Nov 27th - ancestry

For much of my life I have lived in places with alot of history associated with them.  I spent my childhood living in a 17th century coaching inn.  I went to University in St Andrews - the university there was established in 1413.  So I have often had cause to think about those who went before.  The people who lived and worked and studied in the same streets where I lived and worked and studied over the course of hundreds of years.   When you stop to think about it you realise that there isn't that much distance between the scholars of 1413 and those of 2013.  Six hundred years seems like a very long time in some ways, but really it is only six lifetimes  ( ok so I suppose not many of us will live to be 100, but you know what I mean)


Today's promises are about genealogy

"Prophecy to Jacob : "Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring" (Genesis 28:14).

Fulfillment: Jacob is part of Jesus’ genealogy.  "the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor" (Luke 3:34)

Prophecy to Judah  "The scepter will not depart from Judah,  nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his" (Genesis 49:10).

Fulfillment: Judah is part of Jesus'’ genealogy. "the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah" (Luke 3:33)

Isnt it amazing that hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God is making promises to people who will be Jesus's great great great great grandparents?   Do you ever wonder if hundreds of years ago God was speaking to your great great great grandparents about you?   What if God wants to give you promises for your own great great grandchildren?    God seems to love dealing with generations in families and rest assured at some point in your distant past there was someone who loved Jesus and followed Him, accepting His covenant of love of which you are now the beneficiary.   Isnt that a wonderful thought?

Lord Jesus today I want to thank you for the people in my family line about whom I know nothing, but who believed in You.  Thank you for Your promise which reaches forward to a thousand generations of those who love You and keep Your commands.   As I seek to love You and follow You would you bless all those who come after me - be they my physical or spiritual children and grandchildren.  Let us not forget the stories of faith which deserve to be passed down to the next generation.  Let us leave a legacy of steadfastness and devotion in our wake.   Amen