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Matthew and Luke have taken the time to record the genealogies
of our Lord. Since they wrote under the inspiration of God the
Holy Spirit, we can assume that this information is important.
Thanks to the Pharisees' fascination with genealogies, at the
time that these men wrote there was a great archive of information
on the subject, and so they were able to accurately trace the
line of Christ.
Luke traces the line of Christ through his mother, Mary. That
is why 3:23 reads (or should read if it does not) "Jesus...
being the son (as was supposed of Joseph) of Eli..."
Women were seldom included in Jewish genealogies, and so Luke
only had the information about the patrilinear progenitors of
Mary. He does start with her, however, even though he does not
mention her name.
Luke did take the time to write the complete story of Mary and
the immaculate conception, so he also took the time to write up
her lineage.
Matthew traces of the line of Christ through Joseph, and thus
back to Abraham. Luke takes Mary's line back to Adam.
Though Joseph was not Christ's biological Father, our Lord traced
his legal heritage through him. That is why Matthew's line stops
at Abraham. His line had to do with Israel, and Israel began with
Abraham.
Since the line of Mary is Christ's biological line, the line is
traced clear back to Adam.
Both of the genealogies skip generations.
This was a common practice in the Jewish handling of these things.
The reasons varied. It could be that the information was no longer
available, or that the genealogist considered a certain generation
unimportant. The reason does not matter. Just keep this fact in
mind.
Luke's genealogy is unique in that it traces its line in the opposite direction from the norm. However, we will start with Adam and go forward, in spite of Luke's deviant behavior.
It is fitting that we start with Adam, because Adam was the first
head of the human race. By looking at Adam's life we can discover
the beginnings of our problems... and solutions. Adam is perhaps
the one man in these genealogies with the greatest connection
to Christ.
Rom 5:12-21, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered
into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to
all men because all sinned"
When God created Adam, He gave him the legitimate authority to
rule planet earth When God created Adam, He created him body,
mind, and spirit.
Adam's human spirit formed the basis for his relationship with
God in the Garden.
Adam's body gave him the basis for logistical provision in time
and space.
Adam's mind gave him the basis for volitional decision and true
worship of God.
When Adam sinned, the following things happened.
He surrendered his authority to rule planet earth to Satan.
His human spirit was removed from his body, causing spiritual
death. He could not pass on this human spirit to future generations.
His body received an old sin nature, which would be genetically
transmitted to all future generations.
His mind became corrupted by the old sin nature, but still remained
functional. He still had a conscience, which contained a frame
of reference for right and wrong.
Therefore, all of Adam's progeny would suffer the following consequences:
They would be born spiritually dead, sharing the condemnation
for Adam's sin.
They would be born with the indwelling presence of the old sin
nature in the cell structure of their bodies (and yes, genetics
confirms this).
They would be born with a soul, and thus would be able to choose
for themselves the courses of their lives (and so genetics means
very little).
They would be born with a human conscience, and thus be able to
discern right from wrong,
Romans 2:14-15, "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law
do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the
law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the
Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness,
and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them..."
Romans 5:13,14, "for until the Law sin was in the world;
but sin is not imputed though [concessive use of the present participle]
there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses,
even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense
of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come."
The first part of this statement communicates the utter degeneracy
of the post-sin, pre-flood era, and their great hope in the last
Adam.
The Law of Moses provided very much in the way of Divine Establishment
restraint on the old sin nature.
Without that restraint, the human race became extremely involved
in the cosmic system, even to the point of sexual relations with
angels.
And yet even at that time, their personal sins were not imputed
to them. They were instead reserved for imputation to Jesus Christ
The second part of the statement has to do with the continued
effects of spiritual death.
Although their personal sins were not imputed to them, spiritual
death still continued unrestrained.
This shows the heart of the matter. Real spiritual death has to
do with the imputation of Adam's sin. Salvation has to do with
the imputation of our personal sin into Adam.
We did not commit Adam's sin - Adam did. We do receive the imputation
of that sin at the moment of human birth.
Romans 5:15,16 contrasts the two Adams:
"But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if
by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the
grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ,
abound to the many. And the gift is not like that which came through
the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from
one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other
hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in
justification."
Adam's original sin resulted in the spiritual death of the entire
human race, except for the second Adam, Jesus Christ.
The work of Christ on the cross in receiving the imputation of
the personal sins of the human race resulted in the opportunity
for the human race to regain spiritual life in God.
Salvation is a free gift, but it must be taken - accepted. It
is offered to the entire human race without exception.
Salvation arose from the sins of all being imputed to the one.
Spiritual death arose from the sins of one being imputed to the
all.
Romans 5:17 tells us about realms of power and authority related
to sin.
"For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through
the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and
of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ."
Adam's sin put Satan into authority in the world and in the human
body. As a result the entire world was enslaved to Satan through
the world branch of the cosmic system.
The individuals of the world were enslaved to him through the
individual branch of the cosmic system; But Christ's substitutionary
spiritual death gave the human race the authority to take their
lives back.
The abundance of grace is a brief description of post salvation
spiritual assets.
The gift of righteousness is the imputation of the work of Christ
into the new believer at salvation.
Therefore even in the devil's world we can rule our own lives
through God's control.
Romans 5:18 provides a further explanation of the principle.
"So then just as through one transgression there resulted
condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness
[a judicial sentence, handed down by a judge] there resulted justification
of life to all men."
The Greek word dikaio.ma indicates a judicial sentence passed
down from a judge.
In this case, it is the death sentence passed down from God the
Father to Jesus Christ. Christ died under the sentence of death
for us.
The judicial decision is permanent - and thus lasts for all eternity.
God will never rescind His judgment of our sins in Jesus Christ.
We are secure forever because of this.
This judicial sentence is also an act of righteousness for the
perfect Christ chose to die for sinful mankind.
Because of God's judicial sentence and Christ's righteous act
provide the basis for our justification.
The righteousness of Christ is then imputed to everyone who believes
in Christ.
This righteousness is used by God in order to justify our salvation.
We are qualified to live forever with Him.
Romans 5:19 begins the summary,
"For as through the one man's disobedience the many were
made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many
will be made righteous."
Adam's sin was imputed to all, and therefore all were made sinners.
Christ's work of righteousness on the cross will provide righteousness
to all who believe on Him.
The final two verses of the chapter:
Romans 5:19,20, "Now the Law came in the side door [pareiserchomai]
so that the transgression [unbelief - the unforgivable sin] might
increase [grow in importance as an issue]; but where the sin increased
[as an issue], grace abounded all the more [salvation provision]
that, as the sin reigned through [spiritual] death, even so grace
might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord."
The purpose of the Law is not to increase personal sin. Actually
it limits it.
The unforgivable sin, unbelief, is in view here. The unforgivable
sin is the rejection of Christ's work on the cross.
Because of spiritual death, the imputation of Adam's sin, the
unforgivable sin ruled and does rule over all those who refuse
to believe in Christ.
The Law increases the unforgivable sin as an issue, because the
Law defines both sin and the grace provision of God.
As sin increased as an issue, so also did grace, and the grace
provision of God.
Eternal life is the sum total of life after salvation for both
time and eternity.
We live eternal life if we take hold of our portfolio of post
salvation provision, and if we live eternal life, then we rule
over all aspects of the cosmic system.
