Today’s Word of Promise

Everyday, I do a 4-mile aerobic walk. It takes me one hour. I listen to my Word of Promise Bible while I walk.

Today, I listened to Malachi 2 through Matthew 9.

It would be nearly impossible to remark on any one specific thing that stands out to me when I listened to the end of the “Old Testament” with God’s own words and then the beginning of the Gospel According to Matthew, which contains everything from the Sermon on the Mount through the Lord’s Prayer and into Christ’s ministries on earth.

But while I was listening, I was reminded of the testimony of a Jewish man who had come to know Christ. He was given a Bible in college, and had a friend who evangelized to him. One night, he picked up the Bible and turned to the first page of the New Testament – which lists the genealogy of Christ through Joseph. And, that genealogy spoke to him more than any other words in that Bible. Because, as he read through the names, he recognized them and thought, “These are my people. This is the story of my history.”

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:1-17

That opened the door of his heart. As he read on, he read Matthew quoting specific prophecies that were coming true with Jesus’ birth, and he thought, “This is my prophet.”

He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior that very night in his dorm room, and began an evangelistic journey that has so far allowed him to witness to thousands upon thousands of people.

As I ponder that, it occurs to me that God has a plan for every single word written in His word. Even those long and seemingly unnecessary genealogies. So, read the names, ponder the real people listed there, and consider the impact they’ve had on the generations of man.

May God bless you and bless your day. Find a word of God speak to you today.

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