Cast Into A Land They Know Not

Matthew 1:12-17

We are looking closely at the generation of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 1 in the very beginning of the New Testament.

We saw that Judah was carried away into Babylon. Why? Because they didn’t follow the Lord. He warned them over and over again through His words and through His prophets.

After They Were Brought to Babylon

We’re going to continue or verse by verse study in verse 12 there of Matthew Chapter 1.

Matthew 1:12
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

The last king of Judah that we see in Matthew Chapter 1 is right there, Jechonias called Jehoiachin or Jeconiah in the Old Testament.

The people of the Southern kingdom of Judah were warned over and over again by Jeremiah the prophet. Instead of listening to him, they wanted him dead. My job here is to preach the word of God, and many times, you aren’t going to like it. But God’s words tell us the truth. And telling the truth is love.

We need to listen to the word of God, get things right in our lives, live for God, and do our absolute best. There are going to be things in this Bible that you might not like, and you might not agree with. When you hear those things, it’s best for you if you decide to change your mind, know that you’re wrong, and God is right.

We Conform to God’s Words and Not The Other Way Around

That’s why we’re here. We conform to God’s words. He doesn’t change for us.

So, the people from Judah, as verse 12 says there, were brought to Babylon. They lost everything. They forgot about God. They did what they wanted. And, in this country, in this nation, if God’s people don’t turn back to Him, and do what He says, we’ll lose everything too.

After they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel and Salathiel begat Zorobabel. They are in a new land. Brought to Babylon. They weren’t at home any more. They lost their land. They lost their home and their nation. That’s not a good thing. That was a punishment from God.

We see the names Salathiel and Zorobabel. This is the same Zerubbabel that we see in many different books of the Bible. The name Zerubbabel is seen in the Old Testament 22 times in 21 verses.

Ezra 5:2
Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

Haggai 1:14-15
And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,  15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

I am showing you these things so you can see how to study the Bible on your own. You can look up Zerubbabel who is in the generation of Jesus Christ, in Matthew Chapter 1, and learn much more. Searching the Scriptures and studying these things help to tie all of the Bible together for you.

Zarubbabel In The Generation of Jesus Christ

We see that Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah. They rebuilt the house of God at Jerusalem which had been destroyed by Babylon. That was God’s doing. If you read the book of Ezra closely, you’ll see that Cyrus king of Persia made a proclamation to build a house for God at Jerusalem. Zerubbabel is the governor of Judah at that time.

And you see him there in Matthew Chapter 1. Let’s keep going.

Matthew 1:13-15
And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;  14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;  15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

Now we run into many names that I don’t know much about. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about many of these people listed here. Remember, these people were carried away to Babylon.

Jeremiah 22:28-30
Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?  29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.  30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

God got rid of the nation of Judah because of their great sin against God. The kings didn’t  hearken to God. They were cast into a land they knew not. They did not prosper. They did not have a king sitting on the throne ruling in Judah any longer. There’s not much written about these generations in the Bible either.

Not Much Information On Some People In The Generation of Jesus Christ

For example, we don’t know much about Eliud mentioned in Matthew 1:15 other than he is in the generation of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:15-16
And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;  16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Jesus is called Christ. Anointed one. He’s the only one who can save you.

We can be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ in a single moment of our life by believing in Him. We can believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and be given everlasting life in a moment.

At that moment, we become a child of God. Just as we have a Dad in this life. We can not do what our Dad asks us to do, have a horrible relationship with our Dad, and we can never change the fact that he is our Dad. Same thing with our Father in heaven.

If someone believes in Jesus Christ, they are saved forever. God is their Father. They become a child of God. They are born of the Spirit.

Now, let me ask you this question. If someone believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are saved forever. Let’s say someone believes today. They receive everlasting life. And then they never do anything good for God the rest of their life. And then they died. Would they go to heaven or hell? What do you think?

They would definitely go to heaven because they received the free gift of everlasting life already. God cannot lie. He made a promise and God keeps His promises. So, you can be saved and have a horrible relationship with God because you don’t do anything He asks you to do, and still you’re going to heaven because you’ve believed.

God is your Father and you can never change that.

You Want a Good Relationship With Your Father

But, why in the world would you want to not have a good relationship with God? To have that good relationship with God, it takes a lot of work. God is telling you to do this and that within the Bible. If you don’t do what He asks, you won’t have a good relationship. You won’t be making God happy.

For example, when my daughters do the good things I ask them to do, we have a good relationship. And then I reward them in this life. They do good so I do good for them. If I ask my daughters to do something good such as helping their mother get the house clean, I see when they help my wife.

And I remember this. For example, Taylor has been helping extra at home and at the church. I remember that. She will get rewarded for that. Now, let’s say I asked Taylor to vacuum the church tonight, and she looked at me and said, “NO!” What do you think is going to happen? It’s not going to be good for Taylor.

Hey, listen, the same thing happened to the nation of Judah. And the same thing can happen to us. The people of Judah were cast into a land they knew not. The warnings from God are all throughout the Bible. I want you to hear this warning today too.

