Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

9.  Coniah/Jehoachin/Jeconiah (Shealtiel)  Matthew and Luke's genealogies diverge from David until they mysteriously converge again with the obscure Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel. Was Shealtiel the son of Neri, as Luke suggests, or of Jeconiah, as Matthew claims? Add into the mix an obscure prophecy of Jeremiah, and the mystery deepens.  Jeconiah/Jehoachin/Coniah was one of the last kings of Judah, before the Babylonians effectively ended the Davidic kingship. Jeconiah himself ended his life in exile in Babylon. Jeremiah told him that he would be remembered as childless and that none of his children would become a Davidic king.  Scripture is silent on the answer to this conundrum, although we've already considered the tradition that Matthew's is Joseph's family tree rather than Jesus's biological virgin mother Mary in Luke. That still doesn't explain why the family trees converge on Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. Personally, I don't think it beyond the realms

8. Obscure people  We might know nothing about these five men except their names. But the fact they are included in Jesus's genealogy says that although they might have felt insignificant, in God's economy, they are not. Even if we feel forgettable and insignificant, we matter to God.  We might not have made it into Jesus's ancestry, being born A.D. for a start, and probably the wrong ethnicity! But that doesn't mean to say we can't be adopted into Jesus's family, through faith in Him. We can become immortalised by association with the Eternal One.  Never mind Jesus's family tree, there's another list of names that we want to be part of. Being physically related to Jesus was no guarantee of salvation. But if we're adopted into His family, our names get written into the Lamb's book of life.  The Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. His book of life is the definitive list of all who have received etern

7. Kings  Today, we have a snapshot of some of the kings in Jesus's family tree: proud Uzziah, good Jotham, bad Ahaz and great Hezekiah. Jesus's ancestors were a real mixed bag! If we were to delve into our histories, I'm sure we would find the same, but Jesus is God, and yet not ashamed to associate with the likes of us!  Uzziah got too big for his boots. He decided being king wasn't enough, he wanted to be a priest as well. For his pride, God struck him down with leprosy, and his good son Jotham reigned in his place.  Jotham might have been good, but he didn't succeed in causing reformation in idolatrous Judah's society. Being individually good is good of course. But having a godly impact upon wider society would be even better.  Ahaz at one point refused to ask God for a sign, when offered by the prophet Isaiah. At first thought, that might seem pious and faithful of him, as though he didn't need signs to trust God. But Ahaz was an idolatrous king who God

6. David (and Bathsheba)/Solomon/Nathan!  That Jesus is the Son of David is commonly claimed in the gospels. People were waiting for the promised King in David's line who would reign forever. Many Jews are still waiting, but ancient Jewish genealogical records were destroyed around 70 A.D. by the Romans, so there's no way of telling whether any claimants to David's kingship are genuine; apart from the fact He's already been.  You will note that Matthew and Luke significantly diverge in their family trees from King David. Matthew follows the kingly line of Solomon son of David by Uriah's wife- another sordid story, of betrayal and murder. Luke however follows the more obscure Nathan, who was a younger child of David and Bathsheba.  I love how David and Bathsheba's son Nathan's namesake introduces the fact that the Messiah would come from David. David wanted to build a house for God. But God replied through Nathan that He Himself would build a house for David,

5. Rahab and Salmon/Boaz and Ruth  If we thought masquerading as a prostitute was bad of Tamar, then Rahab actually was one! Not only so, but she was a Canaanite, the accursed enemies of God's people. But she surrendered to the Lord, the God of Israel, and left her old life behind.  If we think we're too far gone for God to save us, we can take encouragement from the flawed men and women of Jesus's genealogy. If God could save Rahab the prostitute, and her daughter in law Ruth the widowed foreigner as well, then we should be encouraged that there's hope for us yet. Rahab married into Israel.  I always used to think of Boaz as the kind of man whose ancestors (if he was American) came over on the Mayflower. If he was English, he would have been descended from Norman conquerors. But his own mother was an immigrant into the people of God herself.  No wonder Boaz wasn't so arrogant as to dismiss Ruth the widowed foreigner as a wife for himself. And their beautiful true l

4. Judah and Tamar  You may have already noticed that women don't get a mention in Luke's genealogy. He wasn't being sexist, he was just following tradition. Matthew however breaks with tradition, and mentions Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar, with whom he incestuously (and initially unwittingly!) fathered twins, one of whom is an ancestor of Jesus.  Judah's story seems more sordid even than some popular drama. And yet God isn't too proud to be associated with the likes of him in His family tree. Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, came to save the likes of Judah and Tamar.  Tamar masqueraded as a prostitute to ensure that at least her father-in-law, if not his wicked sons, would provide her with offspring. We might be bemused by the lengths she went to get children, but in her culture, children were seen as a blessing rather than an inconvenience.  Judah mistook Tamar for a prostitute. When he later found out she was pregnant, he santimoniously called for her d

3. Abraham and Sarah  We skip several generations down from Shem to Abraham, who started out as a pagan city dweller in Ur of the Chaldeans, near Basra in modern day Iraq. God appeared to him and called him to the promised land of Canaan, which he would never personally inherit, but his descendants would dwell in.  One major problem though, Abraham didn't have any descendants, and he was really old, as was his wife Sarah. But the God who was to cause a virgin to conceive by His Holy Spirit could also make a barren woman conceive too. Isaac was the child of promise.  So far, so good, but God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to Him. Thankfully, it was 'just' a test, and Abraham passed with flying colours before he had to actually sacrifice his son. The story begs the question, is God bloodthirsty?  Thankfully, God isn't bloodthirsty. But our rebellion against Him is so grave, that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins. Thankfully, the blood of

2. Noah/Shem  the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, Luke 3:36 ESV He also said, "Blessed be the Lord , the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant." Genesis 9:26‭-‬27 ESV When it comes to this point in Jesus's family tree, people often erroneously talk about the 'curse of Ham', Noah's son. But if we read Scripture correctly, we see that Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan, not Ham himself. That curse was fulfilled when Joshua led the children of Israel in conquest of the promised land of Canaan.  It was Noah's son Shem through whom Christ came. When we talk about people being anti-Semitic, that is related to Shem's name as an ancestor of the Jewish people. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when his Descendant Jesus shall return- evil, yet mundane, everyday times.  Japheth is the ancestor

1. Adam and Eve  Jesus is the Son of Adam, the son of God. 'Aren't we all?' you might argue. We're all descended from Adam, whom God created. So aren't we all children of God?  Of course, many people don't believe Adam existed. My old work colleague was one such, who scoffed when I said he was created by God. 'I was created by my parents', he countered.  I think the TV programme 'Ready, Steady, Cook' is a good illustration. People provide ingredients, as men and women do to make babies. But professional chefs then help cook up a meal, like God forms us as bodies, souls and spirits within our mothers' wombs.  Adam rebelled against God. In Adam, all die. But the Son of Adam perfectly obeyed God. In Jesus, all who trust in Him live forever.  When Adam rebelled against God, the Lord began referring to the seed of the snake and the Seed of the woman. Jesus is the virgin born son of Eve and (down the generations) Mary, and all who are in Him by fai