​ 
Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” 3 But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” 4 The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.7 And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak,[a] and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10 And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11 Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” 12 But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king's son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ 13 On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” 14 Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.15 And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them.17 And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King's Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day.

David Hears of Absalom's Death
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and carry news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead.”21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?”23 “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran the Cushite.

24 Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. 26 The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” 27 The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man and comes with good news.”
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29 And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

David's Grief
31 And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the Lordhas delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” 33  And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
 
Meditation
Repentance of sin does not remove the consequences of our choices. Forgiveness does not eradicate the ripple effects of rebellion. Only Jesus’ resurrection power can redeem the ways our sin has hurt others and hurt ourselves.
 
The prophet Nathan promised, “the sword would not depart from (David’s) house” (2 Samuel 12:10) after David’s devastating decision to sleep with Bathsheba and murder her husband. Since Nathan’s word, David lost his baby (2 Samuel 12), his son Amnon (2 Samuel 13), and dealt with his son Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 14-18).
 
Today’s reading reveals more reverberations of David’s sin: David is safe but sorrowful (31-33); King David’s request is heard (5) but ignored (14-15); The monument his son Absalom set up for legacy (18) is transformed into a memorial for his death (17); The most handsome son of the king (2 Samuel 14:25-27) dies in an undignified manner.
 
David’s outsized reaction to the removal of the threat from Absalom’s rebellion reflects both his stricken conscience and deep lament for the cascading casualties of the consequences of his sinful choices.
 
Absalom’s death quelled the hostility against king David but left him weeping. The historic death of King Jesus ended hostility against God (Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20) and His resurrection assures our weeping will turn to joy. Believers must trust Jesus to redeem what feels destroyed, re-directing the consequences of our sin through His resurrection power. Standing in God’s sovereign grace, believers must trust Jesus- His Spirit and His Word, to restore what is broken, resurrect what seems dead,  and re-build the rubble resulting from our sin struggle  (Ezekiel 37).

Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the continued consequences for David resulting from his sinful choices back in 2 Samuel 11?
 
-When we feel pain from the consequences of our sin it must drive us to the cross. Where do you need to recognize the consequences from your sinful choices and hand them to Jesus, moving from forgiveness for sin to trusting Him to redeem what has been ripped?
 
-Jesus makes things new through His word and through His Spirit. How can you surrender to His way of restoration and renewal by asking His Spirit to restore and looking to His word to re-direct? Take a moment to do this with a specific area of casualty of sin in our life.
 
Key Verse
33  And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

​The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’”6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting
7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord[a]would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses' Intercession
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Meditation
God is faithful to His covenant promises so believers know that after rebellion there will still be relationship. 

Without relationship with God there is ruin, the prospect being a “disastrous word” (4)! Moses’ meeting with God (7) is a window into how God’s gracious presence restores a rebellious people. Today’s reading reveals (at least) four components of meeting with God personally, realities finding fullness through the person and work of Jesus:

Representation: God personally met with Moses as Israel’s representative through the glory cloud (9, 10), speaking to Moses as you speak to a friend (11). Jesus is the greater representative, taking our rebellion and sin so believers can repent to enter into relationship again.

Intercession: Moses’ intercession happened on behalf of God’s people and God’s world. Jesus forever lives to intercede for His people (Hebrews 7:25) so from security God’s steadfast love we can intercede for others to know Him personally, too. 

Affirmation: God reminds Moses of His love saying, “you have found favor in my sight… I know your name” (12, 17). For believers today, we receive greater affirmation through Christ!

Sanctification & Glorification: Through personal time with God, Moses (literally) reflected God’s glory (34:34). God wants you to reflect Him, too, and through personal time with Him God’s Spirit will make you new.


The fullness of God’s covenant faithfulness, His covenant promises, and His passion for personal relationship are found in the person and work of Jesus. Through the redeeming work of Jesus, believers can know that after rebellion there will still be relationship.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What observations do you make in today’s reading, especially about Moses’ representative role for God’s people?
 
-After rebellion, how do you seek to restore relationship with God- trusting your own work to “get right” with God? Or through the representative work of Jesus who makes us right with God?
 
-Take a minute to pause- identify your rebellion against God. After this, recognize God’s relentless commitment to restore relationship through the representative work of Jesus. Ask God’s Spirit to deepen your security in His steadfast love by helping you experience the realities celebrated above in the meditation.

Key Verse
7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

​Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
 
5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
 
Meditation
Christians around the world embrace God’s sovereign grace by joining Charles Wesley’s historic song of faith- Rejoice, the Lord is King! A far more historic hymn of faith, today’s Psalm inaugurates the universal rule of God who is enthroned king over all the earth, a reign of peace for the people He loves.  
 
The historic moment when David returned the ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6) is evoked in this Psalm’s theme- exaltation and enthronement of God as King. The Lord is the great King of all the earth (2, 7) who reigns over all nations (8) and will gather all princes and peoples before His throne for worship (9). The eternal rule of the Lord re-orients our faith so, no matter what our circumstances, believers can rejoice (1) and celebrate the security of God’s rule and reign (3-4). God’s subjects are commanded four times to sing praises to the One True King, (6) the final word emphasizing the epicenter of power: Exalted! 
 
The poetry of this royal psalm is also promise and prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus was declared King by His resurrection (Romans 1:4) and exalted in His ascension to His heavenly throne (Acts 1). Believers know Jesus currently sits on the throne (right now, as you read) and He is making all things new (Revelation 21:1-6). One day every tribe, tongue, and nation will gather around Christ’s throne in eternal celebration (Revelation 5, 7). Until the rule of our great King is fully realized we must rejoice, the Lord is King! Exalted! Above everything.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading?
 
