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Christmas Reading Plan | Week 4 | Day 1
Prayer
God prepare my heart to receive what you would want me to know today.
Bible Reading: Matthew 1:1-17
Read these verses three times slowly.
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Reflection & Questions
PHEW… Well since you are reading this, that means you have hung on until the end of the reading of the Genealogy of Jesus. Or you just skipped to the reflection part. Either way, no one is judging you. There’s so many awesome parts of the Christmas story, why does Matthew include this in his opener? Surprisingly, genealogies tell us a number of things about Jesus.
If you blink, you’ll miss the importance of Matthew’s genealogy. It tells the story of the Old testament through genealogy. With Abraham, he recalls God’s promise to bless all the nations. With David, he recalls God’s promise to establish an everlasting Kingdom. With the exile, Matthew highlights the great act of judgment that questioned whether God would Keep his promises. The Blessing, the Kingdom, and the Exile are the three most significant moments in the life of Israel. Jesus being the fulfillment of all three. Jesus is the ultimate blessing to the nations through the Gospel. Jesus is the great king that will reign on earth forever to remove sin and death. Finally, Jesus’ final return will bring all of his people back to the land of Promise. Before Jesus was born in the little manger, God was preparing so much leading up to His arrival.
Just as there were so many things led up to Jesus’ life, there are many things that have led up to you this Christmas. You have a genealogy that tells a story of who you are, and where you come from. Maybe your family history is unknown to you because of adoption at a young age. Maybe your family history is something that seems boring to you. Maybe you love the story of your family’s history, and you can’t wait to ask the oldest living member of your family what it was like, “back then.” Whatever your relationship to your family history, broken, or unfamiliar it has led to where you are today. And no matter the brokenness, or symmetry God has brought you to the moment today to form you for a purpose and to use you for His glory. The question is, are you ready for it?
- Leading up to you, what parts of your family history have most affected you (good or bad)?
- From where you stand now, what in your family history do you want to change, or continue?
Prayer
God thank you for where you have brought me so far in life. God I pray that you would help me build a better family history by putting you as the highest priority in my life.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