Therefore, in Adam we all died. In Christ, we can all live. This
is the essence of the baptism of the Spirit.
1 Cor 15:20-28 and 35-49, tells us what Adam has to do with our
future life in God.
I Cor. 15:20-22 introduce the matter.
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death,
by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."
This passage points out there is more to human life than life,
and more to physical death than death.
Physical death is only a tragedy if it occurs while one is also
spiritually dead. Human life is only meaningful insofar as it
is spiritual.
Adam's sin resulted in the spiritual and physical death of all
mankind. Christ's death resulted in the provision of salvation
for all mankind.
Christ's resurrection resulted in the provision of a resurrection
body for all believers. Christ was the first to be resurrected,
but there will be many more.
1 Cor. 15:23 and 24 set forth the order of resurrections.
"But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after
that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end,
when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when he
has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
The word for order in this passage has to do with human organizations
of various kinds. Primarily, it is a word used of military formations.
In a military formation, things always happen in a certain order,
and that is what is in view here.
First, Christ is resurrected.
Second, all believers from the church age receive their resurrection
bodies.
Third, all believers from all other periods of history are resurrected.
It is at the end of history that all rule is abolished.
arche. is the word for rule, and it serves as the general category.
exousia and dunamis define the two types of rulership; exousia
for legitimate authority, and dunamis for illegitimate.
It is all abolished because the kingdom of heaven is put into
place, where Christ rules all.
The kingdom which Christ delivers is His millennial kingdom.
I Cor. 15:25 and 26 explain the reason for the extension of Christ's
millennial rule,
"For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under
His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death."
Christ will reign in His kingdom until the job is completely finished.
He reigns from the right hand of the Father even now. He will
reign on planet Earth in the millennium.
In this case, reigning or ruling means more than just sitting
on a throne. It means an active and benevolent rule towards all
who are His rightful subjects. All who believe in Him remain just
that - His rightful subjects.
There are many enemies of Jesus Christ: humans and angels - and
even death.
Death will be the last of these enemies to fall to the power and
authority of Jesus Christ.
Death was brought into the world by Adam, though Satan was Christ's
first real enemy.
1 Cor. 15:27 and 28 comment on the victory that has already been
won.
"For he has put all things in subjection under His feet.
But when he says, 'All things are put in subjection,' it is evident
that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. And
when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also
will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him,
that God may be all in all."
God the Father has placed all things under the rulership of Christ
- positionally. The cross and the resurrection were the dual strategic
victories that absolutely assured the overall victory of God in
the angelic conflict, and completely reversed the adverse effects
of Adam's sin.
The cross was the strategic victory over sin; all the sins of
man were imputed to Christ on the cross, and judged in Him.
The resurrection was the strategic victory over physical and spiritual
death. Physical death because of the resurrection body; spiritual
death because of the resurrection mind.
The conflict will continue, even though the handwriting is really
on the wall at this point. Evil fights on though completely beaten.
God the Father is the exception to the rule. All is under Christ's
subjection because of the cross, resurrection and ascension. God
the Father is the exception to that. He will remain in authority
over the Son forever.
The purpose of this subjection is so that from beginning to end,
God might remain in authority - and it is fitting that He is.
He was in authority over Christ in eternity past.
He remained in authority throughout human history, and even until
now.
And therefore it is right that he remains forever.
(Verses 29-34 form a parenthetical statement that is not pertinent
to our study, so we will skip them
1 Cor. 15:35 picks up the subject of the actual resurrection.
"But someone will say, 'How are the dead raised? And with
what kind of body do they come?'"
We know how death came into the world - through Adam's original
sin came both spiritual and physical death. We should also come
to understand how life will come again.
Paul begins his explanation of the mystery with an analogy from
the world of agriculture. "That which you sow does not come
to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow
the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or
of something else."
The seed is planted in the shell of the human body, and the human
body must die in order for the seed to grow.
An entire corn stalk is not sown in order to grow another; just
a seed, and that is it.
An entire resurrection body is not placed inside of our own; just
the kernel, the seed of one is placed.
1 Cor. 15:38,39 are an explanation of the individuality of the
resurrection bodies of all creatures.
"But God gives it a body just as He willed, and to each of
the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh,
but there is one flesh of men and another flesh of beasts, and
another flesh of birds, and another of fish."
God made a sovereign decision to make our resurrection bodies
in a certain way. Since it is God's decision, it is going to be
a wonderful body.
The flesh of each order of creatures is different, and so are
the resurrection bodies of all humans.
Heaven means inequality - among resurrection bodies.
It is impossible to tell from a seed what it will grow into. So
it is with the resurrection body. You cannot tell from looking
at someone how they will turn out in heaven. Only God can tell.
The resurrection body is the result of what you do on earth with
your human spirit, which is the seed.
If you cultivate it and nourish it, it will grow into something
fantastic. If you neglect it, it will be not much.
1 Cor. 15:40,41 continue the explanation.
"There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the
glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is
another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star
in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead."
The heavenly bodies are used to analogize the difference in the
glory of the earthly categories. The sun is great and glorious
- the moon just its reflection. Stars are far off and dim. All
are different according to the will of God.
1 Cor. 15:42,43 tell us the about the soil into which the seed
of the resurrection body is sown.
"It is sown in a perishable body, it is raised in an imperishable
body; it is sown in dishonorable, it is raised in glory; it is
sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a soulish
body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body,
there is also a spiritual body."
The soil into which the seed is planted is the human body. The
body is the perishable, the dishonorable, the weak, the soulish.
The soulish is from the Greek word psuchikos. Soulish is used
elsewhere in Scripture (1 Cor 2:14; James 3:15; Jude 1:19) to
connote a person without a human spirit.
The weakness is from the Greek word astheneia, which emphasizes
the inability of the human to make the conversion.
The perishable is obvious.
The dishonorable points the old sin nature in the cell structure
of the human flesh.
And now a comparison is made between the earthly body of Adam
and his race, and Christ and His followers.
1 Cor. 15:45,46, "So also it is written, 'The first man,
Adam, became a living soul.' The last Adam [Christ] became a life-making
spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural;
then the spiritual.
Adam's bad decision resulted in the spiritual death of the entire
human race. This is summed up in the phrase psuche zosan - "living
soul."
A living soul is one that has human life, but not spiritual.
Human life is the sum of biological and soul life, or psuche zosan.
The second man's, Christ's, good decision resulted in the spiritual
life of all who would believe in Him.
All who believe are given spiritual life in the form of the human
spirit. All who receive the human spirit have human life, and
eternal life.
The order of things was for Adam to come first, and then Christ.
The problem must appear before the solution.
The conclusion is in 1 Cor. 15:47-49.
"The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man
is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy;
and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And
just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly."
Seth was Adam's third son, and after the death of Abel and the
banishment of Cain, Seth would renew Adam's line.
Seth represents a new hope and new beginning. He was the appointed
replacement for Abel, and that is the meaning of his name (Gen
4:25-26).
Seth would father Enos at the age of one hundred and five, and
he would die when he was nine hundred and twelve years of age.
During this time in human history, people lived to ages which
seem impossible today.
The line of Christ had been cut off when Cain murdered Abel. Seth
is the renewal of that line. In a sense, he is Abel's substitute;
his designated hitter.