-Do you rejoice in as ruler of your life? How is that working for you?
 
-Jesus is the fullness of this poetic prophecy. Jesus is Lord of ALL or He is not Lord at all. Do you trust Jesus as King, exalting Him above everything? How (specifically) can you live more joyfully under His rule and reign?
 
Key Verse
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

​Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor.2 And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord. 5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them.

6 With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. 7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields. 8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-haven; we follow you, O Benjamin! 9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. 10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after filth. 12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
 
Meditation
The picture of salvation painted by God’s prophets is so majestic the angels of Heaven long to see into the mystery (1 Peter 1:10-12).  Today’s reading frames God’s magnificent work of salvation with Israel’s rebellious situation.   
 
In the famous account of Daniel and the lion’s den, God spared Daniel before the guards were consumed by hungry lions. Hosea condemns the rebellious and wayward people of God by comparing them with those guards! God’s appointed leaders had given their hearts away and lead His people astray, not seeking the Lord (1-7). God promised judgement (8-13). Like a hungry lion, God promised to consume all who would not return to Him from their heart. 
 
God identifies as a lion, one whose righteous anger and justice will devour sinful and idolatrous people. Rather than seeking the Lord, Israel sought salvation from other nations, and this was to their condemnation. God declared, “no one shall rescue” them from His just judgment.
 
In God’s sovereign grace, sin is never the end of the story. God promises patience for all who are penitent, saying He will “return to His place” until His wayward people acknowledge guilt and turn to seek His face (15). 
 
God’s steadfast love is made possible because the lion is the lamb. Jesus is the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5) who is the “Lamb who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus was devoured by God’s wrath against sin so all who believe can be forgiven, free to turn from our sin and seek Him with all our heart.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the difficult diagnosis of Israel’s sin?
 
-“No one shall rescue” is pointed and powerful (14). Do you feel the weight of the desperation of your sinful position, the penalty of death rightly pronounced?
 
-How does the fact that Jesus is the lion and the lamb give you peace and power to seek Him? Where (specifically) do you need to apply this reality?
 
Key Verse
… and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.

​When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”33 But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Meditation
God wants you to see and know His covenant mercy through the person and work of Jesus.
 
The verb “saw” carries us through today’s reading (1, 9, 19, 25). The “people saw” Moses’ delay and they coerced Aaron to make golden calves (1-2). “God saw” the people’s rebellion and burned with anger (9-10). “Moses saw” the calf and the dancing when he came down the mountain and his anger burned hot (19). “Moses saw” the people had rejected the Lord as God and drew a line asking, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (25-26) The reader must see the treacherous activity among God’s people, led by Aaron and not tolerated by the Lord.
 
A wider view helps us see God’s mercy. Aaron was called and consecrated by God as high priest yet he rebelled against God by accommodating the people’s desire and creating idols to worship. We cannot serve God and live for the approval of people! (Galatians 1:10) But God, rather than wipe Aaron and his offspring off the map, suffers long in Aaron’s sanctification by protecting him as high priest, continuing to use him to bless His people (Numbers 6:22-27).  
 
God’s rich mercy and abounding steadfast love is evidenced by more than this picture of patience. Jesus Christ is the greater High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) who represented a rebellious people in receiving the plague resulting from our sin so believers can experience the mercy of God by faith in Him.
 
We see God’s mercy when we look to the cross where Jesus died as the sacrifice for His people.  
 
Richly Dwelling
-What do you see in this passage that stands out to you?
 
-Where do you identify with Aaron, trying to serve both God and the desires of others? How is that working for you?
 
-How does the finished work of our great High Priest, Jesus, help us see God’s mercy so, in view of His work, we can live as living sacrifices for Him? Where (specifically) do you need to embrace this reality?
 
Key Verse
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 

​The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

17 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.

The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

​Meditation
His-story finds fullness in Jesus. Our promise keeping, forever loving God invites readers to feast on His faithfulness.
 
The Greek word translated “genealogy” is literally transliterated “genesis.” The genesis of Jesus is grounded in God’s grace as we discover God’s guiding of redemptive revelation through Israel’s generations (1-17). The beautiful list of names details Jesus’ connection to Abraham and David as it highlights the inclusion of outsiders, prostitutes, children of adultery, children of incest, kings, patriarchs, rebellious rulers, and revivalists. The origin story of Jesus is saturated in God’s sovereign grace. 
 
God sovereignly directs the drama of Christ’s coming into the world (18-25). Two ordinary people had their dreams dashed by unplanned pregnancy, Joseph committing to his countercultural decision to help raise the child. But the not-so-subtle subtext is God’s sovereignty “working all things according to the council of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).  
 
“All this took place to fulfill…” (22) is a repeated refrain in Matthew, rooting the entire gospel in God’s redemptive agenda. Repeated at least thirteen times, the phrase highlights God’s faithfulness to keep His ancient promises. Jesus is Adam’s ancient seed who will defeat the serpent (Genesis 3:15), the climax of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15), and the forever king promised from David’s offspring (2 Samuel 7). The birth of Jesus marked the end of exile, Mary’s child who “saves His people from their sins.” (21)
 
God keeps His promises!  The fullness of His faithfulness is found in the person and work of Jesus who saves us from our sins so believers can begin again.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially God’s sovereign grace highlights working His purposes through everything and everyone?
 
-Do you feast on God’s faithfulness or are you famished by foraging for life in other places?
 
-Jesus was born to save us from our sins so that by God’s grace believers can begin again, walking forward into a newness of life. How can you focus faith more on Christ, to walk forward more dependent on God’s faithfulness? What (specifically) do you need to remove the focus of your faith from as you rest in God’s sovereign grace in Jesus?
 
Key Verse
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: