Matt 1:1 God’s Gift of Mercy 12/20/2009 ßŕ
#1. Two Canaanite Women of Ill Repute (Matt 1:3,5, Psalm 5:5, 7:11, 11:5, Prov 3:33, 28:9, Gen 38:26, Josh 6:24)
#2. The Kings of Judah (Matt 1:7-11)
#3. Zerubbabel (Matt 1:12-13, Luke 3:27, 1Chron 3:19)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel According to Matthew, Matt 1:1 (2X). When we start way in the beginning of the New Testament, we expect to go to the beginning of time, and to the beginning of history. Actually that is not so. We can already see this in the first verse, for Matt 1:1 begins with, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ.” That word “generation” does not mean “genealogy”, for it is not the same Greek word that we find translated as “generation” throughout the NT. Here in Matt 1:1 the meaning of the Greek text is, “The genesis of Jesus Christ”, or “This is how Jesus Christ came into being”, but it cannot mean “The genealogy of Jesus Christ” for reasons that I will outline later. What we will see throughout this passage is the mercy of God throughout OT history. Therefore the title of this sermon is, “God’s Gift of Mercy” (2X). Let us begin reading the first 17 verses. The Greek spelling of the Hebrew names is a little different from what we are used to, but they are still recognizable.
Mt 1:1-17 The book of the generation of Jesus
Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas
and his brethren; And Judas begat
Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab
begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And
Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
And Jesse begat David the king; and
David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam
begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And
Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham
begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And
Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; And Josias begat Jechonias and his
brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon,
Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim
begat Azor; And Azor begat Sadoc;
and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan
begat Jacob; And Jacob begat Joseph
the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to
David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away
into
Do all these “begats” mean that these are direct father-son
relationships? Well, let us find out. Let us begin in verse 3 with Pharez. This
chronology was taken from Ruth 4:18-22. Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron
begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon
begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
and Jesse begat David the king. The nine generations represented by this
citation encompass about 841 years. Jacob was born in the year 2007 BC.
Therefore Pharez, who was an immediate son of
#1. Two Canaanite Women of Ill Repute (Matt 1:3,5, Psalm 5:5, 7:11, 11:5, Prov 3:33, 28:9, Gen 38:26, Josh 6:24)
When we see this list in Matt 1, the first thing that catches the eye is the mention of two Canaanite women of ill repute. In verse 3 we read, “And Judah begat Pharez and Zerah of Tamar.” Tamar played the harlot with Judah, her father in law, and out of this incestuous relationship the twins Pharez and Zerah were born. Please put a sticker here in Matt 1:3, and please turn in your Bibles to the Prophecy of Proverbs, Prov 3:33 (2X). In spite of this sordid act of Judah and Tamar, God selected Judah and Tamar and Pharez to be listed in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you see the mercy of God on display here? And why did God have mercy on them? It is because Judah, and Tamar, and Pharez belonged to the elect of God. There is no mercy for those who are not of God’s elect, for the Bible describes them as “the wicked”. God says in the Psalms and in Proverbs:
Ps 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Ps 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Ps 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Pr 3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Pr 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Those who are not of God’s elect will not come to Christ on His terms; they will only come on their own terms whereby they have retained their self-respect, but they will not submit themselves to the authority and righteousness of Christ. They will turn their ears away from hearing the words from God. But how do we know that Tamar, the Canaanite woman, was one of God’s elect? It is because God said so, in Gen 38:26, where we read, “And Judah acknowledged and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.” When Judah, who was one of God’s elect, acknowledged that Tamar was more righteous than he, we know that Tamar was also one of God’s elect, and God’s Gift of Mercy was given to her. Christ forgave her sin.
The second woman of ill repute is listed in Matt 1:5 where
we read, “And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab. Which Rahab was this? This was Rahab
the harlot who was rescued out of
Jos 6:24 And they burnt the city with fire, and
all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of
brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot
alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in
Actually, this destruction of Jericho is a picture of the
destruction at the end of the world, and the rescue of Rahab and all her house
is a picture of the rapture of the saints still living at the end of the world.
It shows that the rapture occurs at the end of the world, and there is no 1000
year gap between the two. Historically Rahab and her family stayed within the
nation of
Please turn again to the Gospel According to Matthew, Matt 1:5
(2X). We have seen Tamar and Rahab, two Canaanite women who actually were under
the curse of God, for the Canaanites were destined to be wiped out by the
children of
Ru 1:16-17 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
These words welled up out of her heart. Listen again at these words in Ruth 1:16: “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” These are not the words of an accursed of he Lord; these are words that have been put in her by God the Holy Spirit. Only under the influence of God the Holy Spirit could she have spoken these words. And so, by the words that she spoke we can clearly see that Ruth has found grace in the sight of God. This Ruth married Boaz, and her first son was named Obed, who was to be the grandfather of David the king. What a beautiful picture of God’s Gift of Mercy. She was no longer an accursed Moabitess.