Enos is the Greek rendering of this name, which is more correctly
pronounced Enosh. The Greeks were indiscriminate in their rendering
of the Hebrew sin and shin, and that is why the difference.
There is one significant fact about this man: his life marks the
beginning of the great apostasy of the antediluvian civilization.
Gen 4:26, "to Seth also a son was born, and he called his
name Enosh. At that time men began to cry out against the name
of Yahweh."
The word for 'begin' in this verse is h.Uh.al, and it means to
pierce or penetrate something for the first time. It had a universally
negative connotation. It referred to rape, and other horrible
crimes that included penetration. It referred to the abuse of
land, and even pollution. In the context of Gen. 4:26, it means
to begin something that should never begin. It is, in essence,
a rape of something that was innocent.
The verb 'to call' also can be used in the negative sense. qArA'
means in its basic form to call or summon someone. However, in
its more severe connotation, it has the sense of crying out, or
screaming against someone, and that is how it is used here.
The inseparable preposition 'bh' is attached to shEm Yahweh in
the final part of the verse. This preposition can have many meanings,
but the one that fits best here is 'against'.
The word shEm is translated 'the name of'. The ancient Hebrews
believed that a person's name represented his very essence (WKRP).
Therefore, during Enosh's lifetime, there was a great bitter outcry
against the name of the Lord. This was the beginning of the great
period of apostasy and idolatry that would characterize the antediluvian
civilization.
Enosh himself is not associated with the bitter outcry - it is
likely that he remained faithful to God in spite of public opinion
about Him.
Although spelled C-a-i-n-a-n in Luke's translation, this is the
Hellenization of Qinan of the Hebrew.
We have no other information on this man, other than his place
in the line of Christ.
He is the son of Cainan (Kenan). There is no other reference to
this man in the Bible.
His name literally means, "to the praise of God".
Now we have someone we can talk about.
Genesis 5:22-24 tells his story:
"Enoch lived with God for three hundred years after the birth
of Methuselah (his son). Thus all the days of Enoch came to three
hundred and sixty five years. Enoch lived with God, and he was
not, for God took him."
Hebrews 11:5 provides us with further interpretation:
"By faith Enoch was transferred [to heaven] so that he should
not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for
he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was
pleasing to God."
Jude verses 14 and 15 quotes from the apocryphal book of Enoch,
and it says,
"And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from
Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many
thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and
to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they
have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
When he was sixty five years of age, Enoch was transferred - body,
soul, and spirit - to the presence of God in heaven. There he
stayed for three hundred years, at which time his soul and spirit
were painlessly removed from his body, and he was transferred
to paradise.
Enoch also was a prophet while he remained on planet earth, and
he talked about his own generation, as evidenced by his prophecy
recorded in Jude's epistle.
Enoch lived in a time of great apostasy. This time began during
the life of Enosh, and was fully developed by the time Enoch came
around.
The apostasy of that time was unbridled, since the Mosaic law
had not yet been written.
Rom. 5:20, "And the Law came in the side door, so that the
sin might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all
the more."
The time included a tremendous amount of demonism, even to the
point of sexual relations with them. The demons were attacking
the genetic line of Christ, hoping to pollute His human genetic
purity and thus destroy His role as mediator.
Therefore, they seduced human women (and only women), and impregnated
them. By the time of Noah's life, all but Noah's family had succumbed.
The human women were weakened by their hatred of God (see Enosh),
and easily enticed by the attractiveness of these demons.
There was great violence, and the human race was in a constant
state of war. The half-angelic humans had great superhuman powers
(see Hermes, Aphrodite, Apollo, Neptune, etc.), and they were
superintelligent and superattractive (see Helen of Troy and Aphrodite)
as well.
Many strange and terrible creatures roamed the earth, the brood
of demons. Their fossil record remains - thanks to the great fossilizing
powers of the flood.
It was in this time that Enoch lived, moved to maturity following
the plan of God, and was transferred to heaven by the omnipotence
of God. Enoch did not see physical death because of his maturity,
and he stands as a precursor to resurrection.
Although Enoch was not truly resurrected, his transfer to heaven
was very much like a resurrection.
During all his time in heaven, Enoch stayed in his human body,
yet face to face with God. It is probably a comment on his maturity
that he was able to stand it, though in his sinful body.
After three hundred years of life with God, he was then transferred
to paradise, under the earth.
At the resurrection of Christ he was transferred to heaven along
with all the Old Testament Saints.
Methuselah is Enoch's son, and Lamech's father. His name means
"man of the dart". It is an intriguing name, but we
do not have the foggiest idea why.
Methuselah has the distinction of being the oldest man in Biblical
history, and perhaps of all time.
Long life was a sign of blessing during Biblical times, and was
synonymous with quality of life. This being true, then Methuselah
represents the quality of eternal life within Christ's line.
Lamech forms the link between Methuselah and Noah. He lived to
the age of 777.
Nothing else is known of Lamech, but if he raised Noah, it is
likely he raised him right.
Gen. 6:1-2, "Now it came about, when men began to multiply
on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them. The
sons of God [fallen angels] saw that the daughters of men were
beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose."
This is the period of history which we have studied so closely
the last few sections. Again, it was exceptionally degenerate,
with little in the way of checks and balances.
Gen. 6:3, "Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not
contend in man forever, because he is flesh in his going astray;
but his days will be one hundred and twenty years."
God the Holy Spirit was working non-stop during that time. He
was contending with the souls of the human race, convicting them,
judging their acts, so that they might turn to God through Jesus
Christ.
From this moment on, there would be one hundred and twenty years
and no more.
Gen. 6:4, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days,
and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters
of men, and they bore children to them. Those [children] were
the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
This verse makes the origin of the Nephilim quite clear. They
are the offspring of fallen angels and human women.
It also identifies the Nephilim with the age of heroes, made famous
by the oral tradition that came through Noah and his sons.
Gen 6:5-7 gives us God's evaluation of this period of time:
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on
the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.. An the Lord was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. And the
Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face
of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds
of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."
The revelations of Divine emotion in this passage are really anthropopathisms.
These are the assignment of human emotions to God in order to
explain some aspect of Divine policy. It is an easy way to explain
the doctrine of dispensations to the uninitiated.
God did not grieve, and He was not sorry. It only appeared so
because of the dispensational change of policy. It was time to
judge the present civilization and move on to the next.
It was all a part of the Divine outline of history, and it did
not mean that God did not know about this apostasy in eternity
past.
It is true that this was not God's direct will for the people
of this time, and that he was saddened by their negative volition.
Gen. 6:8-9 tells us God's evaluation of Noah,
"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord... Noah was
a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God."
The "eyes" of God represent his evaluative abilities,
measuring Noah to His standards of righteousness.
The only way that Noah could have done so is through God's grace
plan, including belief in the future savior, Jesus Christ.
That Noah walked with God is a sure indication of his fulfillment
of God's post-salvation plan.
Gen. 6:10-22 records God's plan for the destruction of life on
planet earth, and Noah's salvation. A flood will come, so Noah
will need a boat. The waters will come from above and below the
earth - Gen 7:11.
Noah will save many of the earth's animal species - Gen. 7:13-16.
Many others will be destroyed - Gen. 7:21-23.
Due to the intermingling of salt and fresh water, and the amount
of silt in the water, all but the hardiest of the fish would be
killed as well.
