Sunday Before the Nativity
Sometimes, it seems life is against you.
No matter how hard you try, things just don’t go your way: you lose your job, your landlord terminates your lease, or you don’t get into the school you wanted.
Today’s genealogy reminds us that things haven’t always gone well for Israel either.
After leaving his homeland, Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son; the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt, and then their kingdom was divided, conquered, and they were exiled by Assyria, Babylon, Alexander the Great, Persia, and now Rome.
And, to top it off, you’ll note that this is Joseph’s genealogy … Jesus isn’t even related to any of these folks! At least not according to Matthew.
Scripture: Matthew 1:1-25 (click here to read)
Bottom Line: God is faithful, but in unexpected ways.
Discussion Questions
- Name a time when life didn’t go your way. How did you feel? Were you able to overcome this event or are you still experiencing it?
- If you overcame it, how did it change the way you saw life? Did it change you? How so?
- Knowing that God was with Israel, even in the worst of times, can you see how God was with you in your hardship? What did you do to cling to your faith?
Moving Forward
Despite all the setbacks, God remained faithful to his word.
Often, this faithfulness comes in unexpected ways.
The prostitute, Rahab, helps Israel conquer Jericho. David is born of the “wife of Uriah,” a story that includes murder. And, Ruth clings to her mother-in-law, Naomi, as they strive to survive.
What’s interesting about these three people–Rahab, Uriah, and Ruth–is that they are not Israelites, they are outsiders, who, as their stories testify, were more faithful than the Israelites.
Each one represents a new beginning, God working in unexpected ways and through people the Israelites least expected.
When the genealogy comes to Jesus, it’s obvious there’s a new beginning. He too is an outsider not connected to this disastrous history, and so we are able to start over.
Christ’s birth is the announcement of a new ‘Exodus.’
This journey, however, isn’t out of Egypt. Instead, it’s the conquering of death and our entrance (resurrection) into the eternal Promised Land.
It may seem that life is against us, but, with the birth of Christ, we see that God is faithful to his promise to look after us.
So, we are free to continue to hope and see the silver lining in life … especially when it seems all hope is lost.
Changing Your Mind
“And she will bear a son, and you shall declare his name to be Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)