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December 15 Daily Devotional

Twilight: The Son of David and Abraham

the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

Monthly Theme:

The Prince of Peace, the Son of David, was announced by Isaiah. The story of his coming was proclaimed by the evangelists, each with a different emphasis. Jesus made God's kingship real in this world. Today, the kingdom is here—and it is coming.

Bible Reading:

Matthew 1:1, 17

Bible Text:

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1).

Devotional:

A genealogy is a family record. People used to keep such records in their family Bibles by writing down the birth and death dates of their ancestors and descendants.

Matthew uses a genealogy to tell us who Jesus is. In the very first line of his gospel he identifies Jesus as the son of David and Abraham. However, Jesus is not merely a physical descendant of David and Abraham. The point of Matthew's book is that Jesus is the promised Son of David and the promised Seed of Abraham.

Matthew writes for his own people, the Jews. Every Jew can understand this book, and every Jew should read it. The gospel writer wants his people to know that Jesus is the King who will forever sit on David's throne. So although Matthew tells us repeatedly of the rejection of the anointed King, in the end we read that "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to" Jesus (28: 18). And he will reign forever.

Jesus is also the son of Abraham. Two thousand years ago God said that all families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham. Jesus is the son of Abraham through whom the blessing reaches the Gentiles: "disciple all nations" is the last command in Matthew's book.

Finally the calling of the Jewish nation is realized: the whole world is gathered under the rule of David's throne. And the blessing of Abraham is for all who believe in Jesus.


Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.

 

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