Thus Noah and his family were preserved; while the others died
to await their future judgment.
Noah's three sons and their wives repopulated the earth, and began
the post-diluvian civilization.
Shem was a voyager on the ark, and the firstborn son of Noah.
He cared for his nephew Canaan after it was discovered that he
had been abused by his father Ham, Genesis 9:20-27.
In that account, He is called blessed by Noah - a recognition
of his spiritual maturity.
When Noah began the building of the ark, God made a covenant with
him.
Gen 6:18, "But I will establish My covenant with you; and
you shall enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife, and
your sons wives with you."
Entering the ark was equivalent to entering in to the covenant
with God. The covenant was continued when Noah made his sacrifice
at the landfall of the ark - when he left the ark (this was really
the first ark of the covenant).
Gen. 8:20, "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took
of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt
offerings on the altar."
God spells out the details of the covenant:
Gen. 8:21, "And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and
the Lord said in His heart, 'I shall not again personally cause
the cursing of the earth because of man. There is evil in the
imagination of man from his infanthood. And I shall not again
personally cause the destroying of every living creature as I
have done."
So, God makes a promise to Noah, and to the entire human race,
even to you and I in this passage. He will never again flood the
earth with water.
This is the background to the verb which is translated 'cursing'.
qalal means to diminish something. When it is used of water, it
means to drain it.
It is this same verb which is used to describe the draining of
the water after the flood.
The word used for 'earth' is Adamah. Adamah in the feminine means
earth and all its inhabitants, and so it is here.
The final part place the blame squarely where it belongs: on man.
Therefore, this is a promise, specifically, to never flood the
earth for what man has done.
The second part has to do with the destruction of all life. God
will not destroy all life on the earth.
Notice the comment in between: There is evil in the imagination
of man from his infanthood."
In spite of man's evil imagination, God will not again destroy
the earth and its inhabitants. Man's imagination is evil from
infanthood, and note not from his youth.
In Gen. 8:22, the future conditions of the planet are defined:
"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold
and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
With the tilting of the earth's axis, all of the named conditions
will exist. This is in contrast to the previous stable conditions
of the planet. The environment is going to be rougher from here
on out.
Man's relationship to the animal kingdom is changed by the new
covenant, as described in Gen. 9:2-4.
"And the respect of you and the terror of you shall be on
every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything
that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your
hand they are given. Every moving thing that is alive shall be
food for you; I give all to you, as I did the green plant. Only
you shall not eat flesh with its life, its blood."
The change means that the beasts will respect good human beings,
and be terrified of the bad. In all cases their subordination
is required. It is because of fear that animals are violent.
All animals are now O.K. to eat. The lifeblood of that creature
must be drained before it is eaten, but that is the only requirement.
The third part of the covenant had to do with capital punishment.
Gen. 9:5-6, "And surely I will require your lifeblood; from
every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every
man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's
blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God
He made man."
This is crucial, for before the flood there was no capital punishment,
which is the major restraint on criminal activity. Capital punishment
is ordained from this moment forward. If man or beast kills a
man, he will be killed by man.
This would be a major difference from before the flood. Man is
now responsible for policing himself, which provides a restraint
on the function of the old sin nature.
The fourth part of the covenant is the sign of the promise.
Read Gen. 9:8-17
So the covenant is made and the transfer is made to post-diluvian
civilization. Let's pick up the line of Christ again with Shem.
Shem was the son of Noah. He was about 98 years old when he entered
the ark with the rest of his family. He fathered many children,
including Arphaxad, who would carry the line of Christ.
The land occupied by the descendants of Shem (Gen. 10:21-31) encompasses
all of what would become the Jews under the covenant of Abraham.
It includes Syria, Chaldea, parts of Assyria, Persia, and the
Arabian peninsula.
Noah predicts that the people of Canaan would serve under the
Semites.
He was born two years after the flood, conceived not long after
the ark hit dry land.
He apparently settled in the mountainous country in the Northeast,
and we really do not know much else about this man.
Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. He is not mentioned in the original table of nations in Gen., but for some reason Moses skipped him and went to his son, Shelah. Nothing else is known about this man.
The son of Cainan; the father of Heber.
This man's name means 'fellowship'. In the Hebrew, it is really
Eber.
The son of Shelah, the father of Peleg.
He is the founder of the Hebrew race, and he gave his name to
it, Gen. 10:21.
His name means division, and it was during his lifetime that the
nations were divided.
The first crisis of the postdiluvian civilization was due to the
tower of Babel. When God put down that attempt, the nations of
the earth were formed, and the earth divided into geographical
national boundaries for the very first time.
He is the son of Peleg and the father of Serug. His name means, 'friend'. Nothing else is known.
He is the son of Reu. His name means 'shoot, or tendril' in the Hebrew. There is an ancient city by this name, and it may have something to do with this man.
Do not confuse this man with the brother of Abraham. This Nahor lived in the 23rd century BC, and is the grandfather of Abraham. His name means snorting or snoring.
He was born in Ur of the Chaldees. His name means 'antelope'. Joshua 24:2 tells us that this man was involved in idolatry. He did take place in the big move to Canaan, with the rest of the family. He died about 2100 BC
From Abraham to David, there are fourteen generations. Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Judah-Perez-Hezron-Ram-Admin-Amminadab-Nahshon-Salmon-Boaz-Oed-Jesse-David.
Between the genealogies in Luke and Matthew there is only one
difference, and that is the Luke's insertion of Admin between
Ram and Amminadab. This points out the reality of skipped generations
in genealogy lists.
It was a common practice to skip a generation and go from grandfather
to grandson. Sometimes that generation was skipped due to a spiritual
failure in the person in question; more often, there is no reason
given.
We will concentrate on Abraham, Nahshon, and Boaz in this line.
This line covers the age of the patriarchs, from God's covenant
with Abraham to the next covenant with David. Its chronology runs
from Abraham's birth in 2160 BC to Israel under king Saul in 1004
BC
Gen 12:1-3 records Abram's first call:
"Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your country,
and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land
which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and
I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be
a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one
who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the
earth will be blessed.'"
Abraham had to leave his own country because God had a wonderful
place reserved for him and his progeny. He also had to leave because
his first home and his family and relatives would have been a
fatal distraction to him.
God provided the nation of Israel a fantastic portfolio of grace
blessings in the form of covenants. A covenant is based on the
attributes of God.
It finds its motive in the love of God. There is nothing treacherous
or deceitful about a covenant.
It finds its modus operandi in grace. God gives based on his thinking,
power, and merit.
It finds its dependability in faithfulness. The blessings always
wait for Israel to take them.
It finds its timing and organization in order. Everything is arranged
by the capabilities of God in eternity past.
It finds its enactment in the sovereignty of God. God chooses
to bless Israel.
It finds its revelation in the truth of God. God is forthright
and clear and honest in His communication of the details of His
covenants. He always keeps His Word.
The only thing that Israel is to provide is their acceptance of
the very first covenant, which is the spiritual one. The spiritual
covenant is the relationship with God provision. In it, God provides
Israel with everything that they need to have a national relationship
with Him.
They have the information that they need in order to have a relationship
with Him.
They have the power that they need in order to have a relationship
with Him.
They have the righteousness that they need in order to have a
relationship with Him.
