Matthew 1
COMMENTARY:
: 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 who had been the wife of Uriah. (3774 “Uriah” [Oupias] means husband of Bathsheba, one of David’s mighty men, light of Jehovah.)
DEVOTION: Too often we hear that the LORD doesn’t care about women. Here we have a special mention of the key women in the genealogy of Christ. There are five mentioned in this chapter.
The first is Tamar who had to act like a harlot to have Judah fulfill his promise to her that she could have a son by his youngest son. He wasn’t going to do it and she dressed as a harlot and seduced him. He left payment that could be recognized by anyone. So when he wanted to kill her because she was pregnant she presented his payment. He didn’t recognize her when they had their relationship. She had twins.
Second we have Rahab who was a harlot by profession. She saved the two spies that had come into the Promised Land to spy for Joshua. She was promised safety if she hid the spies. She did and they kept their promise when they defeated Jericho she was spared. The third woman was from the country of Moab. The Moabites were descendants
of Lot. She married a man who came from Bethlehem. The man died and she came to Bethlehem and met Boaz. They married.
The fourth woman was the wife of Uriah whose name was Bathsheba. David had her husband killed because he stayed back from war and saw her bathing from his deck on his palace. So we have an adulteress in the genealogy of Christ. The Bible doesn’t hid the facts regarding the nature of man even the nature of a King like David. All are sinners in need of a Savior and forgiveness.
Finally, Mary is listed. She was unmarried but the Holy Spirit came upon her as prophesied by Isaiah 7: 14.
So we have a woman who posed as a harlot, one who was a harlot, one who was a foreigner and finally a virgin. God included women in the genealogy for a reason. HE wanted us to know that HIS plan is working. HE is using women in HIS plan.
CHALLENGE: Each gender has their responsibility in their service for the LORD. The commands for men are different from women is some cases but together they both serve HIS purposes.
: 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (5431 “Christ” [masiah] means Messiah, Anointed One, or God’s special choice.)
DEVOTION: Throughout the Old Testament we have predictions regarding the coming Messiah. We have found that through our study of the Old Testament the Messiah is coming two times. The first coming of the Messiah is in the form of a baby. The second coming is in the form of a King.
Now we are concerned with the first coming in this chapter. The problem is that a descendant of David is going to marry another descendant of David but she is going to have a baby before they come together in the marriage act.
Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant. He has two choices: public separate or private separation. There is an engagement or espousal time period that was thought to be about a year before they could marry. During this time period they are not to have any relationship. The custom was for the father of the bride to collect the sheet on the marriage bed to show that his daughter was a virgin before she married. If this could not be provided the daughter could be stoned by the elders of the city. This was to prevent pre-marital relationship between couples.
Joseph received a special visitor while he was thinking about which way to handle his situation with Mary. He listened to the angel and married her.
We need to open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives even in difficult situations. We need to ready to do things that others would think are wrong. If we are in the presence of Christ HE will guide us in the right path.
CHALLENGE: Facing difficult situations is a necessary part of life. Joseph had a difficult choice, we will to as the LORD directs.
:17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. (1078 “generations” [genesis] means book of one’s lineage, existence, origin, history, offspring, or beginning.)
DEVOTION: God is concerned about timing. HE has a plan that HE started before the foundation of the earth. HE shows HIS interest in time by the way the Holy Spirit instructed Matthew to write his gospel.
HE instructed him to calculate the generations between Abraham and the coming of the Messiah. Why would God want to give us detailed information? The reason is that HE is a God of details.
HE wants us to be concerned with the details of our life. Every day is an important day to serve the LORD. Each day we need to ask for guidance and then follow the guidance.
Every detail of the life of Christ is important for us to study because HE was our example. Paul tried to follow HIS example. Paul wrote the churches to inform them to follow HIS example.
Each family has a responsibility to share the truth of the Word of God to the next generation. Each parent has to lead their children in the direction of each one of them understanding who God is and what HE has done for us and can do for them.
CHALLENGE: Keep the details of your life pleasing to the LORD.
: 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (3933 “virgin” [parthenos] means a maiden, an unmarried daughter, or a person who has never had relations with the opposite sex.)
DEVOTION: This chapter begins with a long line of births. It starts with Abraham and ends with Christ. In this genealogy there are five women mentioned. Each woman is unique. Each woman is important. Jesus had those who were Israelites and those who were not Israelites in HIS genealogy. Christ came to save individuals from all nations. God loved the world.
Now we find in this verse a word is used for both men and women who have never been with the opposite sex. Today there are many liberals who want to say that Mary was not a virgin. There are books in print that say that Jesus was just a normal man and that HE didn’t die on the cross but went into Europe and married and had children. The lies of the enemy are getting more and more prevalent today.
The Bible says that she was a virgin. It states that Christ was born of the Holy Ghost. The God-man came to this earth as a baby to take away the sins of HIS people. Christ had many names given to HIM while HE was on this earth. One name in this chapter was “Emmanuel” which means “God with us.”
This is the start of the New Covenant with the church. The Old Covenant was going be to improved. The animal sacrifices were over. Now the perfect sacrifice has arrived. HE walked this earth for thirty-three years. HE lived a sinless life. HE set an example for all to follow. HE will could twelve men to spread HIS message. The world has never been the same since. Praise the LORD.
We are included in this group, if we are followers of Christ as our Savior. We need to share our beliefs with all we come in contact with on a daily basis. There is no other way to Heaven!! HE may come back TODAY!!! Are we sharing this TRUTH???
CHALLENGE: When the Bible says it is true, believe it. The impossible is possible with the LORD!
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