Wonderful Things, Planned Long Ago
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
1 Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors. 2 From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron; Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David. 3 4 5 6 From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were: David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram; Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers. 7 8 9 10 11 12 From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim; Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 13 14 15 16 17 There were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were also 14 from David to the exile in Babylonia and 14 more to the birth of the Messiah.
Matthew 1:1-17
23 When Jesus began to preach, he was about 30 years old. Everyone thought he was the son of Joseph. But his family went back through Heli, 24 Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Jannai, Joseph, 25 Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, 26 Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda; 27 Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, 28 Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, 29 Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi; 30 Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, 31 Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, 32 Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon; 33 Amminadab, Admin, Arni, Hezron, Perez, Judah, 34 Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, 35 Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah; 36 Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, 37 Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kenan, 38 Enosh, and Seth. The family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God.
Luke 3:23-38
Memory Verse
Isaiah 25:1
1 You, , are my God! I will praise you for doing the wonderful things you had planned and promised since ancient times.
Have you ever made a family tree for school or watched a show about people discovering their families’ roots? Would you like to look back at the generations and see all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents that have come before you? In Matthew 1:1-17, Jesus' family tree includes familiar names like Abraham, Jacob, Ruth, and David. You may have read Bible stories about some of them from the Old Testament. Jesus’ family tree shows us God's perfect faithfulness over hundreds and hundreds of years. God planned Jesus' arrival long before he was born. All the way back at the beginning, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, God promised a Messiah (Genesis 3:15), someone who would save us from our sins. That someone was Jesus.
When you read all of those Old Testament stories about Jesus’ ancestors, you see just how God brought the Messiah to a world that needed him. God made a special promise to Abraham that his descendants would be God’s people. He gave Jacob a name for his people, Israel. He led Jacob’s descendants out of slavery from Egypt and gave them a country of their own. God brought Ruth into that country and made her King David’s great-grandmother. God promised David that someone from his family would be King of Israel forever. That King is Jesus. God had planned all of these wonderful things long ago.
God planned for you in the same way. Just as he did with Abraham, Jacob, Ruth, David, and the other members of Jesus’ family, God carefully oversaw your family tree and lovingly cared for each branch to bring you into this world. You are one of God’s “wonderful things.” Before you were born, God saw you and knew everything about you (Psalm 139:16). And through Jesus, he made a way for you to live with him forever in his kingdom. Take a moment to think about that, and let it fill you with wonder and thankfulness to God.
Prayer
“You, Lord, are my God! I will praise you for doing the wonderful things you had planned and promised since ancient times"—including making me! In Jesus’ name, Amen.Related Resources
Christopher Hunt
Chris loves to see God transform lives through the gospel. He serves as Marketing Communications Manager at Kids Corner's parent ministry, ReFrame Ministries. Prior to ReFrame, he marketed children's and youth programs at the ministry of Awana. Chris was a torpedoman on a US Navy submarine. Chris and his wife have five children, two cats, and a little dog named Cocoa. In his free time, Chris enjoys playing board games.