I think a lot of us know that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, but I don’t think we really ask why.

Origins In Genesis

If we start with Genesis, we find a somewhat familiar passage right after Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden. God is handing out judgments and He is starting with Satan. The key verse we want to focus on is:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.” –Genesis 3:15.

When we think of “seed,” we commonly associate this to the male species. Here, God is associating to the woman which is in anticipation of the virgin birth.

From this point on, Satan goes to work doing everything he can to corrupt this “seed.” Here’s a short list of some of the things he tries to spoil the seed:

• He causes Cain to murder his brother Abel (Genesis 4)
• He causes his fallen angels to corrupt the bloodlines of many generations that precipitate the flood (Genesis 6)
• He causes the tower of Babel to be built (Genesis 11)
• He causes Abram and Sarai to have Ishmael by Hagar (Genesis 16)
• He causes the rise of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19)
• He causes Joseph’s brothers to deal treacherously with him (Genesis 37)
• He causes the illicit affair between Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38)
• He causes Aaron to make the golden calf and the resulting worship (Exodus 32)
• He causes David to commit adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)

There are many more examples, but let’s jump ahead to the event that probably caused Satan to rejoice.

King Jehoiachin (Coniah)

All through the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, we read of Israel’s many failures and departures from worshipping God and turning to idol worship. Things would get better but then go right back to mire. There would be good kings, and then bad ones. The northern and southern kingdoms would seeming go from bad to worse.

God finally has enough and so with king Jehoiachin He pronounces a blood curse upon him.

“Thus says the LORD, ‘write this man down childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah.’” –Jeremiah 22:30.

With this proclamation, Satan thinks he finally has succeeded in undermining God’s plan of redemption through David’s bloodline. It was announced by God that the Messiah would come from David’s line, but now Satan thinks that the plan has been ruined by his doing.

Joseph

So if we turn to Matthew now, we run across king Jehoiachin in Jesus’ genealogy.

Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. –Matthew 1:11-12.

Here, Jeconiah is another spelling of Jehoiachin. The genealogy continues and we’ll pick it up in verse 16:

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. –Matthew 1:16.

Remember, Joseph was not Jesus’ natural father. If he were, then the blood curse that God pronounced on the lineage of David would apply to Jesus! No, Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, thus fulfilling the specifications that the Messiah was a descendant of David.

Something also peculiar that you might gloss over. In Luke 3, there is a little verse that has significant implications.

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli. –Luke 3:23.

Did you pick up on that? In Matthew 1:16, it says that Joseph’s father was Jacob. Here in Luke, it makes it sound like there is a contradiction by saying “Joseph, the son of Eli.”

Who is Eli?

Eli is Mary’s father! In other words, Joseph is Jacob’s son by birth, and Eli’s son (in-law) by marriage to Mary. In order to really get at what is going on here, we need to dig back into the Old Testament to the book of Numbers.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

I won’t get into all the scriptures here, but will provide them in a moment. Basically what happened is that Zelophehad did not have any sons, only daughters. In ancient Israel, inheritance would typically go to sons. After Zelophehad had died, his five daughters came to Moses asking him what would happen to their father’s property who died without sons?

Moses then took the question directly to God who made a very particular exemption. However, this exemption was absolutely critical to the coming of the Messiah that we don’t appreciate the implications until we get to Jesus’ birth! God anticipated this detail a thousand years before Jesus’ birth!

If you want to dig into the background, check out these passages:

• Numbers 26:33
• Numbers 27:1-11
• Numbers 36:2-12
• Joshua 17:3-6
• 1 Chronicles 7:15

Merry Christmas 2010!

On behalf of the Chavez family, I wish each of you a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with God’s love, grace, and mercy.

May He Increase!

Still, they were not perfect. Because Zacharias chose not question the angel Gabriel’s message to him, he remained mute for the nine months that Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. But like so many of the things of God, there was glory hidden in this difficulty. The moment John was given his formal name, Zacharias’ lips were opened and a great prophecy was given through the Holy Spirit.

Last time, we looked at the first two verses of Zacharias’ prophecy. This time we will look at the next two.

Zacharias’ Prophecy – Part II: “The Horn of Salvation”

“And [the Lord God of Israel] has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant–as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” –Luke 1:69-70.

The Greek word used for “horn” is “κέρας.” Transliterated it is “keras.” It means, of course, “a horn” but has a few applications. The most basic one is simply the horn of an animal. But also since animals such as bulls defend themselves with their horns, the horn for the Hebrews is a symbol of strength and courage, and used as such in a variety of phrases, one of which is when speaking of the Messiah. Given the prophecy being spoken, this is who Zacharias is talking about.

Moreover, it’s not just any horn, but a “horn of salvation.” This speaks of Jesus’ role as our High Priest, making an offering for sin on behalf of the entire world!

This “horn of salvation” appears in the Old Testament as well. David said of God:

“My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior, You save me from violence.” –2 Samuel 22:3.

David elaborates on the “horn of salvation” as a defensive weapon. And indeed, Jesus is a defensive weapon against sin!

Zacharias further identifies this horn as coming from the house of David, the royal bloodline, destined to sit upon the eternal throne of God. It’s interesting because David used the same expression about 1,000 years before Zacharias would use it and link David to it.

