This isn't quite like the Brady Bunch! Get this scene... you have eleven brothers (Yes, 11 brothers!). You have some sisters, too... but for sake of time and simplicity, let's just focus on the bros for now. Unfortunately, your family isn't one large "happy family" but more of one that pictures some twisted reality show family from an odd polygamous region in the remote parts of Mormon country (or the rural mountainous regions of Utah- whichever you prefer). Ten of your brothers are from other mothers, three others to be exact. The four oldest brothers have the same mom, then the next two in-line have another mom, then the seventh and eighth yet another mom, the ninth and tenth in-line are from the first mom (am I confusing you yet?), and you and the youngest son in the family are from your dad's second wife (which is the fourth mom in the family). Oh, did I mention that wife #1 and wife #2 are sisters? Nice, huh? If that already wasn't strange enough, the story gets better!Now imagine your oldest brother decides he wants to have an affair with the mother of two of your half brothers. Also, the fourth oldest brother in the family has a son who gets married and dies without children. Desperate for kids, she plays the role of a prostitute and sleeps with her father-in-law and has children with him. Yes, this is your family... your extremely dysfunctional family... figured out you who are? Yup, you're Joseph (if you guessed it, go ahead... pat yourself on the back)!
The reason I share this odd story is to focus in on the ancestry of Christ Himself. Without the book of Genesis to paint some of this history, I would have thought that the ancestry of Christ would have been a long line of great godly and holy men, who always obeyed the commandments of the Lord. The fourth eldest brother in Joseph's family, Judah, had a son with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who was named Perez. Perez was the great great great (I'm not sure how many greats) father of King David who was the great great great (again, not sure how many greats!) father of Joseph, the step-father of Jesus. His family tree would certainly not have been one to be proud of... Christ's ancestry was integrated with horrendous sin! Why you may ask?...Well, I'm not sure! :) Although we may not fully be able to answer this question, we can certainly learn some things about God's character. It shows the trustworthy nature of God in fulfilling His promises. From the very beginning, God promised Abraham (Judah's great grandpa) that He would be a father of many nations, and that those nations would be a blessing to all other nations. Meaning, Abraham's descendant would be the Savior of the world who would free all of the elect from the slavery of sin. God's promises will ALWAYS come to pass, no matter what. What are some of the promises He has made to us? He has promised us peace and comfort through the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14). The Spirit is a promise to us, a seal or guarantee that He will give us eternal life with Him in heaven someday (2 Cor. 1:22). Heaven will be an AMAZING place where the very glory of God will illuminate the New Jerusalem with His majesty and splendor (Rev. 21:23). It will be a place with no sorrow, death, or crying (Rev. 21:4). What an amazing promise! He has also promised that He will NEVER leave us (Heb. 13:5), and that NOTHING will ever separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38,39). The wonderful thing about God is that these promises are unconditional... it's not about how great we are, but how great He is!
The story of Christ's ancestry also shows the great humility of Jesus in entering a world stained and corrupted by sin. The verse in Philippians really comes to life, "but (He) made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." He entered a family that had some pretty dark "secrets"... incest, adultery, fornication, murder, lying, idolatry, the list goes on.
This wasn't a holy lineage but one that represented the sinful and depraved nature of mankind. Jesus would be born into a family with this kind of history to show His love for us and how, in spite of sin, His blood would cleanse even the worst of sinners and the most vile of pasts. Have you ever been inside during a huge snow storm during the day only to step outside to be blinded by the bright, white light of the freshly fallen snow? The unspotted and unsoiled whiteness of fresh-fallen snow is a picture of redemption. It's a picture of how God purifies our sin through Christ's precious blood. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Paul reminded the church at Corinth of this truth, "And such WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Peter denied Christ, and yet he was used by God to help establish the church. Paul was the "chief" of sinners, and yet he penned nearly half of the New Testament. No matter we're you've been, what you've experienced, or the family you are part of, Christ can use you to accomplish His purpose! If you are in Christ, there is no sin too great in which He won't forgive. This should bring us to a place of humility and dependence on Him. Experiencing such grace and mercy should truly bring us to our knees in humble reverence. It should remind us to never look at someone's past in a way that "disqualifies" them from being used of God. He truly can and does use "ordinary" people do accomplish "extraordinary" things. It should also motivate us to continue praying for our loved-ones who do not know the Lord... because in spite of how lost they may be, God can do a "180" in their life.
So, even by looking into the messed-up family of Joseph, we can see the loving and gracious nature of the one true God. The next time you find yourself reading various historical books of the Old Testament, remember that it ALL somehow points to the Cross of Christ. It leads us to His mercy and to His grace, which ultimately leads to OUR salvation. Yes, He is truly a remarkable God and His Word living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12).~AF
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