” Hmmm… but as I contemplated today’s choices, this chapter kept coming back to me again and again. I found myself speaking to God, saying, “Surely, this isn’t the good stuff we should meditate on today? Don’t you want us to dive into Psalms or perhaps, Galatians?” As you may ascertain from the progress of this writing, the answer was “No.” “Now what?” I thought.
So, I began to read the names with new eyes… names that are familiar to us like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Names that are easily spoken like Jesse, David and Judah. Names that are unfamiliar such as Obed, Rehoboam, Abijah, Uzziah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Elihud and Eleazar. Finally, in verse 16, we end with the familiar “Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.”
Now Joseph, I could write about! What an amazing, faithful servant he was! How obedient and humble he turned out to be. But, where would Joseph be without people like Obed, Rehoboam and Eleazer? It strikes me that all of these names, the ones we so frequently “skip” over, are specifically and purposefully written in God’s word. These people are accounted for… people who, without them, wouldn’t lead us to Joseph or Mary or Jesus. Amazing! These people are part of the lineage of the Christ child.
Doesn’t it make you wonder the influence all of these generations had on the fulfillment of God’s plan for a savior? Does it make you think of those names in your family tree that directed you into a faithfulness that you have today? It certainly does for me. It makes me recall with gratitude names like Lydia and Earl, Victoria and James, Lois and Martin, and Elizabeth and Clarence Albert. Names, I wouldn’t dare skip over.
Melissa Peter