His story through lineage definitions

(still working on new article, which I will post tomorrow)

In the Bible, Hebrew names have meanings and sometimes they’re like sentences. In the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ starting in Luke 3, the names go from Adam to Mary. In Matthew, the names start with Abraham and go all the way through to Joseph.

“Some months ago a guy sent me a (written passage) of what you get if you put together the definitions of the names in order,” explains Jordan. “When I first read it, I thought, ‘That can’t be true.’ So I spot-checked probably a third of the definitions I knew off the top of my head, and I spot-checked about 20 of the rest of them, and I found it’s right.

“Starting with Adam, God orchestrated the identity of people in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ to tell a story.

“One of the most fascinating things to me is the name Mary is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam (Moses’ sister). Anybody know what Miriam means? It means ‘the rebellious one.’ You remember the rebellion of Miriam in Numbers 12? Her name represents all of us.

“You know what God did? He took that divine seed and placed it into ‘the rebellious one’ and it produced life. I read that and I see this (passage) and I just say, ‘What a magnificent God we serve. What a staggeringly awesome Book we read.’

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Here it is:

“The last Adam, standing redemptively in the place of another (Seth), the people of this earth (Enos) are His possession (Canaan), and for the praise of God He shall come down to make a way.

“When He dies there will be an outpouring. He is brought low that He may prove powerful. He would bring rest and will be a resting place. His name will be famous among those who have been cut off from the beast and bound in the enemy stronghold, for He calls them His possession.

“He will enter this earth as a tender shoot; as one from the heavenly region. He will divide even the closest friends. He will be a branch burning with resolve when He takes up residence here. He will be the Father of multitudes, the chief of a mighty host.

“He laughs at the deceiver and supplanter and overcomes. He shall be praised. The breach He will fortify and close and wall in. He is exalted, the royal seed who will crush the head of the hissing enchanter.”

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“Now, when you get that far, the line splits,” explains Jordan. "Matthew goes one way and Luke another." Matthew, the royal lineage, reads:

“He will be a covering, a garment, and in Him is strength. He will come serving to make wealthy His beloved and bring peace and enlarge for Himself a people. He will say, ‘Jehovah is my Father.’ He will be harmed but then healed; hurt but then made whole.

“It will be said that He, God, has judged and He, God, is exalted. He will prove the strength of God and the perfection of God. He will possess in His hand the power of God, and though He be forgotten of His people, He will prove the master builder and divinely heal them and He, God, will set and make strong.

“Those who ask God, those born in captivity, He will say, ‘My Father is majesty.’ He will be raised up by God to be a helper, to be the righteous one. God will raise Him up for God’s praise, majesty and splendor. He will be the help of God; a gift. And to Jacob He will, Joseph, and prove Jesus.”

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“In other words, to the heel grabber and supplanter, Jacob, He will exchange out of life for death Joseph and bring God's salvation,” explains Jordan.

“If you go through Luke, instead of Matthew, you go back to David and come through Nathan." The passage reads:

“He will be a covering, a garment. In Him is strength. He will come serving to make wealthy His beloved and give the gift of God. He declares to those under the enchantment that they are His dearest object of care and that He will raise them up.

“He will be the giver of grace; life in exchange for death. They will praise God who hearken unto Him and join to Him a covenant. Those who receive the gift of God, the one whom God hath exalted, will find the help and salvation of God. They will be sustained by God; be quickened, made alive, made awake.

“He will be measured according to the king’s divine oracle. He will be adored as king. He will be a heavenly light unto all who ask of God. And those born in captivity will He heal and give grace. He shall be praised for He gives life in exchange for death. To those who hearken the good tidings, He gives the gift of God unto the small.

“He is a bright light unto those whose eyes are fixed on God, and He is a consolation and comfort unto the burdened. The gift of God is life in exchange for death. It’s the violent action of the king in order to join in covenant. The gift of God raised up to heavenly heights, and gives life and liberty in exchange for death and rebellion, and brings us God’s salvation.”

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Jordan summarizes, “When I see this kind of a thing, it makes it ever so easy for me to trust Him, to trust His Word and to do it with a delight, not a drudgery, knowing that every page I turn and study, there are hidden treasures laid out there. Not hidden like, ‘I don’t want you to find them,’ but like Proverbs says, they’re treasures and people who search for them discover them.

“By the way, you can do this same thing in a number of places in Scripture. My point to you is simply, it just blows me away. I can’t say it any other way.  It blows me away with excitement.

“I’m going to tell you that when I get to heaven, I’m not going to think it’s over. I think I’m going to spend all of eternity uncovering more things like this in God Himself and in His Word. It’s just too big for you and me, but I’m glad we can get what we can now.”