Matthew 1:2 – 1:6
Last week we talked about Jesus being the son of David and the son of Abraham in detail in Matthew 1:1.
We know that Jesus has no beginning as He is God. But He came as God manifest in the flesh. He did have a beginning of His first coming to this earth when He was born in the flesh just as we are in this flesh.
We are all in this sinful flesh, and we can’t always deny the lusts of the flesh. We sin. Jesus was in this same flesh, and He never sinned. This means Jesus is God.
All About the Generation of Jesus Christ
And Matthew Chapter 1 tells us about the generation of Jesus Christ. We begin there in verse 2.
Matthew 1:2
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
We see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then Judas.
Abraham and Sarah have Isaac as their son. They waited a long timej for Isaac. They even tried to do things their own way through their own flesh.
Isaac and Rebekah prayed for a son. Rebekah was barren for 20 years. And then they had Isaac.
And I’m mentioning these things right now because I want you to see the miracle of Jesus Christ. Abraham didn’t have Isaac until he was 100 years old. Understand that this is where the generation of Jesus Christ begins in Matthew Chapter 1.
God promised Abraham a child. Do you think that promise could have ever been broken? This is where Jesus Christ, in the flesh, came from.
Then we see Jacob, who is given the name Israel, in Genesis Chapter 32, by the man he wrestled with. He saw God face to face. That man he wrestled with was Jesus Christ before he came to earth in the flesh.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then Judas
We see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then Judas.
Jacob comes together with Leah who he actually thought was Rachel. They were sisters. Their father, Laban, deceived Jacob into thinking he was giving him Rachel to wife. Jacob works seven years for Rachel. But Jacob ends up having Leah first, by accident on his part, and marries her.
Jacob and Leah end up having four children to start. Reuben first. Simeon second. Levi third. And Judah fourth. Judah or Judas, as he is called in the New Testament, is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah.
Jacob ends up having twelve sons total and they are called the twelve tribes of Israel who is Jacob.
Jesus comes from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. The Bible says right there in Matthew 1:2 that Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.
Matthew 1:3
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
We see the first woman mentioned here in the generation of Jesus Christ. We see Judas and Thamar have twins who are called Phares and Zara. And then we see the line goes through Phares.
I want to stop right here on this one for a little while.
Judah and Tamar the Daughter in Law of Judah
After Joseph was sold into slavery in Genesis Chapter 37, we see the story of Judah and the birth of Phares and Zara in Genesis Chapter 38.
Tamar is the daughter in law of Judah. She becomes a widow. Judah’s wife dies. Tamar hears where Judah is going. She dresses up differently. Judah sees her, doesn’t know who she is, and he thought her to be an harlot. Her face was covered.
This man is in the line of Jesus Christ. He is the leader of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Tamar ends up pregnant with twins that we see listed there in Matthew 1 verse 3. The twins, Pharez and Zarah, are born to Judah and Tamar. The line of Jesus goes through Pharez. I want you to see that these people weren’t perfect people.
Judah looks for a harlot. Tamar plays the harlot and deceives Judah purposely. These people are in the physical line of Jesus Christ.
Phares, the Bible says, begat Esrom. This matches within the Bible in Ruth Chapter 4, 1 Chronicles Chapter 2, 1 Chronicles Chapter 4, and Luke Chapter 3. We see many different genealogies within the Bible written by different authors but all written through the Holy Spirit of God. They match perfectly.
Names are Spelled Differently in New Testament than Old Testament
I want to note that many names in the New Testament are spelled different and written differently in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is mainly written in the language of Hebrew with some Scripture in Aramaic. The New Testament is written in Greek. The original languages were then translated to English so we can read and understand.
That’s why we see the differences in spelling of these names.
For example, Judas is New Testament. Judah is Old Testament. Phares begat Esrom and Esrom begat Aram.
Take a look at how Esrom is spelled right there. E-S-R-O-M. And Aram is spelled A-R-A-M. Keep that in mind as we look at the book of Ruth in the Old Testament.
