Christmas Devotionals (4 of 25) by Jason Major

Matthew 1:1-17 The Message

“Look at Matthew 1. This is part of the Nativity Story often missed.  The reason, you see, for the genealogy is a summary of history. In each name are stories. This genealogy is a shortcut; a prelude. With television shows, you say ‘previously, on’. This is a similar shortcut. It is like when you read the opening crawl before the big Star Wars movies. It is a summary of what has gone on before.”

“It is also a summary of promise- the promise given to Abraham, the promise given to David, and the promises given to the Israelites.”

“Notice the name of Joseph, father who was ‘Jacob- prophetically; Joseph’s father was not the name of Israel, but Israel’s original name- calling back to the promises given to the first Jacob.”
“The Nativity Story begins then, biblically, with a remembrance of the promise and the fulfillment of promise.”

“What I want is your heart to understand is that I am your promise, and I want to fulfill promises in your life.”

“Look, again, read again, see things you never saw before- ask questions you have never asked before.”

“What love stories are written in Matthew?”

“What are the names of the Mothers in Matthew 1? Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba. What are their stories? Tamar, who was the daughter-in-law of Judah; who had lost her two husbands by sin; then, pretending to be a prostitute, became pregnant by Judah.”

“Have you ever considered the love story of Salmon and Rahab, Boaz and Ruth?”

“Salmon was the spy who went to look over the promised land.  He loved a non-Israelite harlot; a prostitute.  Their love produced a child; Boaz.”

“Boaz is the same Boaz who loved Ruth, a non-Israelite, a Moabite, who had turned from her pagan ways to follow her mother-in-law’s God.  Boaz was the child of the love of a harlot and an Israelite. His unique family circumstances gave him love and compassion for Ruth as his bride.  Ruth was an orphan who left her life and her family’s gods to worship the true God, and find love and romance with Boaz.”

“David, man after My own heart, sinned in his affair with Bathsheba. His sin is explicitly mentioned by mentioning Bathsheba as the wife of Uriah.  Yet I loved David and forgave him and called their second child of their union, Solomon, and also, Jedidiah, which means ‘beloved of the LORD.’  Solomon became the wisest man on Earth.”

“All these stories tie into larger theme – the love of Israel as the Bride. The revelation in scripture is the love of God for those who are not Jewish.  So, when we get to the story of Mary and Joseph, mediate and ask- why did Joseph not know before the pregnancy what was going to happen? Why is the timing after, not before, when many times in other biblical narratives, an angel had been sent to both parents to tell them before of a miraculous pregnancy?”

“Does not the miracle of their pregnancy also bring back the stories to the reader of the promises of old, of the deliverer child?”

“Joseph’s reaction to his wrong belief about Mary reveals his heart- he does not judge her.  The Pharisees in John 8 judge the woman caught in adultery and demand her to be stoned.  In Joseph’s case, he attempted to show love and grace to Mary, and honour God in his heart and actions and sought God’s wisdom in the situation, not the Law.”

“What I am highlighting is love stories.  The love stories of Salmon and Rahab, the love story story of Boaz and Ruth, the love story of Joseph and Mary.  I write love stories, and bring people together in love.”

Journal Entry: Father, what truths do You want to speak to me about what I have read in Matthew 1?