Our two children, Kairos and Francheska, would sometimes demand for a family quiz. It ranges from who are their great grandparents up to their cousins. It is a great way to impart the family history and the legacies of those who have gone ahead.
Matthew 1 and Luke 3 record the genealogy of Jesus. The Jews preserved their history, first by oral tradition and then later transfer it to written form. The book of Numbers in the Old Testament records the genealogy of the tribes of Israel. These records were preserved and handed down from generation to generation until the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the genealogical records.
Interestingly, most people would skip reading the genealogical records in the Bible. But we must remember that it serves a purpose, and all that is written in the Bible is the Word of God. Here are a few things to think about Bible genealogies:
First, God is interested in us.
Genealogies are records of actual people. These are persons just like you and me. If God is interested in their own lives, then it follows that God is interested in what is happening in our lives. God interacted with real people in the past and God will surely continue to get in touch with us and the future generations.
Second, God works through people who are imperfect just like you and me.
King David was in the genealogy of Jesus. The Messiah was prophesied to be the the son of David. The immoral and criminal acts of King David were recorded for all to see and there were no attempts to delete it in the Bible. Subsequently, David’s remorse, acceptance and repentance of his sins were also there for us to read. Rahab, a former prostitute was even in the genealogy of Jesus. This shows that God will continue to work in and through imperfect people who have surrendered their lives to Him.
Third, God fulfills His promises.
What God has promised He fulfills it. God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. Abraham died and was not able to see the fulfillment of God’s promises to him in the next generation, and next one after that. But we, the readers of the Bible, have seen how God fulfilled His promises to Abraham. This in turn gives us the confidence that in God’s own time, He will also fulfill His promises to us, maybe not in our lifetime but surely it would come.
Let us give time and reflect on the genealogies written in the Bible.
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
#SeedsOfFaith
#BinhiSangPagtuo
January 30, 2017