Matthew 1:1-6
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
An interesting thing about Matthew's genealogy of Jesus is that it lists four women in the genealogy. Normally, Jewish genealogies only list the male ancestors, and the genealogy of Jesus would certainly be an "important" list to Jewish readers, so it is interesting to examine which females are listed in this genealogy. It does not list some obvious choices like Sarah, wife of Abraham. Instead the four are Tamar who became a prostitute to have sex with her brother-in-law Judah (verse 3), Rahab who was a prostitute and not Jewish (verse 5), Ruth who was not Jewish (verse 5), and Bathsheba ("the wife of Uriah") who had the illicit affair with David (verse 6). Not your typical list of saints, but it is an encouraging list to those who have struggled with sexual sin, for these are people we can relate to. Their inclusion in the genealogy shows how God can use anyone, even someone who has made bad choices or comes from a bad background. God is greater than our past, and can bring good out of any situation. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, could relate with this list, for she was falsely accused of conceiving Jesus immorally, out of wedlock. She undoubtedly had to deal with gossip and judgement from some "good" people, which would have been extra hard since she knew it wasn't true. But she persevered and God used her mightily. Likewise we can be used mightily despite what some others may think of us.
Lord, thank you for overcoming our past.
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
An interesting thing about Matthew's genealogy of Jesus is that it lists four women in the genealogy. Normally, Jewish genealogies only list the male ancestors, and the genealogy of Jesus would certainly be an "important" list to Jewish readers, so it is interesting to examine which females are listed in this genealogy. It does not list some obvious choices like Sarah, wife of Abraham. Instead the four are Tamar who became a prostitute to have sex with her brother-in-law Judah (verse 3), Rahab who was a prostitute and not Jewish (verse 5), Ruth who was not Jewish (verse 5), and Bathsheba ("the wife of Uriah") who had the illicit affair with David (verse 6). Not your typical list of saints, but it is an encouraging list to those who have struggled with sexual sin, for these are people we can relate to. Their inclusion in the genealogy shows how God can use anyone, even someone who has made bad choices or comes from a bad background. God is greater than our past, and can bring good out of any situation. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, could relate with this list, for she was falsely accused of conceiving Jesus immorally, out of wedlock. She undoubtedly had to deal with gossip and judgement from some "good" people, which would have been extra hard since she knew it wasn't true. But she persevered and God used her mightily. Likewise we can be used mightily despite what some others may think of us.
Lord, thank you for overcoming our past.