Realizations Upon Reading

Mary and Elisabeth-  © 2015 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mary, Elisabeth and the Line of David

The Gospel According to St Matthew starts with the genealogy from Abraham through Joseph. These are names of people whose stories are in the bible and we know their stories. A few stories in here stand out to me, the first is the realization after reading this chapter many times over the years that this is the line of Joseph. It is a amazing line going back to Abraham, and while Joseph is not blood related to Jesus he is still his father. He raised Jesus, taught him his trade.  Reading this genealogy also made me wonder about Mary's line I don't recall that Marys line was ever discussed but I would hazard a guess that to be married to Joseph her line goes back to Abraham as well.  We know from Luke that Mary and Elisabeth were cousins, hence John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. There are great lessons in obedience and faith that we can discuss involving Mary, Joseph, Elisabeth and Zacharias.  Zacharias is especially interesting in his crisis of faith after speaking directly to the angel Gabriel! 

All Things Work to the Glory of God

As interesting as the discussion of Zacharias and faith is, a second realization occurred to me while reading the genealogy of Joseph, and its the thought that has consumed me since reading it.

Matthew 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

We have all heard this story - David saw Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) became enamored of her, lies with her, and arranges for her husband to be killed in battle. The child of this union is King Solomon who built the Temple, who is known as the wisest king, who furthered the line and went down to Joseph. 

The scriptures don't tell us a whole lot about Mary and Joseph, but this line (Matt 1:19) is so telling the more you think of it 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

Joseph would be within his legal rights to take this public, to state how he had been wronged by his bride to be. But even before the angel appeared to him he was noted as a just man and did not want to take the issue public, after the angel appeared to him he took Mary as his wife, and knew her not until she gave birth. Then he raised that child as his own.

Our Heavenly Father took Davids sins of adultery, lust, and murder and used them to bring forth King Solomon, the Temple of Jerusalem, and the man who raised the Son of God as his own. To me that is proof of all things working to the glory of God.

Making Choices in Life

Abraham and Lot are a study in choices. When we look at them in Genesis we are reminded of our daily choices. We have a tendency to put Abraham on a pedestal but while he was a man of great faith and obedience he did make mistakes as well. Overall, his choices led him closer to God which is what we all want.

Abraham repeatedly introduced Sarah as his sister instead of his wife, but when the chips were down was willing to sacrifice his only son because God said to. 

Lot chose to "pitch his tent toward Sodom" and eventually moved there. He offered his daughters virtue to protect his guests. While that is hard to understand in this day and age a study of middle eastern guest right will help you understand the truly awful position the man was in. I really see Abraham as a man who was intentionally trying to grow closer to God while Lot was what today would be considered the "everyman". He believes, he know God exists but he's not really making much of an effort. We don't see that effort until the destruction of Sodom when he prays to God for the salvation of all in the name of 10 righteous men. 

Where are we in the world? What choices are we making? Are we trying to be closer to God or are we moseying along with the world?

Gods Covenant with Abraham

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Have you ever had a protector? Someone who watched over you and helped you? What if that person took it one step further, what if they helped those who helped you and hurt those who hurt you?  I had remembered verse 2 where the Lord promises to make "of thee a great nation". That's the one everyone remembers right? Abraham sons with Sarah are the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. I'm not sure how many people know that his Ishmael with Hagar, had twelve sons of his own, his second son Kedar is the ancestor of the prophet Mohammad. This means that Abraham is the father of both Israel and the Arabic people. 

What about verse 3 though? "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:" those that help Abraham and his family would gain blessing from the Lord and those that hurt or curse him would earn the wrath of the Lord. When I think of the story of Moses and the Pharaoh it is really amazing to think about what that really means. Finally that last part "and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Right now I only have my genealogy tentatively back to about the American Revolution and much of it needs to be fully verified, however I think that when all the work is done this is further verification that we will find we are all brothers and sisters and cousins and family.