This relationship with God is the greatest of all the covenants,
and it provides the best of the blessings.
Abraham is an example: until he got his relationship with God
on track, he would not receive the remainder of his covenant blessings.
During the age of Israel, only racial Jews receive the blessings
of the covenants to Israel.
Individual Gentiles may still fulfill the plan of God for individuals,
and they may share in the covenants to Israel by way of blessing
by association.
The covenant to Abraham includes the promised land, a new and
unique race, blessing by association to all who bless his race,
a curse on the anti-Semitic, and a messianic clause.
The land is defined in Gen 15:18-21.
The Jews must fulfill the spiritual covenant, and accept Christ
as Messiah in order to fully inherit this land. This will not
occur until the second advent of Christ. This is the messianic
clause.
The new and unique race is formed at the conception of Abraham's
first son by Sarah, providing a brand new genetic race through
the seed of Abraham.
All who bless the Jews are in turn blessed by God. Throughout
history the Jews encounter a massive amount of murderous persecution.
Whenever a person or a nation provides protection, or aides them
in some way, or just has a virtuous mental attitude about their
race, that person or nation is blessed by God.
All who curse the Jews are in turn cursed by God. anti-Semitism
is a death wish.
Abram did as the Lord commanded, and went out from Ur when he
was 75 years of age.
Abram means, "top father (as in rank), or exalted father
(as in respect)".
Sarai means, "contentious woman".
When he arrived in the new land at Shechem, he worshipped God.
Soon after Abram arrived in the new land, a terrible famine hit,
and he went down to Egypt to eat. This caused a complication.
Abram feared that he would be killed by the Egyptians if they
knew that Sarai was his wife, because she was very beautiful.
He was an oaf, and cared more about his safety than what would
happen to Sarai in the Egyptian harem.
Therefore, he lied to the Egyptians, and told them that Sarai
was his sister.
Pharaoh took Sarai for his own, but by stealing her (unwittingly)
from Abram he was the first to invoke the cursing clause of the
Abrahamic covenant.
When the cursing hit, Sarai blabbed the whole deal to Pharaoh,
and so Pharaoh was upset with Abram, but he did not kill him!
He was honorable and gave Sarai back and sent the whole entourage
back to Canaan.
When he arrived, Abram held a worship service in honor of the
Lord. Apparently he had recovered from his devious ways.
When Abram returned to the land, he and his nephew Lot were so
prosperous that their herds were always getting tangled together,
and their shepherds were at the point of engaging in a range war.
Therefore, Lot decided to go down into the Jordan valley with
his bunch in order to avoid further confrontations.
After a time, Lot became entangled in a local war. Genesis 14
tells the story.
When Lot was living down in the Jordan valley, the kings of Sodom
and Gomorrah fought a big battle, where they were defeated.
Lot got himself tangled up in it all somehow, and he was captured
by the victors. They took their spoil and Lot as well and left
for points North.
Abram heard about this and did the honorable thing: he took the
men of his household, 318 all told, and formed them into a fighting
force.
They must have been well trained, because they pulled off the
most difficult of all military maneuvers, a coordinated night
action.
They rescued Lot and all his goods, and returned to their homes.
It is here that Abram has another worship service.
Next is the story of Abraham's offspring.
The story of Sarai's treachery begins in Genesis 16.
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children, and she
had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram,
'Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.
Please go in to may maid; perhaps I shall be built up through
her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And after Abram
had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai
took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband
Abram as his wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived;
and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised
in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done me
be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms; but when she saw she
had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge
between you and me.'"
This was not a good marriage. We have already seen the treachery
of Abraham, and now it is Sarai's turn.
Sarai is barren, and no doubt she had quite a complex about it.
So Sarai conceives a plan. Maybe Abram was bugging her all the
time about children. Maybe the incident with Pharaoh had turned
her off to him in some way.
Because of all this, Sarai just wanted to get it over with. However,
she did not realize, that God's plan included her as well.
And Abraham was dumb enough to go along with the plan.
Of course, Hagar conceived right away, and after living for so
long with Sarai, the contentious woman and no doubt the contentious
master, she could not help but exult over her.
Poor Sarai. Her plan had failed miserably. What was worse, she
had this daily reminder of her failure to give Abram an heir.
Every time that Hagar craved new and unusual food combinations
she probably winked in Sarai's direction.
The first thing that Sarai did was to try to take it out on her
husband. "I may have suggested it, but you didn't have to
go through with it. This is all your fault!" She had become
quite irrational.
The second thing that Sarai did was to try to take it out on Hagar.
She verbally and mentally and physically abused this poor pregnant
woman. Hagar had to leave.
But the Lord would deal justly with Hagar, and she believed in
him, and returned to the authority of Sarai, and things were better
from then.
Now this plan had backfired terribly, and both Abram and Sarai
suffered for it.
There is no Biblical record of the next fifteen years. But we
know from the next part of their lives, Abram and Sarai have improved
their relationship with God tremendously.
In Genesis 17, the story picks up again.
"Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared
to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before Me,
and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me
and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.' And Abram fell
on his face, and God talked with him, saying, 'As for Me, behold,
My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude
of nations. No longer will your name be called Abram, but your
name will be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude
of nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will
make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants
after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will
give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your
sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;
and I will be their God.'
God renews the covenant with Abram because Abram has grown spiritually
to the point where he has capacity for all the great covenant
blessing that God has prepared for him.
Abram falls on his face because he now has true humility. This
is a humility that can only come from an intimate knowledge of
God. Abram developed that knowledge over the fifteen years since
the Hagar disaster.
Now Abram is Abraham, the father of a multitude. Now he is ready
for the next test.
Gen. 16:9, "God said further to Abraham, 'Now as for you,
you will keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you
throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you will
keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every
male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised
in the flesh of your foreskin; and it will be a sign of the covenant
between Me and you.'"
Had Abraham not been a mature believer, he probably would have
said something along the lines of, "You want me to do what
to my what?!" Instead, he humbly complies.
And, he must have been a great leader, because his entire household
was under the requirement as well. "You want us to do what
to our whats?!"
But this was the beginning of the miraculous birth of Isaac.
Gen. 17:15, "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your
wife, you will not call her name Sarai, but Sarah will be her
name. And I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations;
kings of peoples will come from her.' Then Abraham fell on his
face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'Will a child be born
to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety
years old, bear a child?' And Abraham said to God, 'Oh that Ishmael
might live before thee!' But God said, 'No, but Sarah your wife
will bear you a son, and you will call his name Isaac; and I will
establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for
his descendants after him.'"
The birth of Isaac would mean the creation of a new race on the
planet - the race of the Jew.
The new race had these assets:
Client nation status. They were a nation that had a special relationship
with God, and they were used as a witness to the entire world.
A special code, in the Mosaic Law.
A great land in which to live.
Fantastic leadership, in the Davidic dynasty.
A wonderful future, under the leadership of Jesus Christ in the
Millennium.
Unique mental prosperity, which provides the basis for success
in any endeavor.
The purpose for the new race was to represent God as a witness
to the entire world during the last half of the Old Testament
dispensation; to stand as the sole witness to the world during
the tribulation; to serve as the basis for the people of the millennium.
The new race was being propagated for their leader, who would
come more than two thousand years later.
