A Firm of Shaky Foundation? (Matthew 1:17-25)
Christ enters history through a scandalous line calling into question his credibility. However, God defies human expectations. We expect the Lord to fail, but he succeeds. The Lord shows that he can take broken and sinful people and use them to secure his victory. He is bigger and stronger than his people.
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba display that the Lord will not use conventional people to establish his promise through the Messiah. Joseph suspects that Mary was unfaithful to him and in love with another man. The genealogy could certainly lead one to easily draw that conclusion. However, by the Angel’s intervention, he learns that there is a bigger plan. Just like the story in Genesis when the seed of the woman dies or is hampered in some way, it appears the serpent seed has won. The Lord shows that his purpose, his power, and is plan is not what human beings expect. The Lord wants his people to see that he has established his promise. Humans are used, and genealogy shows us that it is not always the cream of the crop.
Yes, God’s people fail. However, by the grace of God, their overall trajectory is that the Lord’s strength is shown in the midst of human weakness. The Lord has been with his people in the high times of their history as well as their low times. Ultimately, Christ is the seventh seven. Christ establishes the kingdom, using a broken people, and slaying the serpent.
Matthew captures the tension about whether or not God can establish his kingdom. The answer is yes! Against all hope, the Lord is always faithful. He secures, redeems, and makes his people alive to live unto him out of gratitude.