God Has A Plan - Matthew 1-2

Matthew 1:1-2 (ESV)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

The above two verses start a 17 verse section on the genealogy of Jesus.   Although Matthew starts by saying Jesus’ lineage comes from David and Abraham, he then fills in the key people between Abraham and Jesus, which goes through David.   Matthew lists 14 names (generations) between Abraham and David.  He then list 14 names (generations) between David and the Babylonian captivity.  He finishes with 14 names (generations) between the Babylonian captivity and Jesus.  That is a total of 42 generations.   Although numerology is a much debated thought when studying the Bible. Many people take the numbers in the Bible to eisegesis (read into it) the text vs exegesis (draw out of it) the text.  But Matthew himself draws attention to these numbers in the final verse of the section.  Note:

Matthew 1:17 (ESV)

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew is trying to tell us something.   In scripture the number seven has significance.   It is the number of completion.   God created the earth in six days and then rested the seventh.  God declared the seventh day holy, the Sabbath.  A time of rest.   In the Jewish calendar the seventh month has four feast to celebrate in rest and worship.   After six years, the nation was supposed to rest the seventh.   After 49 years, the nation was to celebrate the great jubilee of rest, in the 50th year.   What Matthew is telling us is that after 42 years (three sets of 14), Jesus was coming to complete the last seven years (not an exact seven years, but a period of time).   In this last seven years of time, Jesus would come, die, rise from the dead, build the church and then, at the end, come again an usher in a time of Jubilee and rest.  Matthew is teaching us that God has order and purpose.  God is completing His plan.  His plan is not haphazard.   Paul would later say it this way:

Galatians 4:4 (ESV)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

God is fulfilling His plan by keeping His promises, by ushering in Christ to make a way we can enjoy God’s presence.   God has an exact plan.