The impact of the new race in history. Pro-Semitism would always
receive blessing by association. Anti-Semitism would always receive
cursing by association.
In this passage, Abraham listens to what God has to say, and comes
to an erroneous conclusion.
He thinks it through, laughing all the while.
Sarah cannot have children.
I cannot give her what she needs to have children.
Then the Lord must want to use Ishmael as my seed, and must have
all along!
Wrong, says God.
Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah. He would marry Rebekah,
and father the twins, Jacob and Esau. It is worthwhile to note
that Rebekah, too, was barren. She was the second in the line
to find healing in God. Another miracle to continue the line of
Christ.
Jacob. This man was no prince, at least at first. He took
advantage of his older brother, Esau, and took his birthright
from him. Later he would wrestle with God, and in that match he
would win God's respect. God changed his name to Israel, 'wrestler
with God'.
Judah was one of the twelve sons of Israel. Tamar, the
widow of both his first and second sons, tricked him into sexual
relations by disguising herself has a prostitute. Tamar did this
as revenge, because Judah had wronged her by not giving her to
his third son. She became pregnant by this liaison, and bore him
twin sons. Judah would go on to spiritual maturity, in spite of
his early handicaps.
Perez was the second born son of Judah, the second of twins.
However, he was the one through which the line of Christ would
run. Not much is know about this man, except his birth.
Hezron forms a link in the genealogy, but not much else
is known about him.
Ram forms another link.
Amminadab We know only one thing about this man: his daughter
was the wife of Aaron the High Priest under Moses. He was a man
of the Exodus, and he died in the desert.
Nahshon. Now we can tell something of this man. His sister
Elisheba was married to Aaron. He was also a man of the Exodus
generation, the captain of the tribe of Judah. He must have been
a talented military leader, but he died in the desert with the
rest of his generation.
Salmon married Rahab, the famous prostitute of Jericho.
Although little is mentioned of Salmon, Rahab deserves mention.
She was a prostitute in the town of Jericho, and when two spies
from the army of Israel come to scout the town they are going
to destroy, they happen upon Rahab's house of ill repute (O.K.,
even 3500 years ago military men had an instinct for this sort
of thing).
She saved these two spies from certain death by hiding them.
Rahab speaks to the two spies, and here is what she said,
"I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the
terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of
the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the
Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites
who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihan and Og, who you totally destroyed.
And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained
in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord you God, He
is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
Then the spies promise her that she and her family will be spared,
and they are.
Rahab and her extended family were the only survivors of the town
of Jericho. All the others were killed. Rahab lived out her years
with the nation of Israel, and she married Salmon.
Boaz was the son of Salmon and Rahab the prostitute. It
was his destiny to marry a foreign woman named Ruth.
Elimelech lived in Bethlehem with his wife Naomi and two sons,
Mahlon and Chilion.
A famine came upon the land, and so Elimelech took his wife and
sons to the land of Moab.
Elimelech died in Moab, and after his death, his sons took Moabite
women for wives. Their names were Ruth and Orpah (not Oprah).
Sadly, both the sons also died before they could give sons to
their wives.
After some quibbling, Ruth determined to return to Bethlehem with
her mother in law, while the other daughter in law stayed in Moab.
Ruth believed in God, and she wanted to be in the land of promise.
By her hard work in the fields she earned the respect of Boaz,
a man of Bethlehem, and eventually he would marry her.
Through Ruth and Boaz, the line of Christ was continued.
Obed was the son of Ruth and Boaz, and he was the grandfather
of David.
Jesse, Obed's son, was David's father.
Up to this point, we have studied some of the covenants of God
with Israel.
The Noahic Covenant, where God promised never again to destroy
the world by flood, and where God established man's responsibility
to capital punishment.
The Abrahamic Covenant, where God established a new racial species.
The Mosaic Covenant, which was the national policy covenant for
the nation of Israel.
Next God established the Davidic, or Messianic, Covenant. This
was the leadership covenant for the nation of Israel.
The leadership covenant for Israel described a man who would be
their great leader, and who would combine the three offices of
prophet, priest, and king.
As prophet, He spoke of His kingdom, and offered it to the Jews,
but they rejected Him.
As priest, he died for the sins of the world, but the Jews would
not receive Him.
Because the Jews rejected Christ as prophet and priest, He could
not be their king, which was their only desire. Because of the
Jew's rejection of Christ, His earthly kingdom was delayed, and
the church age was inserted into history.
The Jews were not unlike many other people in history. They desired
an outside solution to their problems, a panacea that would remove
their troubles quickly and permanently.
They did not see that their humility was required, and the circumcision
of their hearts needed to precede the rescue of their nation.
They were too proud to back down from their arrogant legalism,
and love of the cosmic system.
From their pride they desired a king that would solve their problems,
so that they could go on with their arrogance.
From their pride they rejected the man who was also a prophet
and a priest.
There are many passages in the Old Testament which refer to the
Messiah, the king after the pattern of David.
Gen 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and
you shall bruise his heel."
This is the first prediction of the Messiah. It communicates to
Satan that the future Messiah will come from the seed of the woman.
Because of the process of meiosis, each month the woman produces
an ovum which is without the genetic pollution of the old sin
nature. This made it possible for Mary to conceive by the Holy
Spirit, and bring forth a child that did not have the old sin
nature, and thus would not receive the condemnation of Adam's
original sin.
The last part of the prophecy concerns the ultimate victory of
Christ. Christ will wound the head of Satan. This is a metaphor,
and can refer to many things. It is probably a reference to the
death, resurrection, ascension, and session of Christ.
Satan will wound the heel of Christ. Although this is often interpreted
as referring to the cross, the meaning of `Aqibh does not lend
itself well to this. More likely it refers to the followers of
Jesus Christ, who are subject to persecution throughout the ages.
This is likely especially in light of its position opposite of
rO'sh, head.
Gen 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you, and him who
curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth
shall bless themselves."
Of course, this is the Abrahamic covenant. Through the seed of
Abraham came Christ, and through the death of Christ all nations
and all people were blessed.
Gen 22:18, "and by your descendants shall all the nations
of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."
This is a reaffirmation of the Abrahamic covenant.
The reflexive pronoun 'themselves' denotes the function of volition
related to salvation and post salvation spiritual growth.
Christ the Messiah is the source of these blessings.
Gen. 49:8,10, "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your
hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons
shall bow down before you. The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to
whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
These verse confirm that the Messianic line runs through Judah.
It also emphasizes the royalty of the Messiah - that he would
be a king.
Deut 18:18, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you
from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth,
and he shall speak to them all that I command him."
This is a preview of the prophetic office and function of Christ.
Christ will speak only what God commands.
It is worthwhile to note that the Jews had this verse available
to them, and yet they still rejected Christ.
2 Sam 7:11-16, "from the time that I appointed judges over
my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.
Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you
a house.
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,
I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth
from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne
of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes
of the sons of men;
but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from
Saul, whom I put away from before you.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before
me; your throne shall be established for ever.'"
This is a prediction of the coming of king David. Furthermore,
it predicts that the house of David will last forever. It also
describes the relationship of God to the Messiah: Father to Son.
It hints at the death of the Messiah - that He will take the stripes
(the whipping) of men.
