The first thing I noticed was that God has a plan. From the very beginning, even before the
creation of the world, there has always been a plan. God created the world in absolute beauty and
perfection and placed man within it to govern and steward His creation. Man’s decision to disobey His commands and
the introduction of sin into the world was not a surprise to Him, and it did
not derail His plan. God would send His
only begotten Son to be born of a virgin…fully human, yet fully God, to redeem
us and reconcile us back to Him.
As I made my way through the list of names, I recognized
some of them and remembered their stories.
Rahab was a prostitute. David,
someone described as a man after God’s own heart, was both an adulterer and a
murderer. Solomon, a man with whom God
was pleased and granted him wisdom like no other, loved many foreign women. Though he was warned by God not to associate
with them, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, who turned
his heart away from being wholly devoted to the Lord. Manasseh, a king of Judah, did evil in the
sight of the Lord. God is sovereign,
and will bring about His plan, even through the imperfection of man.
He is a God of order and symmetry. We see in verse seventeen that there are
fourteen generations between Abraham and David, David and the deportation into
Babylon, and from the deportation to the birth of Jesus. I recently heard a sermon that highlighted
these three sections of the chapter and referred to the covenants associated
with them. God is a covenant keeper. A covenant is an agreement which establishes
a relationship between God and his people.
It is initiated by God, who announces to its recipients both its
conditions as well as its reward of promise and blessings to those who are
obedient to its terms. The Abrahamic Covenant
(Genesis 12, 15, 22) represents reconciliation and grace. The Davidic
Covenant (1 Chronicles 17) represents
the Messiah, son of David, as a ruler.
Isaiah 9:6-7 confirms that “..a child will be born to us, a son will
be given to us; and the government will rest on his shoulders; and His name
will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of
Peace. There will be no end to the
increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his
kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from
then on and forevermore. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
Finally, in Jeremiah 31 it speaks of a new covenant.
The Lord declares that He will be their God, and they will be His
people. In verse 34, the Lord declares “for
I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” In Matthew 26 during his final Passover meal,
as he passes the cup around to his disciples, he declares, “for this is My
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins.” Jesus is the only one who has
the ability to forgive us our sin and make us righteous before God.
We read throughout the Old Testament that time and again the
people were disobedient, yet God remained faithful to His word. In the very first chapter of the New
Testament, we see that God has always had a plan. Through this long line of imperfect people,
God sent His Son for the purpose of redeeming and reconciling back to Him those
who would believe and accept the sacrifice provided. That very same Son will one day be our
eternal King and Ruler.
Jesus
The Promised One
The Promise Keeper
Our Hope and Promise for eternity.
The Promised One
The Promise Keeper
Our Hope and Promise for eternity.
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