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It’s here; that wonderful time of year when we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. For a few sweet days, the entire world will be singing songs of praise to God. Even those who don’t believe in Him will mouth words about a God who loves His children so much He chose to be born as a human and live among us. While there’s more to the story, which we will gladly ponder come springtime, for now the spotlight is on the beginning, a once upon a time featuring a little bitty baby.
Many people equate the holidays with family. While we enjoy those most precious to us, let’s also consider another family, taking a look at some of Jesus’ forebears, some who were related to Him, and others who gathered around when He was born. Along the way, we’ll also discover that God can be found in the most unlikely places.
With every fiber of my being, I’m convinced that evidence of what you like, love, and revere can be found anywhere and in everything. Why is that? Because how you perceive things, what you notice first or most often is predicated upon how you are hard-wired, and the choices you make affect the way you look at life and everything around you.
Take me, for example: I see the Lord, His love, and His beautiful handiwork everywhere. I’m also a lover of quirky science fiction and, possessing a dry wit, I am enamored with British humor. Putting those characteristics together you’ll find that I cheerfully admit to loving Dr. Who (to my mind, Tom Baker remains the best of the bunch) and am constantly delighted by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
What does that have to do with Jesus? Well, the person who was one of the script writers for Dr. Who also wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy BBC radio sitcom as well as the five-part trilogy of books, and was highly instrumental in both the PBS miniseries and the movie. It’s also interesting to note that he was raised as a Christian then later in life insisted there was no God, yet the answer to his question about life, the universe, and everything was 42. That is also the exact number of generations between God’s promise to Abraham—“…all the families of the Earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, The Message)—and Jesus’ birth. It’s true! Check out the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ” (Matthew 1:17, New International Version). See? Forty-two!
Now if God made a point of bringing that to our attention, perhaps we should consider who some of these people were, each one a generation closer to the fulfillment of God’s promise. What do we find?
A generation closer…. For Abraham, a promise that was 25 years in the making finally came true.
A generation closer…. For Salmon, an encounter with a hooker (Rahab) led first to a successful reconnaissance; second, to a people crossing the Jordan to their new homeland; and third, to the birth of a kinsman redeemer (Boaz).
A generation closer…. For Ruth, the love she bore her mother-in-law birthed Obed, the grandfather of Israel’s greatest king.
A generation closer…. For David, a teenage shepherd, regular use of a sling and stone not only protected his father’s sheep but also freed his people from oppression.
A generation closer…. For Solomon, the younger brother of an illegitimate child, the request for wisdom in ruling the tribes of Israel also resulted in a divine gift of super abundant wealth.
A generation closer…. For Hezekiah, spreading out a letter on the temple floor angelically eliminated 185,000 enemy troops.
A generation closer…. For Josiah, at eight years of age the youngest king to take the crown, justice was restored to the land.
A generation closer…. For Joseph, responding to four distinct dreams led to his becoming stepfather to Jesus, the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
“For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28, New King James). “Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see…. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:16, 17, New Living Translation).
Next week we’ll consider Jesus’ cousin John and John’s parents. Until then, all of Heaven’s best to you and yours.
Margret Boyd
Scribe of Heaven
(Matthew 13:51,52)
