Five Determined Women

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”  Genesis 1:27

In the first chapter of the book of Matthew, the lineage of Jesus Christ is given.  There are five women who are included in this lineage.  The first one listed is Tamar.  Her story is found in Genesis 38.  Jacob’s (Israel’s) and Leah’s fourth son, Judah, Had a son named Er.  In those days it was the responsibility of the parents to find a spouse for their sons and daughters.  Judah chose a woman whose name was Tamar, but Er was so wicked in God’s sight that the LORD slew him which caused Tamar to become a widow, a difficult situation for a woman in ancient times.  Judah promised his third son, Shelah, to Tamar, but she would have to wait until he was grown (not a very desirable option.  Imagine the age difference!)  However, she waited, but Judah did not keep his promise.  She decided to trick him by disguising herself as a prostitute.  Judah, not recognizing her, had sexual relations with her, but she had first demanded a pledge from him-his signet, bracelets, and staff.  When Judah sent a servant to retrieve the pledge, Tamar couldn’t be found.  Three months later, word came to Judah that Tamar had been “playing the harlot” and was expecting a baby.  Judah became furious and demanded that she be burned to death (talk about a double standard!)  When they finally found her and brought her to Judah, she presented the items of the pledge that he had left with her.  Judah admitted his sin.  Tamar had twins, Pharez, who was in the lineage of Christ, and Zarah.

In the book of Joshua, Chapter 2, we find Rahab, a gentile, who was a resident of Jericho and had been a prostitute, but had come to acknowledge God as the LORD after hearing of some of the great rescues of Israel by God.  When Joshua sent two men to Jericho as spies, Rahab hid them from the king’s soldiers and helped them to escape.  When Israel attacked, Rahab and her family were rescued and became proselytes of Israel.  Rahab married Salmon, and they became the parents of Boaz and the great, great grandparents of King David.  In the book of Ruth, we find a woman named Naomi whose husband had died.  She had two sons, one who was married to Ruth and the other to Orpah.  Both of the sons died, thus all three women became widows.  Ruth and Orpah were both gentiles from the land of Moab.  Naomi tried to convince the two of them to return to their homeland, and Orpah did, but Ruth remained with Naomi, telling her that “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”  Ruth went to the field of Boaz, a wealthy landowner and son of Salmon and Rahab, to glean from the crops to provide food for her mother-in-law and herself.  Boaz fell in love with Ruth, eventually marrying her, and the son that was born to them was Obed, who became father of Jesse and grandfather of David.

The fourth woman who is mentioned in the lineage of Christ is Bathsheba.  Her history can be found in the book of II Samuel 11.  David was the king of Israel at that time and was not with his soldiers on this particular day.  He saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her house (why she would bathe where she could seen is unknown, but one would wonder if she exposed herself to the king intentionally or perhaps she thought that he was on the battlefield where he should have been.)  He sent for her to come to the palace.  He was the king, and the king usually got what he wanted.  She arrived as requested, and the two of them had sexual relations.  She was a married woman, thus both she and David committed adultery.  She became pregnant, and David sent her husband to the front lines so that he likely would be killed and would not find out about his wife’s affair with the king.  Her husband, Uriah, was killed in combat, and David made Bathsheba his wife.  The child of their union died as a baby, but she later had a son named Solomon who became king of Israel after David died.

Last, but certainly not least, is Mary, Jesus’ mother.  She was a young woman whom God selected to be the mother of the Savior.  Most folks know the story of how Joseph, to whom she was engaged to be married, found out about her pregnancy and almost broke his vow to be her husband, but it was revealed to him in a dream that Mary would be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world.  Joseph became Jesus’ earthly father and took care of Mary and Jesus.  Years later Mary had to witness the crucifixion of her Son.  Scripture calls her “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28).

Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba had all been used and defrauded by men of power.  Ruth had suffered the loss of her first husband and seemingly would have to endure a life of poverty, hard work, and loneliness.  Scripture doesn’t say, but I would think that Mary suffered some criticism by neighbors because she became pregnant before she and Joseph were officially married.  Joseph had even considered hiding her away for the time of her pregnancy so that she would not be exposed to public ridicule, but she and Joseph certainly had done nothing of which to be ashamed.  She couldn’t tell folks about her situation, and even if she did, most would not have believed her.  They would have certainly ridiculed her if she told them the truth.  God, in His mercy, blessed all five of these women by allowing them to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ who came to save sinners, just like the ones in His ancestral line, and sinners just like us.  He came to seek and to save that which was lost.  He did not come to seek righteous folks for He would not have been able to find any. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…That no flesh should glory in His presence”  (I Corinthians 1:27).  God doesn’t look for perfect people; He looks to make people perfect in Christ.