Matthew 1:6-11 6And David beget Solomon through the one of Uriah. 7Solomon beget Rehoboam, and Rehoboam beget Abijah, and Abijah beget Asa. 8And Asa beget Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat beget Joram, and Joram beget Uzziah. 9Uzziah beget Jotham, Jotham beget Ahaz, and Ahaz tbeget Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah beget Manasseh, Manasseh beget Amon, and Amon beget Josiah. 11Josiah beget Jeconiah and his brothers, at the deportation to Babylon.
The genealogy pauses with David to highlight the significance of Jesus coming through David, qualifying him to be the Messiah from a human perspective. Bathsheba is not mentioned in the Greek text although inserted in some translations, but her place as the mother of Solomon is assumed with the mention of Uriah. The rest of the list reads like a list of the kings of Israel. Most of them were wicked but a few were faithful to God. The list pauses again at the time of the exile into Babylon. Each of the pauses in the genealogy represents a turning point in Israel’s history. The list is organized into three major sections: Abraham, David, and after the Babylonian exile.
Throughout Israel’s history as a nation, there were many spiritual ups and downs. The people were disobedient to God and forgot God’s laws. The most serious sin recorded in the prophetic literature is forsaking God by worshiping idols. Idolatry was the sign of the deep human problem of worship. Idolatry still plagues humanity today, although we are more sophisticated with what we substitute for God. Even through all the spiritual deserts of Israel’s history, God had a plan for the anointed Son to come at just the right time in history. We see the mysterious tension in this history between God’s predestined plan and human free will and choices to serve God or walk away. The exile was a difficult lesson to learn, but God’s promise of the Messiah would come true no matter the human response.
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