Matthew 1 Devotional Reflection

Whenever I read the genealogy in the first chapter of Matthew, I am struck by how imperfect the ancestors of Jesus were.

Rahab was a pagan prostitute, but in Joshua 2, she acknowledges that the God of Isreal is the "supreme God of the heavens," and her and her family joined Isreal. 

Not only did she become an ancestor of Jesus and King David's great-great grandmother, but her son Boaz was the kinsman-redeemer who married the widowed Ruth. Boaz beautifully foreshadows Jesus and his role as Redeemer of His Bride.

King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed. Yet David is described by God as a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

There are even some evil kings of Judah--Manasseh and Amon--in Jesus' ancestral line. 

Jesus, the Lord saves.

To me, this speaks to the fact that God does not require perfection, for He continually includes imperfect humans in His plan of redemption. It also reveals that no amount of evil can STOP His plan either. 

A lot happened between Abraham and Jesus, and we see throughout the Old Testament humanity's desperate need for a Savior. Isreal sinned and turned away from God so many times, but He was faithful and He always brought them back to Himself.

For thousands of years God worked tirelessly to preserve His chosen people so Jesus could come and save the world from sin.

Immanuel, God with us.

God longed to be among His creation again--His lost sons and daughters. Not only is He a God of redemption, but He is also a God of relationship. God is love, and He loves to be with humans. We see that from the very beginning in the Garden (Genesis 1).

I imagine all of heaven was overcome with joy when the day of Jesus' birth finally arrived. God's master plan that had been kept mysterious for so long was about to unfold...