Matthew 3

What does it say?

John the Baptist, whose preaching was prophesied by Isaiah 40:3, came preaching in the wilderness a message of repentance. John looked wild because he clothed himself with wild things and he ate food scavenged in the wilderness but only bugs considered clean. (Lev. 11:22) John was baptizing repentant Jews in the Jordan, telling them all to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. John called the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. He warned that one is coming after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, the Spirit of God descended on him and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

What does it mean?

John was the forerunner for the Messiah. In ancient times, before a king from a distant land arrives, a forerunner was sent to prepare the people for the kings arrival. This was the mission of John the Baptist, he was one shouting in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” John’s clothing and his food indicated that he was not concerned with the riches of this world but was solely concerned with warning people to repent and exhorting them to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. He warned that blood relationship to Abraham would not save them from the wrath of the King. He warned that outward observance of the law would not save them from the wrath of the King. Only repentance towards God would save them from the unquenchable fire of his wrath. He warned that the King of heaven is coming to save the repentant and to destroy the unrepentant. Jesus is introduced as the Son of God, approved by God to rule in the kingdom of God. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were rulers in the kingdom of man but Jesus was aire to the kingdom of God. Jesus was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness. 

Psalms 40:7-8 (NASB)

Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your Law is within my heart.”

What shall I do?

I shall have repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. I shall bear fruit in keeping with my repentance. While in the kingdom of man I shall not live as a citizen in the kingdom of man but as a citizen in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (Jn 15:8 [NASB]) Jesus commandment for his disciples is love: love enemies, love neighbors and love the church. I shall love every single person on the earth because all were created in the image of God. 

Matthew 2

What does it say?

In the days when Herod was king, a group of magi came to Jerusalem from the east seeking another king recently born king of the Jews. The magi saw a special star; therefore, they came to investigate and this troubled Herod. Through the chief priest and scribes (biblical scholars) it was determined from scripture that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. (Mic. 5:2) Herod wanted these men to go to Bethlehem to locate the child and report to him but God warned them in a dream; therefore, the magi left for their own country but not before they worshiped Jesus and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. An angel of the Lord warned Joseph to escape to Egypt before Herod could destroy the Child. That night he took the Child and his mother to Egypt. Herod determined the approximate age of the child from the conversation with the magi and slew every male child in the vicinity of Bethlehem, two years of age and under. This fulfilled Jeremiah 31:15. After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the Child and his mother back to the land of Israel. He settled them in a city called Nazareth in the region of Galilee because Archelaus, Herod’s son, was ruling in Judah. 

What does it mean?

Magi were “a caste of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science. (NASB) They saw something in the sky that they connected to Jewish Messianic prophecy. Herod was troubled because he thought that his rule might be taken away from him. Herod must have lived in constant fear and mistrust. Herod tried to manipulate the magi to locate the child for him but when they did not, he proved himself to be an unjust ruler; therefore, unworthy to sit on the thrown. Can you imagine the outcry, if a ruler today had all of the babies in a town slaughtered? God warned through the prophet Jeremiah 32:15 that this would happen. Theodicy is the study of divine goodness and the existence of evil. God knew that all of the boy babies in Bethlehem would be slaughtered by Herod, yet he allowed him to do it. Why? The only answer given in the text was in fulfillment of prophecy. The life of Jesus from birth, to death, to resurrection was in fulfillment of divine prophecy. Jesus would affirm that only God is good. (Lk. 18:19) Why do some live a rich full life and only suffer after 80 plus years and others suffer and die young? I do not know but I do know that this instance showed that Jesus is the Messiah. The calling by God of Jesus out of Egypt was divine and his settling in a city in Galilee was divine. 

What shall I do?

I shall not live my life, given to me by God, in fear and mistrust. What God has determined to occur will happen regardless of my actions. Herod could not prevent Jesus from sitting on the throne. At the end of this book, Jesus will be given all authority in heaven and on earth. (Mt. 28:18) He is King of kings and Lord of lords. (1 Ti. 6:15) I know that bad things happen on the earth and this is a result of the fall. Jesus came to save us from our sin. Jesus saved me from the penalty of sin by his death and resurrection. He is saving me from the power of sin by the Holy Spirit. He will save me from the presence of sin at the resurrection, when all is made new. Therefore, I shall trust God: Father and Son and Holy Spirit with my life. I shall not trust my human, sinful, reasoning. I shall trust that though this world is an evil place, all things are working together for good. (Rom. 8:28)

Matthew 1

What does it say?

Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, for he is the seed of David and the seed of Abraham. The line from Abraham to David mentions three women: Tamar, Rahab and Ruth. The genealogy from David to the deportation to Babylon also included a woman by the name of Bathsheba. After the deportation to Babylon the line goes from Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) to Joseph the husband of Mary by whom Jesus was born; Mary is the fifth woman mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Each section was fourteen generations; Abraham to David, David to deportation to Babylon, and deportation to Babylon to the Messiah. Although Joseph was betrothed to Mary, she became pregnant before they came together. Joseph planned to divorce her secretly but an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and convinced him to take mary as his wife because the child conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit (God). Joseph was to name him Jesus because he would save his people from their sin.

iesous (ʼΙησοῦς, 2424) is a transliteration of the Heb. “Joshua,” meaning “Jehovah is salvation,” i.e., “is the Savior,” “a common name among the Jews, e.g., Ex. 17:9; Luke 3:29 (RV); Col. 4:11. (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) 

The virgin birth fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7. Therefore, Joseph took Mary as his wife but did not have sex with her until after the birth of Jesus.

What does it mean?

The three major covenants in the Old Testament are: Noahic, Abrahamic, and Davidic. Noahic represents all people, Abrahamic a particular family and Davidic a particular royal line within the Abrahamic family. The line from Noah to Abraham was not given but assumed. Abraham was promised a land, a people, a nation and that in his seed all the nations (Noahic) would be blessed. God promised through David’s seed to establish his thrown forever and he would be the son of God. The five woman mentioned are very important. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah but his genealogy went through Tamar. Tamar was Judah’s daughter in-law who disguised herself as a prostitute and became pregnant by her father in-law. Rahab was an actual prostitute, from the city of Jericho, when Israel first came in to possess the land of Canaan. Ruth was a Moabite. The Moabites came to be from incest, a union between father and daughter; therefore, the Israelites were not supposed to marry Moabites. Bathsheba became David’s wife after he committed adultery with her and had her husband murdered. Mary was a virgin but people assumed that she became pregnant before marriage and Joseph assumed by another man. It seemed unlikely that such a man as the Messiah would come from such sinful people as these but this demonstrates that God can use anyone, despite their past, and for his glory. The Genealogy of Jesus leaves no doubt that he is the Messiah, the Son of God; fully God and fully man in one person. Jesus came to save us from our sins.

What shall I do?

I shall remember that the incarnation of Jesus Christ was Divine and fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. I shall have repentance towards God and faith in Jesus, he is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God (God in human flesh). I shall tell people about Jesus and the salvation from sin in his name. I shall realize that God can use me, and anyone else he chooses, in his kingdom, for his glory despite our past. 

Exodus 1-4

What does it say?

Exodus 1 - Jacob and Jacob’s son died in Egypt but their descendants increased greatly. Joseph was forgotten and a king arose in Egypt who made slaves of the sons of Israel and inflicted them with hard labor. To control the growing Hebrew population, Pharaoh commanded the midwives to put to death every son born, but they feared God more than Pharaoh and did not obey; therefore, Pharaoh commanded the people to cast every son born into the Nile but spare the daughters.

Exodus 2 - He woman of the tribe of Levi fearing that she would be caught with her son, put him in a wicker basket and let him afloat on the Nile but his sister followed at a distance. Pharaoh’s daughter drew the lad from the water and the lads sister called his mother, who nursed Moses for Pharaoh’s daughter, who made him as her son. Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew so he killed him but tried to reconcile two Hebrews men that were arguing and the resisted his intervention. Pharaoh tried to kill Moses but he fled to Midian and sat down by a well. Moses became the son in-law of Reuel, the priest of Midian by marriage to Zipporah and she bore a son for Moses whom he named Gershom. The sons of Israel cried for help because of their bondage, God heard them and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

Exodus 3 - When Moses was leading the flock on the west side of Mount Horeb, God called to Moses from a burning bush: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The Lord told Moses of his plan to bring the people out of Egypt into the promised land. Moses asked God his named and he said, “I AM WHO I AM;” therefore God told Moses that this is his memorial name forever. Then God told him to go to the people and they will listen. 

Exodus 4 - So that they will listen to him God gave Moses miraculous signs. Moses was afraid to speak to the people, God was angry with Moses but appointed Aaron to speak for Moses. Moses returned to Egypt with his wife and his sons. Moses was to preform the signs that God gave him before Pharaoh but God said that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart to the point that God would kill Pharaoh’s first son before letting the people go. Zipporah called Moses a bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision. Moses told Aaron the words of God and he spoke them to the people while Moses performed the signs in the sight of the people. The people listened and bowed low in worship before the Lord.

