1THE BOOK of the ancestry (genealogy) of Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the son (descendant) of David, the son (descendant) of Abraham.
In the line of King David – a descendant of of Jacob – an Israeli.
Jacob the father of Judah
In the kingly line.
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar
Tamar was part of one of the most curious stories in Genesis: She was married to 2 of Judah’s sons – both of whom died at the hands of God – which scared Judah about giving her his third son (per the custom of the day). Tamar then tricked Judah into having sex with him – making her pregnant. She was disgraced within the family and was due to be burned. She escaped by revealing to Judah the unborn child was his own. As the verse in Matthew shows, she gave birth to twins – in similar fashion to the birth of Jacob and Esau.
28And when she was in labor, one baby put out his hand; and the midwife took his hand and bound upon it a scarlet thread, saying, This baby was born first. 29But he drew back his hand, and behold, his brother was born first. And she said, What a breaking forth you have made for yourself! Therefore his name was called Perez [breaking forth]. 30And afterward his brother who had the scarlet thread on his hand was born and was named Zerah [scarlet]. (Genesis 38)
24When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and they named him Esau [hairy]. 26Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob [supplanter]. Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. (Genesis 25)
Not sure of the significance. Frequently in the Bible, the second born, the weak, the timid, or the reluctant are chosen by God through whom He performs His wonders.
Vernon McGee said that an empty vessel is better for God to pour the Holy Spirit into for power and guidance. That God often has to break us down, to get us to fully turn to Him, before He can use us. That that is why the super-duper saints (believers) are often passed over for use by God in favor of the weaker ones…
Boaz, whose mother was Rahab
I believe McGee said this Rahab is the same as in Joshua 2 – the harlot who helped the two Israeli spies in Jericho before the city was destroyed in an early battle for the takeover of the Holy Land.
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth
Ruth is another curious figure in the family line of Jesus – the Messiah. Ruth was a foreigner. She was from Moab. She had been married by an Israeli – and God had strictly warned the Jews not to intermarry with the tribes of the Holy Land He was going to displace.
But, she remained loyal to her mother-in-law even after the death of her husband. She left Moab when Naomi (the mother-in-law) returned to Israel and worked to provide for her. There she met and married Boaz…
This is one aspect of the Bible that reassures my faith: if you were creating a fiction, you wouldn’t do it like this – and so consistently in books written far apart from each other. How many other religions have as the heroes characters like this?
The recurrent use of elements like this confirms for me as well the Holy inspiration of each of the texts of the Bible…
Back to Matthew 1:
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place under these circumstances: When His mother Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant [through the power] of the Holy Spirit.
Virgin birth and conception by the Holy Spirit.
for that which is conceived in her is of (from, out of) the Holy Spirit. (verse 20)
21She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from [a]failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God].
22All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet, 23Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel–which, when translated, means, God with us.
The prophecy mentioned is from Isaiah 7:
14Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].
I know these early chapters in Matthew are heavy in how the birth and life of Jesus fulfill Old Testament prophecy.
It is very interesting to read. You would not have been able to see how these different prophecies about the coming of the Messiah could possibly all come true – until Matthew shows it to you in a very simple story.
When I read and write about those chapters, I’ll highlight it…
