What do a prostitute, an adulterer, a foreigner, and a woman who slept with her father-in-law to keep the family lineage, all have in common? No. This is not the start of a joke, though one might think so with such descriptions.
These four women are contained within the genealogy of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1. This concept alone is startling, as none of us like to think about the “black sheep” in our family (especially if we are the black sheep). Yet this concept is even more startling when we consider that it wasn’t common practice at this time in history, 2,000 years ago, to include women in a genealogy. Even today, we usually follow the male name when tracing our ancestry because of the tradition with taking the male surname.
Additionally, both Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ family history, with Luke’s account going back to Adam, and Matthew’s account going back to Abraham. Both accounts intended to show that Jesus was indeed part of the kingly line of David, that he was a son of Abraham, and that he was connected even to Adam.
Yet Matthew’s account deviates from the norm with his inclusion of these four women: Rahab-a prostitute, Ruth-a Moabite or foreigner, Bathsheba-an adulterer, and Tamar-who slept with her father-in-law Judah to keep the line of Judah going; talk about a colorful family history!
So why does Matthew include these infamous women? Especially when we consider that he is providing this genealogy to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, from the royal line of David; why would he include such a checkered history in his account?
I think he does so to illustrate that God uses imperfect humanity to bring about His perfect will. That God does not see our past and hold it against us, but instead chooses to use us anyway. As the scripture says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions [sins] from us” (Ps. 103:12, NIV).
If God could use these four women to bring about the coming of the Messiah, what can He do in our lives today? Our imperfections, our mistakes, and our weaknesses do not have to hold us back from what God wants to do in our lives today….
Not only are they women but Gentiles as well. That could point to the fact that the Messiah would bring salvation to the Gentiles as well. The men in the list were not without sin, but we do see some horrific sin in some of those women. It's amazing that God does use such terrible sinners (like me) for His purposes.
ReplyDeleteKristin, it is amazing that God uses the least of us for His amazing purposes. Though Tamar, Ruth, and Rahab were all clearly foreigners or Gentiles, we do not know for sure if Bathsheba was, though she was married to Uriah the Hittite. Therefore, at the very least, she was married to a Gentile, and she certainly has a more infamous than inspiring story in the Bible;)
ReplyDeleteYet for Matthew, it is definitely about bringing the gospel to the Gentiles as his gospel is noted for this, especially with his closing verses on taking the gospel into all the world.
Truly awesome story! :)