Jesus’ Awkward Family History

“Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah”
Matthew 1:5-6

This is the genealogy of Jesus.  It’s kind of embarrassing, if I’m being honest.  I would not brag about this family history to my friends.  You could research everyone listed in the first chapter of Matthew and find some faults, but I wanted to zoom in on 3 women, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. 

Rahab was a prostitute.  You can read her story in the second chapter of the book of Joshua.  When the Israelites reached Jericho, 2 spies were sent in and this prostitute, Rahab, decided to hide them.  Rahab had heard about the victories God had given the Israelites, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sear before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.  And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:8-11).  Somehow, Rahab had faith in the living God.  She knew that victory was in his hands.  She put her own life in danger to hide these spies and made them promise to take her and her family with them.

Ruth was a widow.  You can read all about her in the book of Ruth.  Like Rahab, she was not raised by believers.  She was a Moabite.  Do you know who the Moabites were?  They were descendants of Lot and his daughter!!!  She married into the Hebrew family when men from Bethlehem went to live in her pagan nation rather than suffer through a famine in their own country.  These men died, leaving her, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law widowed.  Ruth devoted herself to her mother-in-law and moved with her back to Bethlehem, preparing to be basically a beggar in those times.  Boaz took a liking to her, they got married, it’s a beautiful picture of the redeeming love of God.  A foreshadowing of our bridegroom, Jesus, coming to rescue and redeem his bride, the church.  Ruth gets to experience unmerited favor and see the heart of God through Boaz.  “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10). 

I love that Bathseba isn’t even named in Matthew’s genealogy, she is called “the wife of Uriah”.  Yikes!  If you aren’t familiar with that story, King David saw Bathsheba (who was married to a guy named Uriah) bathing, thought she was beautiful, slept with her, got her pregnant, sent Uriah to the front lines of war so he would be killed, and then took Bathsheba as his own wife.  This “displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27).  Bathsheba lost the first baby she had with David, but she bore another son named Solomon, and he became known as the wisest man who had ever lived (1 Kings 4:29-32).

Does your family tree have some “bad apples” in it?  Maybe some stories you aren’t so proud to tell?  You certainly are in good company.  Our holy and perfect God chose to be born to a family that was full of embarrassing, shameful stories.  But what you’ll see in each of these stories is redemption.  Each of these women found the grace of God and was saved from their sin.  Each of them was given a new life, a new hope.  What you’ll find is that God’s faithfulness and holiness is never dependent on our merit.  Our bloodline doesn’t save us, but the blood of Jesus will. 

Do you welcome people like this at your Christmas celebration?  Do you cringe when they RSVP?  Will you have a Rahab at your table; someone living a life steeped in sin, just needing to see the power of God in your life that they can leave all they know behind and risk everything to follow?  Is there a Ruth coming to dinner; someone with the most shameful family lineage, feeling hopeless and frightened that would follow you into a new life if they could only see the hope of Jesus through your eyes?  Is there a Bathsheba sitting next to you; an adulterer, someone pretending not to hear the whispers or see the judgmental stares even though their heart is full of condemnation and regret? Will you be the one to offer grace and mercy? 

There is so much hope in these verses.  I truly stand amazed and marvel that God would find such sinful people worthy of being ancestors to his son.  It gives me so much hope in his love for me that he can use me, as sinful as these other people.   May that amazement fill us with newfound love and compassion for our family and friends and neighbors this Christmas.