Ruth 4:18-22
Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, 20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
You see Pharez begat Hezron. H-E-Z-R-O-N. Hezron in Ruth Chapter 4 versus Esrom in Matthew Chapter 1. Same man. Keep this in mind as you read through the Bible. Another example about the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. His name is spelled I-S-A-I-A-H. In Matthew Chapter 3, his name is spelled E-S-A-I-A-S. This is good to know.
In Ruth 4:19, right there, Hezron begat Ram. In Matthew 1, Ram is called Aram. A-R-A-M.
Also, in the Bible, there are many people who have the same name. You must be very careful when studying the Bible to ensure that person is the person you are studying. Be careful that it is the same time period. I’ve made that mistake before. This can get very difficult at times.
Study All The Names in the Generation of Jesus Christ
For example, it’s good to study all the names in the generation of Jesus Christ here. If you go to study Esrom, you would want to search the Scriptures for Esrom and Hezron. If you do this, you’ll find 21 matches in 19 verses in the entire King James Bible.
But, you’ll find Hezron, as an example, in Genesis Chapter 46 as one of the sons of Reuben. This is not the same man. So, be careful when studying specific people and make sure you have the same man or woman.
Here’s a table just showing a quick comparison of names from Ruth Chapter 4 and Matthew Chapter 1:
| Ruth 4 | Matthew 1 |
| Pharez | Phares |
| Hezron | Esrom |
| Ram | Aram |
| Amminadab | Aminadab |
| Nahshon | Naasson |
| Salmon | Salmon |
| Boaz | Booz |
| Obed | Obed |
| Jesse | Jesse |
| David | David |
You see different spellings here. Again, make sure you get the right spelling for the Old Testament versus the New Testament when studying each of these people. You see that only 4 out of 10 listed have the same spelling: Salmon, Obed, Jesse, and David.
And you’ll also find cities, towns, and even groups of people named after others in the Bible.
Let’s continue in Matthew Chapter 1 in our study of the generation of Jesus Christ.
The Women Listed in the Generation of Jesus Christ
We’ve seen Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judas, Phares, Esrom, and Aram so far as men in the line of Jesus Christ. We’ve seen Thamar as the first woman mentioned in the physical line of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:4-5
And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
Now we see seven more men mentioned here: Aram, Aminadab, Naasson, Salmon, Booz, Obed, and Jesse. We also see two women mentioned here: Rachab and Ruth.
Many believe that this Rachab here is Rahab the harlot from the book of Joshua. I do believe, at this time, that this is Rahab the harlot. We know that Rahab had faith in God from Hebrews Chapter 11 and James Chapter 2.
But, the interesting thing here is that Matthew Chapter 1 spells her name as R-A-C-H-A-B, Hebrews spells the name as R-A-H-A-B, and James spells the name as R-A-H-A-B. So, the way Matthew spells the name is the only occurrence in the entire Bible. So, more study is required. But this might not be the Rahab from the book of Joshua. There’s a chance.
But, at this time, I believe that this is Rahab the harlot in the line of Jesus Christ. Tamar is there. Rahab was not from the physical children of Israel. She lived in Jericho in the land of Canaan.
Numbers 33:50-51
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
The children of Israel destroyed Jericho, a city in the land of Canaan.
Joshua 6:24-25
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Because Rahab changed her mind and put her faith in the Lord of Israel, she was saved physically and spiritually. She was placed in the physical line of Jesus Christ by faith and not by where she physically came from. Her father’s household was physically saved as well.
Rahab Wasn’t a Physical Child of Israel
But, I want you to understand she wasn’t physically a child of Israel. She came into the line of Jesus Christ as a Canaanite.
Matthew 1:5-6
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
And now we see another woman named Ruth. Boaz and Ruth are married and they have Obed. And then Obed begat Jesse and Jesse begat David the king. King David’s great grandmother is Ruth. This is the same Ruth as the Book of Ruth within the Bible.
Ruth was not from the physical line of Jacob or Israel.
Ruth 1:4
And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
Ruth was from Moab. Let’s find out a little more about the Moabites.
Genesis 19:35-37
And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
Ruth Was a Moabite from the Line of Lot
There’s the first occurrence of the word Moab and Moabites within the entire Bible.