What does it mean?

God raised up Moses despite the unlikelihood of his even surviving childhood, much less becoming a leader used by God. Moses was humbled before he was made great by God. Moses was not great, he feared to even speak but God used him to lead the people of God. Moses’ calling was not one he could deny. He had to go and do as the Lord commanded him. Despite all of Moses’ doubts and fears God’s plan would not fail. Moses would lead his people out of Egypt by the hand of God. The name of God ‘YHWH’ his rendered from the verb “Hayah,” to be. “I AM” in English. John 8:58 (NASB Strong’s (Lockman))

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Moses is a type of Christ and because this was more than one man could bare alone, Moses and Aaron together were a type of Christ. Moses spoke to God and performed the signs but Aaron spoke to the people and to Pharaoh for Moses. 

What shall I do?

First, I shall bow low and worship because Jesus is God in human flesh. He is fully God and fully man. This has been revealed to me in the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke as God and preformed the miraculous signs that could only have come from God. Secondly, I shall know that if God calls me to something, I shall not deny that calling. I shall know that God will equip me for that calling despite my doubts and fears.

Genesis 48-50

What does it say? 

Genesis 48 - Israel became sick and was dying; therefore Joseph went to see his father with his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. When Joseph brought them close, Israel put his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left hand as Manasseh’s head. He adopted the brothers as his own, to receive and inheritance in Israel as one of his sons, in the land of Canaan by the oath of God. Israel gave Ephraim, the younger, the greater blessing than Manasseh the younger. 

Genesis 49 - All of the sons of Israel came forward and Israel spoke about each of them and what was to come. He negated the rights of the three eldest sons who are Rueben, Simeon and Levi. Reuben because he defiled his fathers bed and slept with his fathers concubine. (cf. Gn. 35:22) Simeon and Levi because of the violence they did to Hamor and his son Schechem and the people of their city after making a covenant with them. (cf. Gn. 34:25-30) Israel gave the blessing of the eldest to Judah, who was actually his fourth son from his wife Leah. The other sons followed in order of birth with the blessing of Israel and prophecy. Before Israel died, he charged his sons with burial in the grave site of his father’s where his wife Leah was buried. 

Genesis 50 - As the Lord promised Jacob, Joseph was at his side when Israel died. His body was embalmed and placed in the cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and now Jacob and Leah are all buried. After the burial, Joseph’s brothers thought that Joseph would be against them, now that their father was dead but Joseph loved his brothers and forgave their sins. He told them, that they meant evil but God meant it for good. At his death, Joseph requested to be buried in the land of Canaan when God takes the sons of Israel out of Egypt and gives them the land. 

What does it mean?

Israel had twelve sons but there were actually thirteen tribes in Israel because Joseph was counted as two tribes Manasseh and Ephraim. Ephraim would become greater than Manasseh and control the northern kingdom. Levi would be disbursed throughout Israel and not have a land of their own. There are earthly consequences for the sins done in the body. Reuben’s, Simeon’s and Levi’s sins had ramifications in the lives of their descendants. Judah would become the leading tribe. Israel’s body was taken to the grave of Abraham and Isaac. This is a for showing of the exodus to come. It is noted that though Israel took Rachel as his wife, Leah was his true wife, the wife God intended; this is seen in his burial with Leah in the cave of his fathers. Marriage is between one man and one woman and God chooses whom we are to marry. Joseph forgave his brothers. He loved his enemies, he did good to those who hated him, blessed those who cursed him and prayed for those who mistreated him. (Lk. 6:27-28) Joseph trusted the Lord’s oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is seen in his request to take his bones when God takes Israel to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

What shall I do?

I shall walk through this life knowing that all of my sins are paid in full by the atonement of Jesus Christ but I shall not go on sinning, the things that I do in the body can hurt other people, especially my children. I shall trust the Lord in what he has promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ. He has promised to return and raise us from the dead, to eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth. I shall show mercy and grace to others, regardless of how they may treat me or what they actually deserve. All human beings should be treated with dignity because they bare the image of God. 

Genesis 46-47

What does it say?

Genesis 46 - When Israel wanted to worship God and offer sacrifices he did so at Beersheba because this was were he meet God when he was a young man. (cf. Gn. 28:10) Just like when he was a young man God spoke with Israel at Beersheba in the visions of the night. God told Israel not to be afraid to go down to Egypt, for he would make a great nation from Israel. God promised that he would go down to Egypt with Israel and bring Israel up again. Their Jospeh his son will close his eyes. Jacob took his family, and went to the land of Goshen in Egypt, the place where Joseph directed them to go. There were 70 persons from the house of Jacob who went came to Egypt. It was here that Israel’s, in his old age, saw his son Joseph again. 