2 Sam 23:5, "Yea, does not my house stand so with God? For
he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my
desire?"
Here is communicated the everlasting nature of the Davidic covenant.
It exists in the Divine decree. It is secure, regardless of what
Israel will do, and they will do a lot. Also it is the communication
of the prosperity which comes from the Messiah.
Psalm 2, "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot
in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
"Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from
us."
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his
fury, saying,
"I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You
are my son, today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the
ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel."
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling
kiss his feet, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way; for
his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge
in him."
This is the first reference to the Messiah as the anointed one.
The word 'Christ' means 'anointed one'.
Anointing with oil was a metaphor for the ministry of the Spirit.
People in ancient times used oil for light. The Spirit sheds His
light on the Word, so that we might understand it.
People in ancient times used oil for a medicinal ointment. The
ministry of the Spirit with the Word heals our souls.
People in ancient times used oil as a cosmetic. The ministry of
the Spirit leads to true beauty - the beauty of the soul full
of Truth.
People in ancient times used oil to anoint the bodies of the dead.
The Spirit is the member of the Godhead who resurrects the dead.
People in ancient times used oil to cook and flavor their food.
The ministry of the Spirit in the Word flavors our lives, making
them not only palatable, but enjoyable.
Christ was the Messiah, the anointed one. He is the keystone of
our faith, and without Him and all that He has done our faith
has no meaning. The Spirit ministered to our Lord from his birth.
In Jesus Christ was manifest the fullness of the Holy Spirit -
all of the things that anointing represents.
Psalm 16, "Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart
from thee." As for the saints in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply
their sorrows; their libations of blood I will not pour out or
take their names upon my lips.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yea, I have a
goodly heritage.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart
instructs me.
I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also
dwells secure.
For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see
the Pit.
Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fullness
of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore."
The key phrase in this passage is "in thy right hand".
Jesus Christ would sit down at the right hand of God after the
ascension. This is called His Session.
The session of Christ represents the finished state of all His
work, and the accomplishment of the strategic victory of the angelic
conflict.
Read Psalm 22.
This is a long passage that records with perfect accuracy the
first person narrative of Christ on the cross.
The gospels have very little information on what Christ thought
while He was dying for our sins - just a few short verbal expressions.
However, the thoughts were recorded one thousand years before
the event - in this Psalm.
The physical details given in this Psalm hit the experience of
crucifixion right on the head. In fact, there is no other explanation.
Read Psalm 110
In this passage there is a repetition of the session of Christ.
Furthermore, it emphasizes the royalty of the Messiah, and his
priesthood.
Melchizedek was a priest and a king during the age of the patriarchs.
He once had a brief association with Abraham. Melchizedek was
the king of Salem, which was the city of Jerusalem at that time.
Christ will be the king of Jerusalem in the millennium and in
the eternal state.
Finally, there is mention of His sovereignty, which He will reveal
to the entire world for the first time at the second advent.
Read Isaiah 2.
Isaiah chapter two concentrates on the millennial rule of Christ.
Christ will rule over a magnificent kingdom, in which peace and
prosperity are the rule.
All the arrogance of man and the fallen angels is brought down,
because of the greatness of the day of the Lord. An end will come
to all idolatry. An utter and final end.
You should note that this passage hints at the idea of idolatry
as being the source of the earth's many ills, including poverty
and war.
Isaiah 7:14 records two details concerning the Messiah. That His
mother will conceive Him while a virgin, and she will call His
name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:1-7, "But there will be no more gloom for her who
was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall
make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light
will shine on them. Thou shalt multiply the nation, thou shalt
increase their gladness; they will be glad in Thy presence as
with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide
the spoil. For Thou shalt break the yoke of their burden and the
staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the
battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the
battle tumult, and cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning,
fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will
be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders;
and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal
Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase
of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over
his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and
righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord
of hosts will accomplish this."
Here again is the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
Also, this passage establishes the location of the hometown of
Christ, and the place where much of His ministry will take place.
Zebulun and Naphtali are two tribes of Israel. Their tribal boundaries
form the area to the West and Southwest of the Sea of Galilee.
Included in these territories is the town of Nazareth, the hometown
of Jesus Christ.
They are made glorious because of the ministry of Christ around
them.
Isaiah 11:1-5, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of
Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit
of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and
the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision
by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the
poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with
the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness
will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about
His waist."
This passage concentrates on the prophetic character of Christ.
Through the Spirit and the Word, Christ will be the greatest prophet
of all time.
Isaiah 40 proclaims the coming of the Messiah to the people of
Israel.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is
pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for
all her sins. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the
way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our
God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill
be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough
places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and
all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has
spoken."
This passage predicts the ministry of John the Baptist. This passage
hearkens back to the wilderness journey of Israel.
It emphasizes the need for faith perception of the truth. For
us, it looks forward to the coming of Christ, or our joining with
him.
Read Isaiah 42. It establishes the purpose of the Messiah. "
These verses spell out the purpose of the life of Christ.
He will bring justice to the nations.
He will open the eyes that are blind.
He will set free the prisoners from the dungeon of the cosmic
system.
The passage also confirms that these things are a part of the
Divine Decree in eternity past.
Read Isaiah 49, which records the call of the Messiah.
This call will result in the salvation of Israel, and of all mankind.
It will solve all problems, no matter how great. It will bring
about the millennium.
Isaiah 53 records the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ,
a priestly function.
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of
the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root
out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should
look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his
mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep
that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation,
who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in
his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no
deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him
to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall
see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the
LORD shall prosper in his hand,
he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many
to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul
to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore
the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
This is really important, because it records the purpose of the
death of the Messiah. He is to die a substitutionary spiritual
death, one that will pay for the sins of all mankind. It is a
great sacrifice, and so God gives Him a great destiny.
Jer 23:5-6, "Behold, the days are coming," declares
the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch;
and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness
in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will
dwell securely ; and this is His name by which He will be called,
the Lord our righteousness."
Daniel 7:27, "Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the
greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given
to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will
be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and
obey Him."
This is a passage which describes the eternal kingdom of God under
the rulership of Jesus Christ.
It tells of the gathering of all nations, human and angelic, and
their subordination to Christ at the Great White Throne.
Micah 5:2, "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little
to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for
Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago,
from the days of eternity."
The eternal nature of Jesus Christ is set forth here. He is truly
God. Micah also identifies His birthplace - Bethlehem.
Zech 12:10, "And I will pour out on the house of David and
on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication,
so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they
will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will
weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born."
This is a little different. It records the crucifixion of Christ
as it relates to the Jews who demand His crucifixion. The Jews
turned against Christ, and demanded his death over that of Barabbas,
a common criminal who had participated in an insurrection against
the Roman rule.
Malachi 3:1, "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and
he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek,
will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant,
in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord
of hosts.
There are two predictions here. First, the prophet predicts the
ministry of John the Baptist. Second, there is a prediction concerning
the scouring of the Temple, which actually occurred on two occasions.
King David was the forerunner of Christ in at least three ways:
In his selection by Samuel the prophet.
In the establishment and administration of his kingdom.
In his fantastic relationship with God. The words of a man on
his deathbed reveal a lot about him. David, for all of his sin
and tragedy was a man of God.