The Moabites come from Lot and his oldest daughter. Lot is Abraham’s nephew. The Moabites don’t come from the line of Abraham. They come from Lot and his oldest daughter who tricked Lot by getting him drunken. This is wickedness. Lot drank the wine. And look at what happened. Don’t drink the wine. Don’t drink the alcohol.
Ruth was a Godly woman who physically came from the Moabites. She is in the physical line of Jesus Christ, though, she wasn’t a physical child of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is Israel. She didn’t come from them. She came from the line of Lot, Abraham’s nephew.
To be a child of God, you don’t have to be of the physical line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, or Solomon and the kings. You simply have to put your trust in Jesus Christ. At that moment, you become a child of “THE KING,” Jesus Christ.
We go back to Matthew Chapter 1.
Matthew 1:6
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
The Fourteen Generations from Abraham to David
Now we see David the king. Jesse is David’s father. We know that all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations according to verse 17 in Matthew Chapter 1. So, let’s count the generations of Jesus Christ from Abraham to David. Let’s see what we get.
- Abraham
- Isaac
- Jacob
- Judas
- Phares
- Esrom
- Aram
- Aminadab
- Naasson
- Salmon
- Booz
- Obed
- Jesse
- David
As expected, this matches perfectly. From Abraham to David, we have fourteen generations. After David, who do we see in Matthew Chapter 1?
Matthew 1:6
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
We see that David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias. We know this is speaking of Bathsheba.
The Four Women in the Generation of Jesus Christ
We’ve seen a list of the 14 men from Abraham to David. Here’s the 4 women mentioned so far in Matthew Chapter 1.
- Thamar
- Rachab
- Ruth
- Her that had been the wife of Urias
Thamar played the harlot with Judah. Rachab was a harlot, a Canaanite woman. Ruth was a Moabite woman. And now we see Bath-sheba.
Let’s look at the first time Bath-sheba is seen within the Bible.
2 Samuel 11:1
And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
Notice that David is tarrying or staying or lodging in Jerusalem while Joab and his servants are out fighting wars.
David was the king. I want to mention that pastors are not kings. They don’t have ultimate authority over everyone. But pastors are leaders as kings are leaders. Pastors are supposed to lead. Kings are supposed to lead.
David’s men were out fighting the battles and he was at home safe and sound. You can relate this to spiritual battles. The pastors should be out fighting the spiritual battles with their people. They should be out there preaching the Gospel and leading the people.
David was at home. And he gets himself into trouble. Men, be careful with that. Get to work for God and stop worrying about the women who aren’t your wife. Take care of your wife and stop looking at other men’s wives. This is what David does here.
2 Samuel 11:2
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
David should have turned his head and looked the other way. But she was very beautiful to look upon. Women are the weakness of men. As women please do your best not to tempt the men. Bath-sheba should have at least tried to make it impossible for David to see her washing herself. And David should have not looked upon her.
James 1 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” And that’s what’s going to happen to David right here.
2 Samuel 11:3-5
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
Uriah is Killed Because of King David
Long story short for sakes of time. Uriah ends up dead as David places him in the forefront of the hottest battle. Uriah died. Bath-sheba then becomes David’s wife. God is not happy with David. David is punished the rest of his life for this great sin.
David’s child with Bath-sheba dies. David and Bath-sheba, now married, have another child and they name him Solomon.
We know King Saul is the first king of Israel. King David second. King Solomon third. We see the kingdom of Israel split because of Solomon’s weakness with women. David had that weakness. His son, king Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, has that weakness.
We saw it with Judah and Tamar playing the harlot. We see it with David committing adultery with Bath-sheba. We see it with Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines who turned his heart from the Lord. Because of that, the kingdom of Israel splits. Men are weak when it comes to women. Women, please help with that and don’t prey on the weakness of men.
But men, ultimately, that’s your choice to sin or not to sin. Don’t sin. Don’t look on women with lust.
We’ll continue in verse 7 next time as we’ll see the line of the kings of Judah, the Southern kingdom, that comes after king Solomon.
Let’s pray.
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