Jeremiah 25:4-5
And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.  5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

Prophets Are Preachers of God’s Words

Prophets are preachers of God’s word. That’s what I’m doing here right now.

God tells you and I to turn from the evil of your doings. What will you do? Will you do that or tell God no? He told this to Judah. Next verse.

Jeremiah 25:6-7
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.  7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

God says, “I told you what not to do, and you did it anyway. You didn’t listen to me. You provoked me to anger. You hurt yourself. To your own hurt.”

God warns us. He warns us because us because He doesn’t want us to get hurt.

Judah didn’t listen so they lost their home, their country, their nation. And they were cast into a land they know not. They were conquered by the Babylonians. They didn’t have to be conquered. God would have stopped that. But they didn’t want God’s help. They ignored Him.

Same thing with you and your life. If you want God’s help, hey, make an effort to do what He says. And I can tell you right now, from my own life, when I put some effort into doing what God asked me to do, He helped me. He got me a better job. He helped me take care of my family. He helped me do better in my life. He blesses me because I do my best to do what He asks.

And, there are many other people in here right now, my Dad, my Mom, my wife, Nathan, Milana, and others that will tell you the same thing. Hey, get here in church every time, remind God that you’re trying, and see what He does. Keep it consistent. Keep it coming. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Keep pushing towards God and His ways.

What’s More Important To You?

If staying at home and sleeping is more important than worshipping God each week, don’t expect God’s help. Instead, make sure you get here every week.

And He will take care of you. That’s His promise to you in the Bible. And God doesn’t lie to you.

When He makes a promise, mark it down as good. So, trust me, stick with us here, be consistent here with us. When I’m here, you’re here. When Nathan is here, you’re here, I’m here. Stay with us. And watch what God will do for you.

Don’t be like the foolish people of Judah who ignored God and went the other way.

So, I am prophesying today using the word of God. If you will turn to God and turn away from your sin that you continue to do, God will take care of you. Do your best. Get here every time the doors are open, pay attention, take notes, listen, learn, and I guarantee your life will change for the better. God says so. Not me.

I want God on your side. I want God on my side. Let’s just do what He tells us to do. And He does the rest for us.

Now, let’s go back to Matthew Chapter 1 and see some names we know. We were at verse 16.

Matthew 1:16
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Now we are at Joseph the husband of Mary. In verse 19 of this same chapter, we see that Joseph is a just man or what we would call today, a good man. Guaranteed Joseph is in heaven, and we’ll get to meet him one day.

God gave Joseph instructions and he followed them. You’ll see this in the Gospels as you’re reading through your Bible.

There isn’t a ton mentioned about Joseph in the New Testament. It’s a mystery, at this time, about what happened to him. We don’t know.

Joseph Was a Carpenter

We do know he was a carpenter. People did believe Jesus was the son of Joseph. We know Jesus is the Son of God. Since they thought he was the son of Joseph, many didn’t believe on Jesus Christ. They said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”

Hey, they thought Jesus was just like them. And He was. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. But Jesus wasn’t just a man like you and I. He was God and is God.

Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ who is God. So, yes, Mary is the mother of God, in the fleshly sense. Of course, God has no father and no mother. When God came in the flesh, He did have a mother. People thought Joseph was the father of Jesus, but he wasn’t.

Joseph and Mary, as we studied a few lessons ago, are both in the line of king David. Joseph came from the son of David who is Solomon. And Mary came from the son of David who is Nathan. They are both from the tribe of Judah, which is one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Notice, in Matthew Chapter 1, that this is the end of all the names listed in Matthew 1. We made it through all the names. The last name given is Jesus Christ. All genealogies in the Bible end with Jesus Christ. Thank God!

Let’s finish up this lesson with verse 17.

Matthew 1:17
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

Table of The Fourteen Generations

Now, let’s finish up that table that we used in a previous lesson. From Abraham to David are 14 generations. From David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations. And from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are 14 generations.

#	From Abraham to David	From David to Babylon	From Babylon unto Christ
1	Abraham	David	Jechonias
2	Isaac	Solomon	Salathiel
3	Jacob	Roboam	Zorobabel
4	Judas	Abia	Abiud
5	Phares	Asa	Eliakim
6	Esrom	Josaphat	Azor
7	Aram	Joram	Sadoc
8	Aminadab	Ozias	Achim
9	Naasson	Joatham	Eliud
10	Salmon	Achaz	Eleazar
11	Booz	Ezekias	Matthan
12	Obed	Manasses	Jacob
13	Jesse	Amon	Joseph
14	David	Josias	Jesus Christ

We see all the generations listed in Matthew Chapter 1 right there in that table. We see Abraham to David, David to Josias, Jechonias to Jesus Christ. Thank God Jesus Christ is the last one listed there. He’s all we need.

Next week in Sunday School we will continue in Matthew Chapter 1 verse 18. We’re past all the names. We learned a lot from the generation of Jesus Christ. And now we’re getting to the conception and the birth of Jesus Christ. I absolutely love the next Scriptures we’re going over. Let’s pray.