Lesson 2 God Narrows the Field

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham . . . (Mt. 1:1)

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph . . . the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:23, 38) NIV

1. From Noah’s prophetic declaration in Genesis 9:26-27, which son . . .

* Received a blessing for his relationship with the LORD? Shem 

* Was blessed with large territory for his relationship with the above son? Japheth 

* Had descendants who were cursed to be slaves of the other two? Ham>Canaan 

2. After the Flood, God began narrowing down the ancestry of the Messiah. By choosing one of Noah’s sons, God effectively eliminated two-thirds of the future world population from the potential Messianic ancestry. Based on the prophecy of Gen. 9:26-27, which son do you think He chose?  Shem 

3. (Challenge) Before the Civil War, Scriptures like the above passage were used to justify the slavery of Africans because they were the descendants of Ham. Why is Noah’s curse not an argument for the slavery of all of Ham’s descendants? (See Gen. 10:6-20; 15:12-21; Ex. 23:23-24; 34:11-16; Josh. 9:1-27; 1 Chr. 20:3.) 

1st Ham had 4 sons & only Canaan’s descendants were cursed; 2nd Canaan’s descendants settled in the area now known as Syria-Palestine—this was the land the Lord promised to give to Abraham, but not right away, it would be 400 yrs. before “the sin of the Amorites” reached its full measure and God would judge them (see Gen. 15:16); 3rd the Israelites were told to completely destroy the various peoples living in Canaan (see Ex. 23:23-24, 34:11-16); 4th the prophecy was fulfilled when the Gibeonites deceived Israel into making a treaty with them so that they would not carry out God’s judgment on them; instead of death, they agreed to become slaves of Israel—woodcutters & water carriers for the entire community (see Josh. 9:20-27); 5th the Ammonite towns David conquered also became forced labor (1Chr. 20:3). Since the prophecy has been fulfilled, and the people groups descended from Canaan no longer exist, Noah’s prophecy cannot be used to justify slavery of others.

4. While He was simultaneously shortening man’s lifespan from a pre-Flood average of 912 years to a post-Flood average of less than 120 years (Gen. 6:3; Ps. 90:10), God was also working to ensure that a godly remnant would be preserved who would not only be responsible for faithfully transmitting a true record of His actions and character, but also be the physical line of the Messiah. From the descendants of Shem, God chose Abram, a man He declared righteous because he believed and acted on his belief in God (Gen. 15:6). God made several covenant promises to Abram (Abraham). Give a summary of those covenant promises. (See Gen. 12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:4-5, 15-21; 17:1-22; 22:15-18.)

>Make into a great nation—offspring too numerous to count, like the dust & stars & sand

>Offspring from his own body & his wife Sarah—father/mother of many nations, kings will come from them

>God would bless him—make his name great—very fruitful—will die in peace at an old age

>Abraham would be a blessing—all peoples on earth blessed through him—through his offspring all nations on earth will be blessed

>Bless those who bless you/curse those who curse you

>Abraham’s offspring given the whole land of Canaan forever—all the land he could see N, S, E & W—4th generation will be given the land

>God Almighty will est. His everlasting covenant with Abraham & his descendants to be their God—circumcision is the sign of the covenant

>everlasting Covenant est. with Isaac & his descendants

5. It seems Abraham was a little slow in comprehending the promise and/or how God would fulfill it (thus the Hagar/Ishmael debacle). Therefore, God repeated it several times. As regards our study on the genealogy of the Messiah, list the relevant phrases from the following passages:

* Gen. 15:4 son coming from Abraham’s own body will be his heir   

* Gen. 17:6, 16 nations and kings will come from Abraham 

*Gen. 17:16, 21 Sarah will bear a son, will be the mother of nations & kings will come from her

*Gen. 17:19, 21 God will est. everlasting covenant w/ son Isaac & his descendants 

6. God not only repeated His covenant to Abraham, He also repeated it to Isaac and Jacob. One theme runs through those covenant promises that relates to the Messiah. What is it? (See Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14.) All nations on earth will be blessed through Abraham’s offspring

7. How was it fulfilled according to the New Testament writers?

* Ac. 3:25 Christians are heirs of the prophets & of the covenant God made 

* Gal. 3:8-9 Gentiles are also justified by faith through the Gospel announced to Abraham 

* Rev. 7:9 Great multitude no one could count from every nation, tribe, people & language in heaven praising God for their salvation 

8. In addition to God’s covenant promise that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we have the triple repeated prophecy of Balaam who was hired to curse Israel when they were entering the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert (Num. 24:17, 19): “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near . . .”

* a Star will come out of Jacob 

* a Scepter will rise out of Israel 

* a Ruler shall come out of Jacob 

9. When Jacob (Israel) lay on his deathbed, he blessed each of his sons and prophesied from which son the Messiah would come (Gen. 49):

* vs. 3-4 Not Reuben because (Gen. 35:22) defiled father’s bed (slept w/ step-mom Bilhah) 

* vs. 5-7 Not Simeon or Levi because (Gen. 34) they killed the Shechemites

* vs. 10 the Scepter will not depart from Judah until He [Shiloh] comes to whom it belongs 

10. Fast-forward about 800 years to David who was chosen, instead of any of his seven older brothers (1 Sam. 16:6-13), to be king because he was a man after God’s own heart. After he set his heart on building a Temple to honor Him, God initiated a covenant with him. List the promises made in that covenant (2 Sam. 7:8-16).

