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One curious aspect of the Hebrew Bible as opposed to other religious works of the ancient work is its fascination with genealogies (for example, Genesis 4:16-22 and Genesis 11:10-32). From this we see that the people of Israel did not think of what they were reading a mythology to which they had no real connection. They believed that they were reading the story of their people and therefore they were reading their own story. What we will see today is that we can learn from them to see Scripture as our story as well.
The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people’s homage.
The story of Israel was ongoing when Jesus appeared on the scene. They were they inheritors of promises yet to be fulfilled. God promised Abraham that all nations on earth would be blessed through his descendants. Judah's was promised that his descendents were meant to give rise to one who would rule the nations.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
This promise saw its initial fulfillment in David and Solomon. But with that glory in the past, what was Israel to make of the promises of God? Had he forgotten his people? If he had, they might have suspected that they earned it. After all, they have forgotten him time and again. Time and again he had given them over to exile and the domination of foreign powers so that they might learn and understand what they were without him. But even though their situation under Roman rule was not what they desired, even after all that they had been through, they continued to hope. Perhaps their hope was even greater, even more urgent, because of all that they endured. The apparent absence of the Lord may really have made their hearts grow fonder for him.
Onto this scene of disappointment and expectation something unexpected broke forth. The genealogy that began with Adam, that ran through the promises of Abraham, that peaked at David and Solomon, was taken up again brought to the forefront. It was not, after all, to be an abortive attempt to bring a the consistent reign of an earthly king. It was to be much more. It was as if creation's path had stalled and was waiting and was now finally beginning to move once more.
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
What are we to take away from a long list of names? There is much for us, if we are patient. We see that the authors intend Jesus to be understood as no mere myth, no mere poetic archetype, but as the historic figure he was in a specific time and place. There is more. We also read in this that Jesus was the fulfillment of this genealogy. He was someone who could fulfill perfectly what no mere human could. He was from his people, but he was also the yes to all of the promises of God (see Second Corinthians 1:20).
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