Matthew 1:6 Commentary and Bible Study

So much history is in these names. Viewed as a list of individuals, what is remarkable is that God has chosen to include as progenitors of the Lord those who might be thought to bring dishonour on his name, or whose sinful acts might taint the record. We know how it was not the older sons of Jesse who were chosen to be anointed king, but the youngest who immediately aroused the jealousy of his older brothers. But David was someone who loved God, and whose heart God looked upon and approved by grace. Nevertheless, one of the worst acts of David’s life is drawn into the record here. His adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Urias (Uriah) was a horrific incident, which caused him to fall greatly for a time. Bathsheba was carrying his child, and subsequently in vile deceitfulness he tried at first to disguise the true father of the child, and, when that failed, to scheme, in ways that rival the most cunning of worldlings, to bring about the death of Uriah in order to cover over his own wickedness. This scheming was successful. God disciplined David for this great evil in a most severe way, even after his genuine repentance and recovery. The child resulting from this adulterous union died, but later Solomon was born to Bathsheba, who David now took as an additional wife. And yet, for all this, David and Bathsheba found their place among Christ’s ancestors. Bathsheba was also the mother of Nathan who appears in Luke’s genealogy of Christ rather than Solomon. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.