Matthew 1 is half names (genealogy of Jesus through Joseph) and the other half the Birth of Christ according to Matthew. Now normally I would just skim through a passage like this. Today, however, since I am reading the ENTIRE New Testament, I had to read all of it. I noticed several things in chapter 1 alone: 1) how God uses people with a messed up past to show His glory and perfect plan to the world, and 2) the character of Joseph.
We'll start with number 1, since that is how most people start. Now I wrote that I noticed how God uses people with a messed up past to show us His glory and perfection. Some of you may already know where I'm headed with this, but hear me out all the same. I know the names in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, can get confusing and therefore boring (as most seem that they were named in the midst of a sneeze...) However, today I saw a few familiar names in the middle: Rahab, Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David and Solomon. Some may see this list of names and think, "Oh, these are names from stories we hear all the time: Ruth, David, Solomon... so what?! How do these names show God using sinful people to carry out His plan?" Well I am so glad you asked, because I was going to tell you anyway! :) Rahab may not be a familiar name to some, so I'll refresh your memory (I had to refresh my own a bit): Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho (and the walls came tumbling down... ok, ok, I'm getting a little carried away from my point). Rahab lied to the king of Jericho about knowing the whereabouts of two men, spies from Israel (sound familiar yet?). Now what Rahab actually did was hide the spies and saved their lives (you can find the whole story in Joshua 2) which eventually brought Israel to take the city of Jericho. Long story short, the spies promised to save Rahab and her family, which they did, and Israel took the city of Jericho. So now what? Rahab and her family were spared, but what else? How is she connected to Christ? You keep asking the right questions! ;) Rahab married and had a son named Boaz (sound familiar?) Boaz, as you can find in the story of Ruth (found in the book of Ruth) married... RUTH!... and they had a son named Obed, who later had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David (now is it coming back to you?) David, King of Israel, was "a man after God's heart" (Acts 13:22), but was not without his own faults. Remember his affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and later how David had Uriah killed in battle? So we admit David is definitely not perfect. But God still used him in amazing ways, not only in His importance in the lineage of Christ, but also in his leadership over the kingdom of Israel during his reign. God actually used David's sin with Bathsheba to bring Christ, did you know that? Yes, Solomon (king of Israel, the "wise guy", the Temple of Solomon, etc.) was in fact the son of David and Bathsheba! Matthew 1 continues on with the lineage from Solomon to Joseph, but I won't go into that now. I just wanted to point out a few key people who had messed up pasts but were used greatly by God. He still uses people who mess up, even in the New Testament and today (think Peter, the apostle Paul, etc). Don't think that your sin will keep God from using you to further His kingdom. If God couldn't use sinful people, no one but Christ would qualify to be part of His eternal plan. So that's my first observation from Matthew 1.
Observation number 2: the character of Joseph.
Alright, now I'm going to add a few personal notes before continuing. As you all know, I am a girl (I'm sure I didn't have to point that out, just wanted to establish that as a starting point). Since I am a girl, my take on this will be quite different than the take any guy might have on the same topic. Anyway, during these past few years, relationships have become more, how should I say it, more important to me, especially thoughts of dating and someday marriage. I'll admit, I've been sucked into the romantic and "mushy" side of everything (thank you, Love Comes Softly movie series, Disney fairy tales, and Lori Wick/Karen Kingsbury books...) But tonight I noticed something in the character of Joseph, the "fiancee" of Mary-mother of Jesus-that isn't necessarily the "mushy" side of the equation. In Matthew 1:19, it says that Joseph, "being a just man and unwilling to put (Mary) to shame (after finding out she was with child), resolved to divorce her quietly". In these mere 20 words of the verse, I find two things about the character of Joseph: 1) he is just, and 2) he is merciful. I know, here I go again with two things. But these are, in my mind, two of the most crucial points of his character so far. Number 1: Joseph is just (as seen in the text of verse 19). Now think about what Joseph has just gone through: he is engaged to be married to Mary; he finds out she is pregnant, and he knows it is not his biological child ("before they came together..." Matthew 1: 18). What do you think you would do? I am not a guy, so I cannot speak for the guy side of Joseph. However, I'm sure he's pretty much freaked out. His betrothed wife is pregnant and it isn't his kid... uh-oh!! So what's he supposed to do? According to traditional Jewish customs, if a woman was found to be having an affair with a man other than her husband, she was to be stoned. But do you see what Matthew says about Joseph next? He is "unwilling to put her to shame" (verse 19 and point #2). This is where I see Joseph's mercy. In his mind, he's been wronged, he's been hurt, he's been and will continue to be humiliated publicly. Most of us (myself included) would probably seek to wrong, hurt, and publicly humiliate that person who did the same to us. But do you see what he really did? He decided that he would quietly divorce her so that she would not be put to shame. He put her reputation before his own feelings, and that is where I see the mercy in Joseph. His compassion and mercy outweighed his personal hurt and pain (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 sound familiar?) Instead of acting on his own emotions, though, Joseph does take Mary as his wife as prompted by God through a dream. So actually that two should become three things after seeing verses 20-24. In verse 24, after Joseph has a dream, he takes Mary as his wife. I see devotion and commitment in Joseph. He's willing to stick with it, no matter how tough it might be from now on. His commitment is a parallel to how God doesn't leave even when we get to be difficult and stubborn (Joshua 1:9). God promised numerous times that He would be with us and never, NEVER leave us, even when we mess up. Joseph's character shows his trust in God's plan, and also shows that there are men out there that follow God and do have good character traits! ;) And that's my observation number 2!
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