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13, "David the son of Jesse declares,
and the man who was raised on high declares, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, the Spirit of
the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. The Rock
Israel spoke to me, He who rules over men righteously, who rules
in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun
rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs
out of the earth, through sunshine after rain. Truly is not my
house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with
me, ordered in all things, and secured; for all my salvation and
all my desire, will He not indeed make it grow? But the worthless,
every one of them will be thrust away like thorns, because they
cannot be taken in hand; but the man who touches them must be
armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they will be completely
burned with fire in their place."
Joseph's Line, the Legal Line of Christ (Matthew).
Solomon was a true genius, and he exploited that genius by having
a great relationship with God. "Now God gave Solomon wisdom
and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand
that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom
of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he
was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol,
and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the
surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs
were 1,005. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon
even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals
and birds and creeping things and fish. And men came from all
peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the
earth who had heard of his wisdom."
Yet, Solomon became involved with the queen of Sheba, and his
lust for her nearly destroyed him. Toward the end of his life
he wrote a testimony to the folly of his lust. We have that testimony
recorded in the Bible - it is the book of Ecclesiastes.
"Futility of futilities! All is futility!" Is the tone
of the book.
Solomon then proceeds to record all of his accomplishments, and
all of his doings, he says, added up to nothing.
His final conclusion was this: "The conclusion, when all
has been heard, is: fear God, and keep His commandments, because
this applies to every person. for God will bring every act to
judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."
The son of Solomon, he was a weak king, and although he wanted
the right things, he lacked the leadership to bring them about.
He wanted a unified kingdom, but the Northern kingdom of Israel
split from him.
He wanted the pure worship of God, but the entire nation rebelled
and conducted even the most depraved forms of idol worship.
He was an immoral man, and he had a knack for making bad decisions
from a position of weakness.
Abijah saw the split of the two nations in a very black and white
way. The Northern kingdom had rebelled, and must be forcibly brought
back under the reign of one. That one, of course, was him.
He fought a great battle with Jeroboam, and though he won, he
was unable to bring the rebels under his rule. The kingdom remained
divided.
Abijah was also an immoral man, and he too was a failure as a
king.
Asa returned to the pure worship of God. Although he allowed idolatry
to exist, he emphasized what was true and right: the ritual plan
of God.
Prosperity also returned to the southern kingdom. Many came down
from the north because in him they saw a renewal of David's glory.
However, he did make a great mistake towards the end of his life.
Zealous to make the northern kingdom return to the rule of God,
he allied with a pagan nation, Syria.
Asa became ill and did not seek God's help. Depending on his household
physicians, he died.
This man, a king, was a winner. He sought the Lord with all his
heart, and he made his nation a good place. When his nation was
threatened, he turned the entire nation to God.
Read 2 Chron. 20.
Jehosaphat was benevolent and wise, and both his foreign and domestic
policies were effective. He lived out his life peacefully, satisfied
because of his great relationship with God.
Not much is known about this man, other than his father.
Uzziah was another great man, who followed the Lord for most of
his life. He grew to have a great relationship with God under
the ministry of the prophet Zechariah.
He had a great career as king, but he became proud, and in his
pride he overstepped the bounds of his authority and tried to
perform a priestly function. For that sin, God gave him leprosy,
and he remained a leper until the day of his death.
Jotham was also a great king, and he turned out to be great even
than his father, for he did not become arrogant because of his
success.
He died a contented man, confident before God of his eternal future.
The people were not completely responsive to his leadership, but
Judah still became much stronger through him.
This man was a loser. He refused to depend on God - refused to
believe in Him. He was instead an idolater, and as king he did
many evil things.
He allied Judah with Assyria, and paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser
their king, even sending him the Temple treasures.
When he died, no one missed him, and the people did not think
him worthy to be buried with the other kings of Israel.
Hezekiah was a good and Godly king, who from his relationship
with God desired to repair the damage that his father had done.
The Assyrian menace was great during this time, and he did everything
he could to strengthen his own nation so that they might withstand
the enemy.
The first priority was spiritual and moral.
After that he saw to it that the economy and the army were greatly
improved.
The Northern kingdom of Israel went out under the fifth cycle
of discipline during his reign, and their destruction together
with the Sunday school ministry of Isaiah served to bring the
southern kingdom under the Divine standards once again.
Under his rule a great building program took place.
Hezekiah became deathly ill, and it looked like the end was near.
However, he had no heir at the time, and of course the line of
Christ was through him. He prayed for his own life, and trusted
in God, and God extended his life for another 15 years. It was
during that time that he fathered a son, Manasseh.
Manasseh ruled for fifty five years. His was the longest rule
of any of the kings of Judah. He was an extremely evil man, who
hated God and his Word.
The prophets prophesied against him, but he only persecuted them
all the more.
Because he was so evil, God sent the Assyrians against him, who
captured him and carted him off to Babylon.
This Divine discipline worked, because Manasseh repented, and
removed all the idols and idolatrous altars that he could.
Though he had been very evil, he died in peace, knowing the forgiveness
of his savior.
Unfortunately, Amon imitated all of the evil of his own father, and failed to repent. He died the victim of a conspiracy, and his eight year old son took the throne in his place.
When Josiah had reigned for 12 years he began a great purge of
all the idol worship in the land. A few years later, he oversaw
the cleansing and repairing of the Temple. While the priests were
doing this, they discovered the book of the Law, and drew great
conviction from it.
However, it was too late for the southern kingdom, and the wrath
of God was already unleashed.
Josiah died in peace before the destruction of the nation, and
did not have to witness the terrible invasion of the Babylonians.
Jehoiakim was an evil, idolatrous man who ruled as king during
the destruction of the nation of Judah.
He is not mentioned - Matthew skips over him because of his evil
and the terrible destruction that occurred during his reign
His son Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin is mentioned by Matthew.
Mary's Line, the Biological Line of Christ (Luke).
Note: We are taking this one all the way to Christ.
Nathan was a son of David and Bathsheba. He is the quiet son, for nothing much is said about him in Scripture. Even so, he was a link in the biological line of Christ.
Nothing much is known about this man.
Nothing is said about any of these men in the Bible.
This is where a crossover point occurs. Both genealogies stop here. This is where the nation went into exile. Shealtiel was not the true son of Jeconiah, but instead, the line of David continued in this man because Jeconiah failed to produce an heir. This is why Matthew's genealogy claims Jeconiah as this man's father.
He is the head of Israel at the time of the return from exile.
Zerubabel is the result of the marriage between Pedaiah and the
wife of Shealtiel. Shealtiel died without leaving an heir, and
so it was his brother's responsibility to step in for him.
1 Chron. 3:19 identifies Pedaiah as the true father, while Shealtiel
was only his wife's first husband. The line continued.
According to the book of Ezra, this man was a key figure in the
rebuilding of the Temple He was a good man who did much for the
worship of the true God of Israel.
Rhesa, Joanan, Joda, Josech, Semein, Mattathias, Maath, Naggai,
Hesli, Nahum, Amos, Mattathias, Joseph, Jannai, Melchi, Levi,
Matthat
The biological line of Christ continued in these men. Nothing
else is known of them.
Father of Mary.
From the Exile to Joseph Joseph's Line, the Legal Line of Christ,
as Expounded in Matthew
Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud,
Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob
Joseph, the husband of Mary and stepfather of Christ