Sunday, January 29, 2017

Imperfect People. Matthew 1:1-16 (NLT)

Matthew 1:1-16 (NLT)
The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
I know our tendency is to zone out and skim over the names when we see a list like this, especially when they are as hard to pronounce as some of these! But in order to study the lineage of Jesus, God wants us to understand a simple point. He used imperfect people to create a perfect Son. The people and their imperfections are important. If the weren't, He wouldn't have included them here. 
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Tamar was Judah's daughter in law. Judah had lied to Tamar so Tamar tricked Judah as payback. Genesis 38.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Rahab was a former  prostitute from Jericho. Joshua 6
6 David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). David had an affair with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to cover it up. 2 Samuel 11. 
If God could use these people and their imperfections, He can use you. If God could bless these people, despite their imperfections, He can bless you. You just have to yield to Him so He can. 
Blessings, Cecilia

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