Walking in the drizzle today, I listened to a lecture. It was on the genealogy of Jesus, listed in the first chapter of Matthew.
A black bird (an Australian raven? or crow? a corvid, anyhow) outside the hospital frantically stuffed a crumpled tissue into its beak. As I drew near, it flew up to the electricity line, then into a tree. Perhaps it was planning on lining a nest with the sodden mess?
Rounding a corner, I passed pest-ridden leaves sprouting from the trunk of a tree which fell in a storm last year.
Creation is broken.
Creation is sullied.
Shame
Women of note
There are four women listed in the genealogy of Matthew 1 prior to the end of the genealogy which finishes with Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary. Given that this lecture was given by a woman to ladies, it was hardly surprising that our Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) leader focused on these four individuals.
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba had one thing in common, in addition to being ancestors of our Lord. It was not a factor which you might consider appropriate for ancestors of a great religious figure.
All of these women had previously had other sexual partners before playing their significant roles in the genealogy of Matthew 1.
You could say that the lineage of our Lord was broken, spoilt and shamed.
(Mind you, it must be noted that the women were not necessarily at fault as individuals. In fact, several were victims themselves of broken societies, and honoured for their faith.)
Prophecy
Time and time again, Old Testament prophets blasted the people of Israel for their unfaithfulness to God.
Perhaps the most vivid picture of such prophecy was powerfully lived out by Hosea. He married an unstable and unsettled woman named Gomer.
She left him. The patient prophet pursued and retrieved his errant wife. But it didn’t last long, for it seemed that she had a wandering heart.
The Old Testament is full of stories of how God’s people followed him for a while then strayed into idolatry, only to be pursued and restored by Jehovah … until the next time.
Old Testament prophets not only damned broken society, but also offered hope of restoration. As exemplified in the marriage of Hosea and Gomer, forgiveness and restoration was available.
The problem, of course, was that human nature did not change. It was only a matter of time for God’s people to wander from him again.
But there was hope for permanent restoration. The prophet Isaiah predicted that ‘a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall name him Immanuel’ (Isaiah 7:14).
Which brings us to the genealogy of Matthew 1, culminating in Joseph, to whom the virgin Mary was betrothed.
Hope
Our faithful Creator united his unblemished spirit with flawed, broken and sullied creation. He was not contaminated by the union with Mary, a girl who was pure and untouched.
The pictures and prophecies of centuries past now came to a head.
Creation was broken and shamed. But restoration was underway.
The virgin was with child. She would give birth to a Son. He would be named ‘Immanuel’ – God with us.
We live in the now-and-not-yet. Jesus has come, born of a virgin. He has redeemed all creation. Yet black birds still line nests with soggy tissues. Pests still attack new growth. Disease, distress and even death still impact God’s people.
Creation was broken, sullied and shamed.
But light has broken into the darkness.
4 replies on “Restoring the broken”
Beautiful, Suzanne – thank you!!!
Very interesting Suzanne. God’s thread of redemption through what was imperfect. He uses his imperfect creation according to his will to make
“beauty of ashes”. Reassuringly hopeful.
His choice of a “perfect virgin”, Mary, cf with an unblemished lamb required for sacrifice is interesting. Makes me think of Mary’s life as a living sacrifice and ours too, as in Romans 12.
Glory! Light breaking through the darkness! That’s a good word.
Thanks for this thought provoking blog. since my computer was also broken and needed restoration I could not reply quickly. I recall reading that geneology with a Tib seeker in his own language. Since we had already read Genesis together, he picked out significant people in the list of ancestors, and my Tib student said, “Now I see why they called Jesus the son of David! ” Everything, every name in that list is significant. Our Savior is the Risk-Taker.