Genesis 47 - Joseph told Pharaoh that his family came down from Canaan and settled at Goshen. Five of his brothers and his father were presented before Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked Israel how old he was, Jacob said, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” (Gn. 47:9 [NASB]) Pharaoh gave Israel the land of Goshen to settle and heard their flocks, he also charged them with his flocks. During the course of the famine Joseph acquired all of the money, livestock and land in Egypt for the house of Pharaoh. For this reason, the people who work the land gave one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh as payment for using the land. Only the priest did not have to pay, for Pharaoh gave them an allotment. 

What does it mean?

There is an inkling of the Temple in this text. A designated mountain, where all of Israel would gather, to meet, and offer sacrifices to God. God promised to make Israel a great nation and bring the nation out of Egypt. God is trustworthy! God always delivers on his promises. Israel’s confession: Life is short and is difficult. It should be noted that the Egyptians, except the priest, paid Pharaoh one-fifth of all the produce of the land. The tithe that the Lord would enact in Israel is holy to the Lord. (cf. Lev. 27:30) 

What should I do?

I shall remember that the Lord our God is holy, his commands are not burdensome, his word is always trustworthy and true. If God says that he is going to do something, I can be rest assured that he will do it. God in his Son, Jesus Christ, has promised eternal life, in the new heaven and the new earth at his second coming, for all who believe in him. Life on this earth is short and often difficult but I have hope in the Lord, Jesus Christ for eternal life in the new heaven and new earth; there will no longer be any death, mourning, crying, or pain. (cf. Rev. 21:4) I see a great deal of these now while a care for the sick and injured but the new heaven and new earth will be free of these. I shall wait on the day of the Lord because the day of the Lord will come as promised.

Genesis 43-45

What does it say?

Genesis 43 - Israel and his sons had eaten all of the grain that they brought from Egypt, so Israel command his sons to return to Egypt and buy more grain. He was reminded that the man who was lord of the land of Egypt said, “return with your youngest brother Benjamin.” Israel was grieved and refused but when Judah vowed to be surety for his brothers life, Israel consented. Simeon their brother was returned to them. When Joseph saw Benjamin, his younger brother, he wept. After gaining his composure he dined with his brothers but separated from them. 

Genesis 44 - Joseph had his steward hide his special cup in Benjamin’s bag, then go after his brothers. When the cup was found in Benjamin’s bag, all of the brothers followed Benjamin back to Egypt. Joseph told Israel’s sons that Benjamin would stay and be his slave; however, Judah told Joseph about his father Israel and his vow to be surety for his brother .

Genesis 45 - Joseph wept! He then revealed himself to his brothers and they rejoiced. They were sent back to their father Israel carrying many gifts from the land of Egypt. When Israel heard that his son Joseph was alive his spirit revived and he made plans to go see him.

What does it mean?

First, the brothers new that they had sinned. They viewed what was happening as a result of their sin. They believed that Benjamin was being enslaved because of their sin committed, when they sold Jospeh into slavery. This is a type of our guilt. Second, Judah, from whom the Christ would come, vowed to his father, “I will be surety for the lad.” Judah is a type of Christ. He was sent by his father in exchange for the life of his brother. Third, Joseph, whom they thought was dead was alive. It as if he had been raised from the dead. When they saw him, they rejoiced. This is a type of Christ’s resurrection and his appearance to his brothers. Lastly, the brothers went and told the good news to their father. When he heard, he rejoiced and desired to go see him. This is a type of the disciples telling others the good news.

What shall I do?

I know that I was created in the image of God but have sinned and fall short of his glory. The Father God sent his son Jesus to be surety in my place. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 [NASB]) After Jesus’ death and burial, he made several appearance to the disciples, alive after his suffering, by many convincing proofs. (Acts 1:3) The disciples rejoiced when they saw him. (John 20:20) They were sent by Christ, to the world, to be his witnesses. (Acts 1:8) When Israel received news that Joseph was alive, his spirit revived and he desired to go see him. When I heard that Christ died for my sins and is alive, I rejoiced and I long to go see him. I shall remember the sins that I have committed and loath myself because of them. I shall remember that the Son of God was went buy the Father God to be surety for me. I shall rejoice because my sins have been paid in full and Jesus has risen from the dead to sit on his glorious thrown. I shall be glad because he has promised me a place in his Father’s house.