A KING PROMISED! A KING REIGNS!

Here we are… at the start of our 6 month journey, about to embark through Matthew chapter 1, verses 1-17. I know what you may be thinking because I thought it myself… Like me, you might find yourself wondering what possible relevance 17 verses full of begat’s could hold for you, questioning just what a list of names could possibly mean for you and your day-in-and-out walk, or even how we could find enough in just 17 verses to study for 6 whole months… I know, friend. I know. But when my mind is tempted to skip over, to read on, my heart often tells me there is more… And more there is! No doubt the jewels are there, waiting to be unearthed! This is the lineage of Christ, the King. His ancestry! This is His story!

So, here we are, parking our bicycles to rest beside the first 17 verses of the book of Matthew. We plan to go deep… and then deeper still… into HIS story.  So, my sister, wave goodbye to your bicycle and dare to wallow with us (and alongside Him!) in 17 verses that will touch your heart, deepen your walk, and strengthen your soul. God awaits. Deeper still we go…

For hundreds of years, God’s people had listened to prophet after prophet tell about this Deliverer, this  Coming Rescuing King. Matthew, a Jew writing to a Jewish audience, writes to prove that Christ was that Rescuer so long promised! He wanted the Jews, already inundated with scripture and prophecy promising Messiah, to realize that Christ was that Messiah King! It is so thrilling to me when I think about the opening of Matthew following the heels of Malachi and the Old Testament! The 400 years of silence between most surely echoed with the Jews anticipating their promised King. I know it is so easy for me to open my Bible, Old Testament followed just one page by the New, and see how God’s plan unfolded with the arrival of His son.  Still, it sends me to think that those very echoes were shattered one silent night in Bethlehem when the long-promised King came and His infant wail put end to the wait! I have to wonder if they could comprehend just what they were hearing, what that sweet babe’s cry meant for them… And then I have to wonder if I myself have paused today to grasp just what that sweet babe’s cry means for me… Yes, following the close of the Old Testament, the very first words in Matthew chart their course with the genealogy of Christ! God saw fit to include His ancestry prior to any other detail pertaining to His arrival. Relevance enough! That, my friend, is precisely why we are here… HIS lineage! HIS story!

On a whole, Matthew’s book quotes from the Old Testament, mentioning Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment more than the other gospels. Truly, from the very first verse of his book, Matthew pointed straight to Jesus! His purpose was clear. This Messiah was THE Messiah. In essence, Matthew’s book, from first chapter to last, brought together the Old Testament promise with the good news of His arrival! This Christ came with His never-giving up, never ceasing, unbreakable, and always love. This Christ gave humbly, willingly, in my place – and yours -- on the cross. And This Christ is the King who is reigning today!

Yes, we are going deep from now until October, tracing the seed of Promise straight from the moment God breathed it all the way up to its culmination in Christ!  We will walk through the earthly blood lineage of Christ, recounting their lives and gleaning from their stories, their choices, and their examples, both good and bad. As we journey, we will see consequences of disobedience contrasted with blessings of obedience. We will study shepherd, prophet, priest and king and see our Christ as Perfect examples of each! We will come alongside the five women included (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary) and, if we are willing to learn and apply, be better for it. We will be challenged and convicted, thrilled and jubilant, broken-hearted and pained, liberated and free – all at the same time! Most importantly, we will encounter a God who draws us near, of course for salvation, but also in everyday moments, however mundane or difficult they feel. We will endeavor to give Him all we have and all we are. Willing lumps of clay in His hands, sorrow becomes joy, suffering hope, failure triumph, and weakness strength! My friend, it won’t be long before we will see that He has, once again, brought us full circle, right back around to Him! As it should only be…

So… with great anticipation for the work He will do, we invite you to journey with us over the next months, winding in and out of 17 verses. Hear deep calling unto deep and let it resound throughout the depths of your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength!

Yes, all of these begat’s certainly are important. They culminate with the birth of the Messiah, and we intend to follow them every step of the way! So exactly what do they mean for you? Sweet reader, they mean everything. He is Your King. If you are His child, you have been grafted into this very lineage, His! His story is yours….

Is yours His?