1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers. 3Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram. 4Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon. 5Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse. 6Jesse became the father of King David. David the king became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife. 7Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa. 8Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah. 9Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah. 11Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor. 14Azor became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud. 15Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob. 16Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. 20But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
22Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and shall give birth to a son.
They shall call his name Immanuel,”
which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
24Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; 25and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
Moedim - Appointed Times
MOEDIM – APPOINTED TIMES
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
God in His sovereignty uses moedim (Hebrew for “appointed times”) to work His purposes out in the world. It is no coincidence that there are fourteen generations between these generational signposts of biblical history. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Matthew connects both Abraham and David to Jesus. Interestingly, the name David corresponds to the Hebrew number fourteen (see Matt 1:17 on this Hebrew practice called Gematria). Likewise, fourteen is the Hebraic number of seven (perfection) multiplied by two. God planned all of this. It is precise.
God does the same thing in our lives. He is working His purposes out, and He will line up events in our lives according to His plan and purposes until the moment at which He takes us home to heaven. In the meantime, as I recently told one of my congregants, “the best place to be is the best place for you to be.” Pray that He will guide you and direct you from this point moving forward. Spend time with Him in prayer. Study His Word. “Seek the Lord, and you will find Him” (Jeremiah 29:13). You will not live one day longer or one day less than He has planned for you. So, let us live each day, loving Him with all of our hearts, and living out our lives to His glory.
It is easy in times of trouble to wonder where God is. Throughout all of my preaching days, I have assured others that even in the midst of troubles, God is there. This past year, I became very ill with the aftereffects of cancer treatment. I ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Each day, I seemed to get no better. I was in horrific pain. I began to wonder if God was even aware of what I was going through. I cried out, “God, what is the purpose of this pain? How can this be for my good or for your glory? What can be the purpose in all of this?” I was desperate, and I felt like I was abandoned. When I had come to the end of myself and felt like a nursing home was my next step, I cried out to God from the deepest recesses of my soul. Within 24 hours specific prayer was answered, a diagnosis was given, and I was on my way home. Perhaps the Lord let me to the point that I felt abandoned so I could realize that it’s easier to preach it than to live it. He had an appointed time for my relief to come, and He has an appointed time for you to find Him in the midst of whatever you’re going through today. Dear reader: Don’t give up! Don’t surrender! There is an appointed time for you to find Him in the midst of whatever you’re going through. It is such a relief when you realize that you are not God. Now walk in that truth.