...and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekia... Now the birth of Christ took place in this way...
- Matthew 1:9, 18
We have the opportunity to build a legacy. We have the power to break a legacy. We all play a part in legacy - for better or for worse.
It is easy to rush through the initial 17 verses of the first New Testament Gospel. It is a genealogy; lots of begats in the old King James: This guy was the father of this guy... and so on.
But there is history in those names. There is legacy, both beautiful and terrible. Love, hate, depravity and faithfulness lie in those 17 verses of begats.
Ahaz was a horrible man; think part Kim Jung-Un, part Jeffery Dahmer. He was the scariest blend of narcissistic sadist with ultimate power. Ahaz reigned for 16 terrible years in Judah. He worshiped, and forced the worship of, pagan gods. His depravity knew no limits, even forcing his sons to pass through the fire. As a sacrificial ritual paying tribute to the bull-headed idol Molech, children were forced to walk into an inferno blazing at an alter.
Ahaz created a horrible legacy. Hezekiah changed the legacy.
Hezekiah was Ahaz' son. Hezekiah was forced to walk through the flames of his father. Hezekiah knew the smell of burning flesh. He knew the pain of a legacy of fire.
But Hezekiah changed the legacy. In place of the pain his father inflicted. Hezekiah offered grace. In place of brutality, he provided mercy. My guess is the smell of fire never fully left Hezekiah's nostrils. But he was not bound by the legacy. He created a new one. And for 29 years Judah knew the joy of his legacy.
You and I are the products of legacy(ies). Both good and bad. Both painful and freeing. The first 17 verses of Matthew's gospel give a brief glimpse into legacies. Verse 18 introduces us to the One who gives the power to change legacy.
God, give me the power and guts to change my legacies of pain and build legacies of grace, freedom and joy.
For now...
D
