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I am using the YouVersion 49 Week Bible Challenge for these devotions. Today’s readings are Matthew 1:6-17; 2 Kings 3; 18; 19; 1 Chronicles 3. In today’s readings, do you notice a promise to trust, a command to obey, a truth to embrace, a warning to heed, or an encouragement to rest in?
What do you learn about God, about yourself, or about the world?
Is there one verse or thought that stands out to you today? Talk to God about it.
Matthew 1:6-17
Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
I was struck by the mention of the Babylonian captivity in Matthew’s genealogy. It’s as though Matthew is making the point that the line of David to Jesus is not uncluttered by sin and failure. I notice not only the mention of the Babylonian captivity, but also Manasseh who is often remembered as the worst king in Judah’s history—so evil, in fact, that his sins are cited as the tipping point that led to Judah’s eventual destruction. Through these kings – glorious and inglorious – the Savior will be born.
Two things come to mind in regard to this. These genealogical records are not mere historical accounts; they underscore the faithfulness of God in preserving the line through which the promised Messiah would come. Despite the moral failures and challenges faced by many kings in this lineage, God’s providential plan culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the prophecies and promises made throughout the Old Testament.
There is also no lily gilding when it comes to records of God’s people. These are not flannelgraph cutouts. These are real people, some of them examples of godliness, faithfulness, and justice. But some are evil, unjust, and unfaithful. The Bible is no fairy tale. No airbrushing. No cover-up. No whitewashing. This is us: real and unfiltered. No pretence.
That’s good news for us who must live among sinful leaders in a fallen world. Although we are not likely to be taken into captivity we still have potential threats from sworn enemies and foreign powers. And these threats and terrors are woven into the story of God’s redemption. All these are testimony to God’s sovereign power over all things, and his commitment to restore all things and bring all things under the reign of Christ. What others intend for evil, God can use for good. Even through wicked rulers, unjust systems, or looming threats, God is not absent. He is actively working through the brokenness to accomplish His promises—to reconcile the world to Himself in Jesus, and to bring His people safely into His everlasting Kingdom.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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