Yesterday I posted an assignment on a discussion board for a class. Brilliantly worded, incredibly insightful, and totally answering the wrong question. I misread the discussion topic, and had to post a second response- one that was less impressive. At the point, I already embarrassed myself, so I left post posts on the discussion board to humbly admit my mistake.

Speedy reading is my specialty, but often means that I miss significant details-- like an entire phrase that changes the question that you are supposed to answer. Sadly, I often do the same thing when reading scripture; perhaps not with the overarching themes, but with smaller details that give great insight.

This week I began reading through Matthew again with some intentionality, and in the first three chapters alone, here are just three things I noticed that I never had before.

1) In Matthew 1:6, the genealogy account reads "David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife". Solomon's mother was Uriah. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that; it's mentioned in both  2 Samuel and 1 Kings and she is the one who secured his place as king. However, I never noticed that the genealogy of Christ mentioned her as "Uriah's wife". Matthew intentionally recalls that David's sin led to his marriage and eventually the birth of Solomon (after their first child conceived during the affair had died).

2) God loves to speak through dreams. Joseph was given instruction concerning the birth of Christ through a dream (Matthew 1). The magi were warned not to return to Herod through a dream (Matthew 2). Then a series of dreams tells Joseph to retreat to Egypt, return to Israel, and to go to Nazareth instead of Bethlehem. That's five dreams in a mere two chapters.

3) "And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." Matthew 3:9. John the Baptist tells the Pharisees that being a child of Abraham has nothing to do with bloodlines. The stones themselves can become children of Abraham and enter God's covenant if God so chooses. It's a radical statement that would have been highly offensive and contradictory to the beliefs of the Pharisees.


I think I'm slowly falling in love with the Bible all over again...