The fourth woman was also a Canaanitess, who was initially under
the curse of God. She was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. The Hittite
empire stretched from Asia-Minor all the way down to the
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
And indeed, the first child from David and Bathsheba died. But the
second child from David and Bathsheba was Solomon. And herein we can see that
God had mercy on Bathsheba, just like God had mercy on David, because they both
were elect children of God. Through their sin of adultery God arranged that the
wisest king Solomon came to sit on the throne of David. And so Bathsheba, who
was initially an accursed Hittite woman, now had the honor of having one of her
sons sit on the throne of David, and she was now a part of the
#2. The Kings of Judah (Matt 1:7-11)
Please turn again to the Gospel According to Matthew, Matt 1:7
(2X). When we go down the list of the kings of
Please turn in your Bibles to 2Kings 21:1 (2X). The son of
Hezekiah ascended the throne. His son’s name was Manasseh, and here I wanted us
to consider this king more carefully.
Manasseh was the most wicked king that reigned in
2Ki 21:1-3 Manasseh was twelve years old
when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his
mother’s name was Hephzibah. And
he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations
of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of
The good king Hezekiah raised up an evil son such as Manasseh. How does God raise up good children and how are bad children generated. Certainly it has something to do with the upbringing by the parents. When God promised in Prov 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”, it is definitely a promise that God will keep. And thus the children, by imitating wicked parents, are most likely to be wicked also. Or if the parents are lukewarm toward God and the Bible, then the children are most likely lukewarm also. And if parents are on fire for the Lord we have provided the best environment for the children to be on fire also. But somewhere along the line we are making irreversible mistakes. Therefore, by the mercy of God He will forgive us if we have raised up children who are not saved. Remember that God’s Gift of Mercy may apply to our children, but it may also apply to us, for we are not perfect human beings. And so, in this instance here in 2Kings 21, God’s Gift of Mercy also extended to Hezekiah for raising up a monster such as Manasseh. We read in 2Kings 21 that Manasseh built altars for Baal in the house of the Lord. Please drop down to verse 11,
2Ki 21:11-14
Because Manasseh king of
Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all
that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also
to sin with his idols: Therefore
thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such
evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears
shall tingle. And I will stretch
over
Moreover Manasseh shed much innocent blood till he had filled
2Ch 33:11-16 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them
the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the
thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to
Manasseh received God’s gift of Mercy. Manasseh turned from sinner to saint. It was in the nick of time for Manasseh’s salvation, but it was far too late for turning away God’s wrath, for God’s wrath was revealed many years later in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, where God says in Jer 15:3-4,
Jer 15:3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
Jer 15:4 And I will cause them to be removed
into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of
And so, even though Manasseh has repented, all the sins that he
did were still causing anger with the Lord, and God’s righteous wrath will not
be appeased until
Please turn in your Bibles to the Prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 36:22 (2X). Jeremiah dictated the word of the Lord to Baruch, his scribe, and commanded Baruch to read out loud all the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Then the princes took the scroll from Baruch and they brought it unto the king, king
Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. Then we read in Jer 36:22-24,
Jer 36:22-24 Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
What did God do in response to this? God sent the Prophet Jeremiah
to king Jehoiakim, with the message that the king of
Jer 36:30-31 Therefore thus saith the LORD of
Jehoiakim king of
God’s judgment against king Jehoiakim was clear: “He shall have
none to sit upon the throne of David”. He shall have absolutely no descendants
to sit on the throne of David. But when we look at the list in Matt 1:1-17 we
see there in verse 11, “And Josiah
begat Jeconiah and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to
#3. Zerubbabel (Matt 1:12-13, Luke 3:27, 1Chron 3:19)
We read in Matt 1:12-13 that Jeconiah fathered Salathiel, who fathered Zerubbabel, who fathered Abiud, and so on. And in Luke 3:27 we read that Neri fathered Salathiel, who fathered Zerubbabel, who fathered Rhesa, and so on. How can it be that Salathiel had two fathers, Jeconiah and Neri? The answer is found in 1Chron 3:19, where it is stated that Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah, who is Salathiel’s brother. Apparently Salathiel died without leaving any descendants, and therefore Pedaiah married his brother’s widow, and thus Zerubbabel became Salathiel’s son according to Levitical law, and was an heir to the throne. And herein we can also see God’s Gift of Mercy for Salathiel and his son.
If a man dies with no descendants, then his brother may marry the widow and provide seed for his deceased brother. Since this was part of the ceremonial law, we know that this law ceased to exist. But we also know that everything in the ceremonial law was pointing to Christ and the church. And so, what is the spiritual meaning of this law? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ died. And since Christ was never married He did not have any physical descendants. Those whom He can call His next of kin are all the elect who were and are in Christ. Therefore we, who are His next of kin, have the task to spread the seed of the Gospel, so that people can be brought in who were “born from above” and are thus called “of the family of Christ”. It is in this way that we are bringing God’s Gift of Mercy to those who are willing to listen and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God when we speak of His human side, and when we speak of His divine side we recognize that He is God. He brought God’s Gift of Mercy to us by His death on the cross, and we bring God Gift of Mercy to Him, by our willingness to be His ambassador. Every one of these ceremonial laws, also called Levitical laws, were signs and shadows of Christ, and His interest in the church, the eternal church consisting of the priesthood of all the saints. God’s Gift of Mercy was on display, if only the people would have thought of these laws as God’s Gift of Mercy. But they were too busy trying to make these laws an end in itself. And so they missed the boat of the New Covenant, and they got stuck in the rubbish of the Old Covenant.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.