>Make his name great

>Provide a place for My people Israel—homes of their own, not oppressed, rest from enemies

>Establish David’s house—his offspring to succeed him—est. his house, kingdom, & throne forever

>Father/Son relationship—God will discipline, but never take His love away from him 

>Offspring will build a house for God’s Name

11. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel split from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, King Jeroboam I of Israel instituted his own religious practices, festivals and altars to keep the people from going back to Judah to worship in Jerusalem. At that time a prophet prophesied against the altar Jeroboam I built in Bethel and named the descendant of David who would defile and destroy that altar (1 Ki. 13:1-5) 350 years later (2 Ki. 23:15-18). Name this last godly king of Judah.  Josiah 

12. Three times in the Davidic Covenant God promises to “forever” establish his offspring’s kingdom and throne. When God repeats Himself, it shows that He is very determined to do that which He has said. Considering these promises, do you see the problem that Jeremiah’s prophetic curse (Jer. 22:24-30) regarding Jehoiachin (a.k.a. Jeconiah or Coniah), the last king of Judah, presents [especially when you consider that he is the only one of Josiah’s royal line to have descendants survive the Babylonian Captivity (see 1 Chr. 3:17-24)]? 

Jer. 22:30 says that none of Jehoiachin’s offspring will ever sit on the throne of David, it seems like the royal line of David is at an end.

13. Since Jeremiah’s curse and the Babylonian Captivity, there has been no king in Judah or Israel. A 150 years before the house of David was apparently cut off, Isaiah foretold what?

* Isa. 11:1 A shoot will come up from Jesse (David’s father), a Branch that will bear fruit 

* Isa. 11:10 Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples, nations will rally to him 

14. Name some of the other prophecies and their fulfillment regarding David and his progeny?

* Ps. 132:11-12>Mt. 1:6 The Lord swore an oath to David, one of his descendants will sit on his throne forever>Joseph’s genealogy can be traced back to David through Solomon 

* Dan. 7:27>Lk. 1:32-33 Kingdom of the Most High will be everlasting>Jesus is the Son of the Most High, He will be given throne of his father David & reign over the house of Jacob forever 

* Am. 9:11>Rev. 22:16 Restore David’s fallen tent>Jesus is the Root & Offspring of David 

* Isa. 9:7>Rev. 11:15 He will reign on David’s throne w/ justice & righteousness forever> kingdom of the world become the kingdom of the Lord & his Christ—he will reign forever & ever 

* Mic. 5:2>Lk. 2:11; Jn. 7:42 From Bethlehem will come ruler over Israel> Savior born in town of David (Bethlehem),Christ the Lord, from David’s family 

*Jer. 23:5>Heb. 1:8-9 God will raise up to David a righteous Branch>Son’s righteousness will be the scepter of His kingdom 

* Ps. 110:1; Zech. 12:8>Mt. 22:42-45; Rom. 1:3-4 House of David like God >David calls the Christ his Lord—Son was a human descendant of David & by the Holy Spirit was the Son of God 

15. As the above prophecies make abundantly clear, the Messiah as David’s descendant would sit on David’s throne. From 1 Ki. 1:5-53 and 1 Chr. 28:4-7, to which son of David did the legal right to the throne pass? Solomon

To Summarize from these first two lessons, the physical line of the Messiah must include: Eve, Shem, Abraham and Sarah (not Hagar or Keturah), Isaac (not Ishmael), Jacob (not Esau) and Leah (not Rachel), Judah (not Reuben, Simeon or Levi), Jesse, and David (not any of his 7 brothers). It could also include Adam, Solomon and Josiah. But, it could not include any of Jehoiachin’s offspring.

16. Genealogies separate real history from mere legend. The genealogies in the Bible also confirm prophecy regarding the Messianic line. With the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, the genealogical records no longer exist and no one since then can prove their ancestry as the Son of David. Prior to A.D. 70, the New Testament writers recorded two accounts of Jesus’ lineage—records that no one in the first century disputed, even when persecution of Christianity was at its height. Name the ancestors included in Jesus’ lineage (one person per line):

* Gen. 4:25; Lk. 3:38  Adam             * Mt. 1:2-3; Lk. 3:33  Judah  

* Lk. 3:36   Shem                           * Mt. 1:5-6; Lk. 3:32  Jesse 

* Mt. 1:1, 2; Lk. 3:34  Abraham         * Mt. 1:1, 6; Lk. 3:31  David 

* Mt. 1:2; Lk. 3:34  Isaac                  * Mt. 1:7   Solomon

* Mt. 1:2: Lk. 3:34  Jacob                 * Mt. 1:11   Josiah/Jeconiah

17. Despite the fact that both genealogies confirm Jesus’ Messianic ancestry, there are differences between them. List some reasons why there are two different genealogical records for Jesus.

* Dt. 19:15; Ps. 62:11  A matter must be established by the testimony of 2-3 witnesses  

* Isa. 7:14; Lk. 1:26-35 Virgin Birth—Mary was a virgin, seed of the woman 

* Mt. 1:16-26; Lk. 3:23 Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father 

* Mt. 1:6, 7, 11, 12; Lk. 2:4 Joseph was a direct descendant of David’s royal line via Solomon, Josiah & Jeconiah (a.k.a Jehoiachin) 

* Lk. 1:32; 2:5; 3:31; Rom. 1:3 Mary also had to be a descendant of David in order for Jesus to be considered a son of David; Lk. 3:31 shows that the descent was through David’s son Nathan 

18. So we see that what is impossible with man is possible with God (Mt. 19:26). If a skeptic asked you why the genealogies of Jesus are different, what answer would you give him?

There are two genealogies because Jesus had two parents. Joseph was a direct descendant of David’s royal line and as such was able to pass on the legal right to David’s throne to Him. Since Mary was a virgin, Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father; therefore to fulfill the prophecies she also needed to be a descendant of David, but could not be a direct descendant of Jehoiachin.  Thus, Jesse's tree was seemingly cut down, but Luke’s genealogy confirms that Mary was also a descendant of David via his son Nathan. So both legally and biologically Jesus is David’s descendant and heir.