Today is National Roots Day. It’s a day to blow the dust off the old photo albums, go through the pages, and consider your heritage. And with Christmas just ahead, there’s a good chance you will be with many relatives that you only see once a year. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions about the family tree and to write down the stories that are shared.
Tracing a family tree used to involve tedious research, perhaps in multiple locations. Travel and time were expended in search of the elusive connection between your great Aunt Ruth and your third Cousin Eddie twice removed on your father’s side. With the Internet, social media, and public records available online, the job is considerably easier than it used to be. Also, we have websites like ancestry.com, myheritage.com, 23andme.com, and many others.
Perhaps genealogies don’t excite you and you don’t see the point of delving into your past. If there was someone in the past that was mensa-level genius, that doesn’t make you any smarter. If there was a vicious criminal in your family tree, that doesn’t negate the fact that you are an upstanding citizen. Most importantly, if there are great Christians in your ancestry, that doesn’t make you a Christian. As the saying goes, God has no grandchildren, only children.
One of the portions of Scripture that we tend to bypass are genealogical records. The Christmas story actually gives us two, one in Matthew and one in Luke. There is a great temptation to say, “I don’t need to read this. It’s not important.” Well, if it’s not important, then why did God make it a part of the canon of Scripture?
Matthew 1:1-3, 5-6, 12, 16 says, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (2) Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; (3) And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram… (5) And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; (6) And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias … (12) And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel… (16) And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” I skipped several verses and “begats,” not because they aren’t important but simply to conserve time. Go ahead and read them once you finished with the devotionals.
Five women are named, an unusual practice in genealogical records of this time period and region. “Two of them were harlots (Tamar and Rahab), one had committed adultery (Bathsheba), and two were Gentiles (Rahab and Ruth). [Mary was perceived to be a harlot. (John 8:41)] Their inclusion in Matthew’s introduction is perhaps a subtle suggestion that the coming of Christ would bring salvation to sinners, grace to Gentiles, and that in Him, barriers of race and sex would be torn down.”1
Then, there is Jechonias, a.k.a. Jeconiah, Coniah, and Jehoiakim. He was such a wicked man that Jeremiah 36:30-31 says, “Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. (31) And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.”
This is an awesome, overlooked truth! It was prophesied that Jesus would sit on the throne of David in the Millennial Kingdom. (Luke 1:31-32) If Joseph had played a part in the conception of Jesus, Jesus would not have been able to save people from their sins, He would not have been Messiah, and He would not be eligible to sit on the throne of David, even though he was of the right lineage. Jeconiah derailed this privilege for anyone in his bloodline.
The legal claim to the throne comes through Jospeh as the adoptive earthly dad to Jesus. “Luke’s genealogy diverges from Matthew’s after David, tracing the line through David’s son Nathan rather than Solomon. This distinction suggests that Luke’s account represents Mary’s lineage, with Heli being Mary’s father and Joseph’s father-in-law. This lineage bypasses the curse on Jeconiah’s line, further affirming Jesus’ legitimate claim to the Davidic throne through both legal and biological descent.”2
I never would have guessed that a family tree would excite me so much! God is amazing and the family tree of Jesus goes to show how every life has value and purpose. Despite man’s failures, God’s ultimate plans cannot be thwarted. Prophecy WILL happen exactly as the Scripture says because GOD is in charge of it all.
After reading this final verse, you might feel like shouting HALLELUJAH!!!!! Go ahead. The Lord deserves it. Revelation 22:16 says, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
1Believer’s Bible Commentary, e-Sword.net module; comments in brackets were supplied by the author.
2https://biblehub.com/topical/j/jesus’_legal_and_royal_lineage.htm
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