GENEALOGIES
IN RETROSPECT
Have you ver read the genealogies in the Bible? Speaking for myself, I never used to see value in reading biblical genealogies. As I have leaned over time, everything recorded in the Bible has purpose. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul reminds us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and for instruction in righteousness. So, we can be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. That includes the genealogies.
One of the common phrases in the genealogies alluded to is "someone begat someone". In simple terms, begat means they gave birth to.
My question to you today is when people look back through your generations after you’re dead and gone, what will the record say? Did you birth greatness or mediocrity? Did you birth innovation or were you just that one person always waiting on others to be innovative? Did you pass on dysfunctional traits to your descendants, or were you the one who decided to break the mold and pass something else on? In fact, you may be a product of what was passed down through your bloodline, but you have a choice to start afresh: 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that "...in Christ we are a new creation," the old man is gone. You are born again the moment you surrender your life to Christ.
No matter what cards that have been dealt to you by life. At some point, you have to take responsibility for your life. Ecclesiastes 9:11 reminds us that "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Maybe your parents did not raise you right or you probably come from a terrible neighborhood. What that scripture is saying is at some point in your life you are going to be presented with an opportunity to turn things around. You can’t blame your parents, background, or upbringing forever!
With that being said, whether you intend to or not, you are begetting something and are leaving a legacy behind. If you have been around long enough, you’ve probably heard of people talking about generational wealth or curses.
Psalm 100:5 (AMPC) says, "For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations. the last portion reads his faithfulness and truth endure to all generations". When I think about faithfulness, I am thinking loyal, steadfast and reliable. That is who God is. What is truth? In John 17:17, Jesus lets us know God’s Word is truth. No matter what history was passed down to you from your past generations, one thing you can count on is that God is still faithful and what He said then is still true today! Generations come and go, He still remains. Trends come and go, His Word still stands. Why not make a decision today to pass on a legacy of a people who decided to cling to the one thing that is constant from generation to generation, God’s faithfulness and His truth, His Word!
Still thinking about genealogies, Matthew 1:1-16 records the lineage of Jesus from when He was born back to Abraham. I want to take a moment to recognize Rahab. In case you’re curious, she was the prostitute who hid the Israelite spies from the king of Jericho when Joshua was leading Israel in the conquest for the promised land. Rahab was not an Israelite but through her actions she went in to earn a spot in what we know as the hall of faith.
Hebrews 11:31 says, "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient". Through her actions, not only did her family survive when the rest of her country men died, but she became a part of Jesus’ genealogy. She went from being numbered among the Canaanites to being numbered among Jesus’ ancestors. Changing the trajectory of one’s family takes courage, intentionality, risk, boldness, and most importantly, faith! Will you move by faith today for the sake of your generations?
Matthew 1:5 tells us that Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. This is the same Rahab who ended up in Hebrews 11 still being described as a prostitute but her name is not what defined her but her actions. No matter the labels you or society may have put on you, you have available to you the faith of the Son of God, according to Gal 2:20, inside of you in order to be able to make destiny-changing moves. Decisions determine destiny. Faith without actions is dead according to James 2:17.
We do not know anything about Rahab’s upbringing, but we know she somehow ended up in a life of prostitution. But even then, somehow she had heard about the mighty things that the God of Israel had done for his people and when the Israelite spies were being hunted down by the king of Jericho, she hid them because she knew something, Joshua 2:9-11 recounts everything Rahab had heard about this God and how He had already secured victory for his people. The truth is, no matter where you find yourself in life, there has been moments in time the life changing Word of God has been presented to you, it may not have been in church but somehow, someone said something to you that could have been life altering. Whether you chose to believe it or not, that’s entirely up to you. Rahab said, “we have heard”, and yet she was the only one bold enough to step out in faith, and we are still talking about her to this day.
Hebrews 4 states the Word they heard profited them nothing because they did not mix it with faith, talking about the Israelites who perished in the desert. When the Word comes, faith comes with it. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith will then move you to act, just like it did Rahab. No more excuses. You can do something about your life today and forever change the trajectory of those coming after you.
In Exodus 20:6 the Lord said this (NLT), "But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands". Deuteronomy 7:9 states, "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations". In other words, there are people who are still walking in blessing and favor because an ancestor touched the heart of God. If you read through the history of the kingdom of Israel, you will find a lot of times God did things for the royal family just because of David. That is legacy, when God does something because of you!
Be the change for your family and those to come after you. Make a decision today to make some changes. You do not have to live with the status quo. Time and chance happen to everyone, see 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.
