Are You Sure You're in the Right Family?

What do two prostitutes, a woman from a banned tribe, and the widow of a murdered soldier have to do with the Christmas story? Well it turns out a lot. Without these four women there would be no story. That serene looking Nativity scene of Joseph, Mary and Jesus in a cow stall  was preceded by centuries of mayhem and mess. 

First there is Tamar. She is the widowed wife of the Patriarch Jacob's grandsons. After her first two husbands died, that’s a whole other story, she was still desperate for a baby. Her errant  widowed father-in-law, Judah, wanted some “female company.” Knowing that Judah was coming into town Tamar dressed up as a prostitute and laid a trap for him. He fell into it. She became pregnant and gave birth to his twin grandchildren or his own children. Whatever, whoever they were, it was messy. Nevertheless those children ended up in the line of the Messiah. Yes  Tamar was a pretend prostitute, but she got a mention in the Messianic line. The Bible does not deny it. It’s a mess, but some lives 

are messy.1 

Then there is a practicing  prostitute in Jericho.  Her name is Rahab. She aided and abetted two 

spies doing espionage for the nascent Nation of Israel.  When the king  of Jericho found out there were spies in the land he sent soldiers to look for them at Rahab’s house.2 This was all before phones, social media and electronics. News got around quick in those days too. However Rahab had lots of experience in hiding men. After all there was  probably a husband or two who’d been caught sneak-ing into her premises.  Believe me that rope she had in her house used to slip the spies over the  Jericho wall was not purchased that day. 

Being a good business woman she made a contract with the spies to spare her and her family’s life when they conquered the city. After the fall of the Jericho walls and the capture of the city Rahab reformed her ways. A Hebrew man fell  in love with her quicker  than the walls collapsed. His name was Salmon, no relationship to the Chinook. Salmon and Rahab had a son named Boaz. Boaz had a son named Obed. He had a son named Jesse who had a son named  David who had a son name Solomon. You get my drift. Rahab  made her way into the Messianic line. The Word of God doesn’t glorify the profession of prostitution. It also doesn’t hide that some of the people that God chose and chooses to use have some unsavory backgrounds.

Speaking of unsavory, in comes Ruth.  She is  from the  pagan tribe of Moab. Now the backstory on her lineage is disgusting. The Moabites were the result of an incestuous relationship that  a drunken Lot, Abraham's nephew,  unknowingly had with one of his daughters. The result was the tribe of Moab. 

Through marriage Ruth became acquainted with the living and true God. Her widowed mother-in-law Naomi's two sons also died, one of whom was Ruth’s husband. Naomi decided to return to Israel. Ruth declared her belief in God and undying love for Naomi. Her decision led her to a new husband, Boaz. They became the parents of Obed and subsequently the great-grandparents of King David. 4

What can I say about Bathsheba?  She is never referred to as the wife of  David but as Urijah’s wife. Urijah was the loyal soldier in the King’s army. David killed him to try and hide the adulterous affair he had with Urijah’s wife.  God didn’t like what David did. David 's transgressions brought a heap of trouble on David and his family.  Nevertheless, God allowed Bathsheba to be in the Messianic line.

Now you like me might be asking what kind of God doesn’t mention all the upstanding righteous women in the Messianic line? Why are these particular women with their unseemly stories given a spot in the New Testament Scriptures. I think it is to showcase several things about God. First it demonstrates God’s sovereignty.  In other words God is in charge. There is no scrap of information about our lives God does not know. God can pick up those  fragments, the loose threads of our own story and weave them into His comprehensive plan. 

Secondly, I think it shows that God has always been compassionate. Unlike us, when a person messes up and is repentant,  God does not toss  the person away as irredeemable and of no value. God weaves the  errors and their mistakes into His plan. Third, I think its to give me, to give you and to give us hope. If God can take the train wrecks and sordid stories of the lives of these women and welcome them into the Messianic line, surely God will take me into His family. 

I have plenty of flaws and mistakes. This God who forgave them will surely forgive me too. It’s not because I deserve God’s forgiveness.  It’s because God is love and compassionate. Four women point the way and are proof of God’s eternal love and that the God does not show partiality when it comes to being inclusive in His Family. Merry Christmas and I hope you’ll join the Family of God.  We may be a mess, but we are God’s “mess”  and God loves us.5

1. Genesis 38

2.  Joshua 2:1-2

3.  Deuteronomy 23:3

4. Ruth 4:20-22

5. Acts 10:34