Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testament for Individual Meditation and Family Worship By R. A. TORREY T HESE notes are not intended to take the place of individual thought and meditation upon the Word. They- are
the legal, kingly descent of Jesus through His reputed father, whose legal heir He was, and therefor it gives His descent through the whole line of Jewish kings down to Jeconiah. In Luke we are given His geneal ogy through His real human parent, Mary. Mary’s ancestors also were David’s descend ants, but were not kings. We will go into this more at length when we reach the Gos pel of Luke. The names of four women ap pear in the genealogy in Matthew. This was altogether exceptional in a Jewish ge nealogy. There is a great significance in each one of the four women mentioned. There was some blot upon the character or history of each of the four. Thamar’s sin was notorious, and she found her place in the genealogy through her sin. In that way she became the ancestress of the Saviour of sinners. The second name is that of Rahab, a professionally had woman, saved by grace through faith. Ruth was a Moab ite, and according to the Jewish- law, a Moabite could not come into the congrega tion of the Lord even to the tenth genera tion (Deut. 23:3). Even David himself, being a descendant of the Moabite, would be excluded except by grace, for he was only the third in descent from Ruth. The other woman mentioned, Bathsheba, had an awful blot upon her character and history, and she is not mentioned by name but by her sin (v. 6). The whole significance of the mention of these women is to magnify grace. The passage also emphasizes the fact of the virgin birth of our Lord, a truth much contended against and rejected in our day, but a vital truth, intimately connected with the doctrine of the Deity and the sin less perfection of our Lord. The truth of
intended to stimulate thought and medita tion. They are intended for daily family' worship and for daily individual study of the Bible. When the passage is used for family worship, let each member of the fam ily read it over beforehand, and after read ing the notes, discuss the passage freely and compare ideas and ask and answer ques tions. When they are used for individual study of the Word, it is recommended that the passage itself be read three times before the notes are consulted, and twice after ward. Commit at least one verse of the passage to memory each day. Those who have time for further- study are advised to secure the “Treasury of Scripture Knowl edge” (Biola Book Room, 536-538 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California, $2.00) and go through each passage with its assist ance. Friday, January 1. Matthew 1. The first seventeen verses of this passage are taken up with a genealogy, and to some nothing seems drier and more meaningless than a genealogy, but this genealogy is full of significance and precious teaching. The book of Matthew is primarily the gospel for the Jews, but it is also the gospel of the King (Christ, Messiah), and of the King dom. So our Lord Jesus appears in this genealogy with which the gospel begins as “the Son of David” and “the Son of Abra ham.” Over and over again throughout the gospel He is addressed and spoken of as “the Son of David.” This genealogy gives
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