July 27 - Matthew 1-2

Matt 1:17 17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.[b]   Is there any significance that 14 generations between each major stage/event? Any special meaning to 14?  Is it just 2 x 7?  (Note: Seven is a special number denoting Completeness.)   Matt 1:20-21 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."   Jesus is Greek name for Joshua. Jesus = Joshua = "The Lord saves"   Mat 1:22-23 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which means, "God with us."   Immanuel = "God with us"   Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you [c] a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and [d] will call him Immanuel.   A prophesy was fulfilled.   Matt 2:1 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him." 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.   Magi = the Wise Men It is often in Christmas plays that there were 3 wise men. This probably due to the fact that 3 gifts were brought to Baby Jesus, i.e. gold, incense, and myrrh.   Matt 2:3-6 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[c] was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:  6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,       are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;    for out of you will come a ruler       who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'[d]"   Micah 5:2 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,        though you are small among the clans [b] of Judah,        out of you will come for me        one who will be ruler over Israel,        whose origins [c] are from of old,        from ancient times. [d] "   A prophesy was fulfilled.   Matt 2:13-15 13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."[f]   Jesus spent his childhood years in Egypt.   Hosea 11:1 1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him,        and out of Egypt I called my son.   A prophesy was fulfilled.   Matt 2:16-18 16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:  18"A voice is heard in Ramah,       weeping and great mourning,    Rachel weeping for her children       and refusing to be comforted,    because they are no more."[g]   If the angel of the Lord did not call Joseph in a dream to shift to Egypt, baby Jesus would have been killed. Joseph was a righteous man, who listened to God. Joseph listened that his wife-to-be was impregnated by Holy Spirit and married her. Joseph listened and shifted his family (Mary and baby Jesus) to Egypt.   Jeremiah 31:15 15 This is what the LORD says:        "A voice is heard in Ramah,        mourning and great weeping,        Rachel weeping for her children        and refusing to be comforted,        because her children are no more."   A prophesy was fulfilled.   Matt 2:19-21 19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." 21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.   Joseph listened and shifted his family back to land of Israel.     Note:  Read Matthew chapters 1-2.