It was a time in history in a part of the world where ancestry was measured through the father. It is a bit surprising, then, to find four women listed in Matthew's genealogy of the Messiah. It is even more surprising when we see who these four women were.
Tamar's child, the one who would carry forth the messianic line, was born when she pretended to be a prostitute to fool her father-in-law into having sex with her.
Rahab actually was a prostitute, and Ruth was from Moab, a people that God had forbidden the Israelites to marry.
Bathsheba sinned in an adulterous relationship with King David. It is possible that she was an Israelite (her husband was not an Israelite, so perhaps she was not either). Certainly none of the other three women were Israelites.
What a collection! There were some good women in Jesus' genealogy, and yet God chose to name these four. Would it not have been better just to overlook these questionable ladies? Perhaps someone would claim that the line was too tainted for Jesus to be a valid messiah. Why not mention Sarah and Rebeccah and Rachel?
It just may be that the Holy Spirit has chosen to include these women to teach us something about God. First of all, we can hear a clear message of God's grace. He is able to use us despite our past. What kinds of burdens are we carrying with us from our past? Is it an old sin, one God has long ago forgiven but which we are still carrying around with us? Let God cast it into the sea. He can still use us, just as he used these women.
We can also take a lesson from this for our own relationships. Has someone hurt us in the past? Can we, like God, forget those old things and let God use that person in our lives?
- 22 NOVEMBER -