Skeleton's in Your Closet...

When reading through the four Gospels you will notice that there are two different genealogies written by Matthew and Luke.  Matthew’s list details Joseph’s family tree while Luke’s references Mary’s.  As I was studying some of the commentaries on Luke 3:23-38, I came to the shocking realization that Jesus had a skeleton in His closet!  His family had a black sheep that could have ruined His future!

If you were to run a background check on Joseph, it would come to light that he had a kingly descendent that had a curse leveled on him that affected all of his current and future family members.  It would seem that this man, who was named Coniah, was the reigning King of Israel during the time when the Israelites were carried off to Babylon.  Jeremiah writes of the fate of this king saying, “This Jehoiakin (also known as Coniah or Jeconiah) is like a broken and rejected pot that no one wants…This is what the Lord says: Write this about Jehoiakin: He will be childless.  He won’t prosper in his lifetime.  None of his descendants will succeed him as king.  They won’t sit on David’s throne and rule Judah again.” (Jeremiah 22:28&30 God’s Word ©)

The revelation of this family history could have completely stopped Jesus’ heavenly calling on this earth and would have affected mankind!  It also would have given the enemy of our souls the legal evidence to discredit Jesus and God’s master plan of salvation.  But God in His wisdom and grace used the Holy Spirit to clearly clarify the potential fallout of such information.  It was called the Virgin Birth and Luke’s divinely inspired words in Luke 3:23 set the record straight for eternity.  Luke’s historical documentation of Jesus’s background specifically connects His genealogy with that of His Mother’s.  The record states: “When Jesus began his work, he was about thirty years old.  He was the son, so people thought, of Joseph, who was the son of Heli.” (Good News Bible)

A more accurate translation would state that Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, Mary’s father.  From there Luke breaks down Mary’s linage and delineates her family’s direct relationship to King David.  In order to meet the legal requirements to be the Savior of mankind’s sin, Jesus had to be sinless.  In order to do that He had to be born not of man, but of the Holy Spirit through Mary.  God knew that there might be a problem in this regard so He clarified His intent through the sacred, Holy Spirit writings of the prophets and New Testament saints.

So what’s my point?  Simply this… don’t let the skeletons in your closet, the mistakes of your and your family’s past, hinder you from reaching God’s best for your life today!  Most of us probably have something that we are not particularly proud of in our backgrounds, and the enemy of our souls would love to use that to block God’s promises and/or resources from flowing freely in our lives.

Just as our loving heavenly Father cleared up any misunderstandings with Jesus’ past, He can and will do the same for you as you decide to place your trust into His capable hands!  Nothing is too big, too messy or too complicated for Him to straighten out.  I think that this is the reason why the Lord knew that He could command Joshua to “Be strong, and courageous!  Don’t tremble or be terrified, because (I) the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (God’s Word ©)

God knew that Joshua’s continuous trust and faith would give Him the ability to be able to go in and clean up any mess that the Israelites made as they took ownership of the Promised Land.  The very same thing could be said about us as we go forth and take ownership of the “land” that God has called us to take in this life.

In talking about Daniel chapter four a few Wednesday nights ago, Pastor Mike Goolsbay of Destiny Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma related that “your faith (in God and His Word) and confidence (in doing what He has called you to do) has the power to untie your future from your past.”

So I think that it is a great time to let go of the bondages of the past and allow the love, the joy and the power of God to help you move into His future for your life!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… What am I expecting today?”