Lastly, Zacharias reminds the reader that Jesus’ first coming had been prophesied “by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” Indeed, the whole Old Testament is about Jesus! It’s the gospel concealed.

What’s Next?

Next time we will look at the next two verses that speak of God’s covenant He made with His people and how Jesus is the fulfillment of that covenant.

May He Increase!

However, one thing that hasn’t changed are natural consequences that flow from the choices we make day-to-day, even minute-by-minute. For example, if you run a red light, God has forgiven the sin of you breaking a law instituted by the governmental powers that exist by God’s power. But, God allows the natural consequence of you receiving a ticket from the police officer (or those darned red-light cameras–trust me, they work…) who saw you run the light. You made a bad choice, you receive the consequence that flows from that choice.

Another example, if you choose to stand in the middle of the freeway, short of a miracle, you will suffer the consequence of that choice by getting hit by a car. You may die or be badly injured, but you will experience the consequence of that choice.

King David–a man after God’s own heart–suffered much as a result of bad choices. David committed adultery with Bathsheba. When she became pregnant, David tried to hide it by first telling Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah–one of David’s captains–to go home and spend time with Bathsheba, hoping that Uriah would think the child was his. Instead, Uriah stayed with his men at David’s palace. Next, David tried to get Uriah drunk and send him home to his wife, but Uriah stayed with David.

If this weren’t bad enough at this point, David then resorts to murder!

Now it came about in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He had written in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” –2 Samuel 11:14-15.

As you probably can expect, Uriah was killed in a battle. At this point, David thought that he had effectively hidden his sin. He married Bathsheba and thought it was all behind him.

God sent the prophet Nathan to David to show him that nothing is hidden from God’s sight.

“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘ It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.’” –2 Samuel 12:7-9.

God called David out! He has laid his sins out for him to see clearly. Now God will tell David the consequences of his choices.

“‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’” –2 Samuel 12:10-12.

Harsh judgment. But consider who David was: he was king over God’s people Israel thus having a position of great power and influence. But David’s response to this was proper:

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” –2 Samuel 12:13-14.

There are the summation verses. David’s confession was immediate as was God’s gracious forgiveness of his sin. But, God did not take away the natural consequences of those choices! God spared David’s life, but will allow David to experience these consequences of his choices:

1. The baby that Bathsheba is carrying, will die.
2. David’s son Amnon has an incestuous relationship with David’s daughter Tamar.
3. David’s son Absalom then kills Amnon in retaliation for the rape of Tamar.
4. Absalom starts a revolt and David flees Jerusalem.
5. Absalom has intercourse with all of David’s wives publicly just as God had said.
6. Absalom is eventually killed by David’s soldiers in spite of David telling them to “deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” –2 Samuel 18:5.

From this point until until the end of David’s reign, the kingdom suffered disorder and famine.

Did God forgive David’s sin? Yes. Did God allow David to experience the natural consequences of those bad choices to follow? Yes.

You cannot out-sin Christ’s redemptive work of the cross. But we should not be surprised when we may spend our entire lives living out and with the consequences of poor choices we make during our life.

The Christian life is a life lived knowing that you and your Creator are reconciled to each other. It’s knowing that your sin has been paid for by Jesus so you will not live in outer darkness for eternity. It’s knowing that in spite of having to suffer–at times–consequences for the bad choices we may have made, God will give us the strength to carry on and to comfort us when we cry out.

May He Increase!

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. –Genesis 3:6.

The steps are clearly outlined in 1 John 2:16:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Here they are:

1. Lust of the flesh (“the woman saw”)
2. Lust of the eyes (“it was a delight to the eyes”)
3. Boastful pride of life (“desirable to make one wise”)

Another example is in the book of Joshua. When Joshua was giving the instructions to the people the day before they conquered Jericho, he specifically told them that they were to take no spoils from the victory. This was in accordance to Leviticus 27:28-29. This was going to be first-fruits victory in the land of Canaan and as such, was to be devoted to God. Unfortunately, one of the members of the tribe of Judah did not follow the command.

So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.” –Joshua 7:20-21.

We see the same pattern again here. The story of Eve is well known. We all know what happened with Eve and Adam. We may not remember or know what happened with Achan as a result of his choices.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan … his sons, his daughters, … his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. –Joshua 7:24-25.

Achan and his whole family including all of his animals were executed!

Our last example may also be familiar. It deals with King David. After David had defeated Goliath and became king, you could say that David became complacent. In the Spring, when it was advantageous for kings to go to war, David decided to stay home. This is the beginning of a downturn in David’s reign, one precipitated by bad decisions.

Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearace. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her. –2 Samuel 11:2-4a.

David’s specific steps were that he saw Bathsheba first. Had he turned away and went back into his house, he would have been fine. But instead, he inquires of her. His servants told him that she was a married woman. But in spite of this, he then yields to temptation and distruction insues. The consequences affect his whole family and his children.

Although Jesus’ words were specifically talking about adultery, the imagery He uses is applicable to each of these Biblical characters as well as us today.

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” –Matthew 5:29-30.

In the end, self-deception leads to sin. “Just one more quick look,” or “just one more sip of this bottle,” or “I can say ‘no’ to her/him,” etc., are all self-deceiving lies whispered to us by our adversary, the devil. May He” lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

May He Increase!