There is redemption for your broken family tree

Do you ever wonder, "what is the deal with all of the genealogies in the Bible?" That thought has crossed my mind, and I've heard others express the same thing in group discussions. It is difficult for many of us to think about genealogies, because our family tree is so splintered. The idea of a lineage that we can track back through history is somewhat unfathomable.

My mother-in-law has been tracing her family's lineage, and the other day my husband reviewed it with her. He quickly became enamored with all of the information - the census from the 1800's, the family member who was Native American, etc. There are so many interesting things to find in the past when we dig a little deeper, but there may also be some things that we would rather not know.

Many of the genealogies in the Bible are the same. They include the "good people" and the "bad people." The ones who inspire us to do great things, and the cautionary tales of what we should avoid.

The last chapter of Jeremiah, chapter 52, retells the story of the king's disobedience and the following calamity that came against the nation. In verses 31-34 we are reminded of King Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin was king during the second siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He is not killed. He is put in prison. After being in prison 37 years, Jehoiachin is released from prison by the new king of Babylon. Jehoiachin has another name - Jeconiah. If you search for Jeconiah in a Bible search program you will find his name mentioned 9 times. Sometimes he is called Jeconiah the prisoner. Jeconiah has a grandson named Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel is the leader who rebuilds the temple in Jerusalem (Haggai 1:1-2), and is also in the lineage of Mary and therefore Jesus (Matthew 1:12-13).

So, what does this have to do with our lineage and the broken branches in our family trees? Jeconiah was one of the disobedient kings. His leadership had much to do with the disobedience of the people, which is why God allowed them to be defeated by the Babylonians and taken into captivity. There obviously had to be a change of heart somewhere along the way. God spared Jeconiah's life so that he could have descendants. He presumably taught his children the ways of the Lord, because Zerubbabel was obedient and his spirit was stirred! (Haggai 1:12-15) Something changed in his family tree. His disobedient father must have repented and taught his children to obey the Lord. That was the point of captivity. It strengthened the resolve of the faithful, but it also turned the hearts of those who were the reason for the captivity from disobedience to obedience.

Two things I hope you take away from this post.

1. The circumstances right now may feel a lot like captivity. We are cooped up and isolated from our friends and families. We can do one of two things during this time. We can wallow in the unknown and the limits to our freedom, or we can turn our hearts toward God. We can think about all of the inconveniences and hard times, or we can hold onto Jesus. It is our choice.

2. Our broken family trees can be redeemed! If you read through the full lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1, you will see all sorts of examples of redemption. The ones we like to focus on the most are the women, but all of the names are stories of God restoring people after they've messed up in major ways, or encouragement because they were obedient all along. I encourage you to pick a name and follow the references in your Bible if your Bible has them to see where else the person is mentioned in Scripture. If you don't have a study Bible, then you can use an online Bible like Blue Letter Bible, Bible Gateway, or YouVersion and search the person's name.

Maybe you are the person in your family tree who needs Jesus in order to set things right for the future. If that is the case, I encourage you to reach out to someone in your local community/church or let me know! I will be glad to pray for you and help you in any way I can to connect or re-connect with Jesus. He wants to bless you.

I'll leave you with a song that has also blessed me, and ties in with this message of lineage. It is called "The Blessing" by Elevation Worship. Our church has been singing this in worship, and it is a beautiful picture of how far the love of God can transcend generations if we allow Him into our lives. Until next time, seek the Lord with all of your heart (Deuteronomy 4:29)!

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