Day 14 - The people God uses

Genesis is pretty full of shady characters; of people worse than morally flawed. It is full of sinners who commit some horrendous acts. But should that surprise us? No, not at all. The Bible deals with real life. It doesn’t hide the sins and flaws of its characters. Consider Genesis 38 and that whole story of Tamar and Judah’s sons, and then Judah himself. Judah does not act uprightly and the double-standard that we see toward the end of the chapter is glaring. Yet God uses these very imperfect people as he keeps his covenant promises.

Matthew 1:1-6: 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

David is in the line of Judah and Perez…and Jesus is in that same line.

• What does this tell us about God and his grace?

• What does this tell us about God’s promises?

• What does this mean for ourselves and how God can work in us as flawed and sinful people?